Celebrating World Water Day

Today, we celebrate World Water Day. As Catholics and as Passionists, we have been asked by Pope Francis to seek the change of heart that is required to make the actions of the Laudato SiˊAction Platform part of our daily lives. What Pope Francis asks of us is a “profound interior conversion” leading us toward a future in which “all people can prosper personally and economically in harmony with the gifts God has given us in nature.”

You can learn advocacy skills and connect with organizations in your area that advocate for healthy water at Healthy River.

Join us for an Online Conversation

on Brochure #3 of  Passion of the Earth, Wisdom of the Cross

Thursday, April 18th

WHAT:

“PASSION OF THE EARTH, WISDOM OF THE CROSS" is our international Passionist program to live out our commitment to the Laudato Si’ Action Platform goals. This is a one and 1/2-hour conversation based on the third brochure in the six-brochure series prepared for the Passionist family. The third brochure [PDF] /Español [PDF] explains Chapter 3 of the encyclical Laudato Si’ and calls us to reflection and action on the gift of FOOD and FARMING. 

WHY:
To deepen our care for God’s Creation, to embrace Gospel justice,

and to renew our Passionist charism.

WHEN:

Thursday, April 18^th 

• 7:30 p.m. ET
• 6:30 p.m. CT
• 5:30 p.m. MT
• 4:30 p.m. PT

WHERE:

On Zoom. Register in advance for this conversation here

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the session. We ask that participants read brochure #3 [PDF] before the online conversation.

WHO:

All members of the Passionist family in St. Paul of the Cross and Holy Cross Provinces, as well as international members of the Passionist family. The session will be facilitated in English by Marta Salgado-Niño and Patty Gillis, members of the Laudato Si' Team.

For more information, please contact Marta Salgado-Niño at MSNino@materdolorosa.org or Patty Gillis at pjgillis48@gmail.com or 313.399.8320.

Love, overflowing with small gestures of mutual care, is also civic and political, and it makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world. . . . In this framework, along with the importance of little everyday gestures, social love moves us to devise larger strategies to halt environmental degradation and to encourage a ‘culture of care’ which permeates all of society. ~Laudato Si’ # 231

When Texas Coastal Materials obtained a permit to build a concrete and rock crusher across the street from LBJ Hospital, a public hospital that serves people with respiratory disorders in downtown Houston, members of the faith community voiced their concern. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, and faith leaders from The Metropolitan Organization, a non-partisan group, spoke up.  Residents and public health officials said that the plant, which would break down slabs of concrete, could endanger the health of staff and patients at LBJ Hospital, which serves many low-income and uninsured residents.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cement crushing creates silica dust, which can “irreversibly damage the lungs,” as well as particulate matter, microscopic particles that can enter the lungs and bloodstream and cause health issues like asthma.

Members of local churches signed petitions and attended meetings, including Passionist family member, Tomie Magee and his wife Debrah. Tomie and Debrah belong to Our Mother of Mercy parish, one of the churches that make up The Metropolitan Organization (TMO).

When asked why he got involved in the community and participated in this and other TMO actions, Tomie explained:

“We all struggle at times with following the way of the Cross. I am no different than most. However, with prayer, we know that the charism does not allow us to be comfortable thinking only about ourselves.” 

~Tomie Magee, retreatant and former Board member at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center, Houston

For more information on the Laudato Si’ Action Platform’s seven goals, visit https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/.

For five weeks in January and February, members of the Passionist family watched a select list of Laudato Si' themed movies and came together for conversation and reflection on Zoom. As one of the participants said, “The education was unbelievable.”  And once we become educated it leads naturally to transformation of our hearts, lives and communities.

 “I knew food choices were important to my health, but I had never thought about them as moral choices,” shared another of the participants.  Two of the movies we watched, Food Inc., and Kiss the Ground, focused particularly on our food systems and solutions to create food systems which are healthier for us and for Earth. We learned about the benefits of no-till farming, the increased nutrients in eggs from chickens that are pastured, and the essential role of free range cattle in regenerative agriculture. We also learned how factory farms put public health and the food supply at risk, pollute the environment and drinking water, wreck rural communities, and fuel climate change.

The third brochure of Passion of the Earth, Wisdom of the Cross focuses on food, and invites us to action. A suggested action is supporting the Farm System Reform Act, a bill currently being considered in congress, which introduces legislation

that would place an immediate moratorium on the construction of new or expanding factory farms, with a phaseout of existing large facilities by 2040. Large factory farms have increased dramatically since 2017 while smaller farms with sustainable practices have struggled. It is essential that our government policies reflect the sustainable principles of Laudato Si’ as well as protect our health and the health of our common home.

We invite you to contact your Members of Congress to support the Farm System Reform Act (HR 4421/S 2332)!  

One of the happy results of the Laudato Si’ Movie Club was St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish in Toronto recreating the program for parishioners. If you would be interested in a program package listing the Laudato Si’ movie selections, with reflection questions, either for personal use or to share with your parish, friends or other communities, please contact Lissa Romell, Chair of HCP Laudato Si’ team, at lissa@passionist.org.