Canticle of Creation
Laudato Si, Mi Signore!
Be Praised Most High, Almighty God,
Good and Holy One!
All praise, glory, and honor
and exaltation are yours!
To you alone do they belong,
And no mere mortal dares pronounce your Name.
Be praised, O Loving God!
Praise to you, O Adonai our God,
through all your creatures:
first through our dear Brother Son,
who gives us the day and illumines us with his light;
fair is he, in splendor radiant,
bearing your very likeness, O Holy One!
Be praised, O Loving God!
Through our Sister Moon,
and through the bright shining stars
which you placed in the heavens
clear and precious and beautiful!
Be praised, O Loving God!
Through our Brother Wind,
for fair and stormy seasons
and all of heaven’s varied moods,
by which you nourish all that you have made.
Be praised, O Loving God!
Through our Sister Water,
so useful, and lowly, so precious and pure.
Through our Brother Fire,
who brightens up our darkest nights:
beautiful is he and eager,
invincible and keen:
Be praised, O Loving God!
Through our dear Mother Earth,
who sustains us and governs us
and who produces varied fruits
with colored flowers and herbs.
Be praised, O Loving God!
Through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no mortal can escape.
Blessed are those whom death will find
in Your most holy will, for the second death
shall do them no harm.
Be praised, O Loving God!
Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
translated by The Daily Feast
Creation, Donald Jackson, Copyright 2003,
The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Great God, Your Vast Creation
Great God, your vast creation breaks forth in joyous praise.
The creatures with elation their eager voices raise.
We hear the vibrant chorus of frogs announcing spring.
The songbirds rise before us and soar on silent wing.
We hear the gentle lapping as ripples meet the shore,
and sound of waves’ loud crashing: the mighty ocean’s roar.
Yet, God, there is pollution of waters which were pure.
Our wills resist solutions; move us to find a cure.
We grieve the growing absence of creatures once held dear.
More mating calls are silenced—those sounds we thrilled to hear.
Teach us to humbly reverence all life beneath the sun.
Awake in us awareness our destinies are one.
You make us in your image; you give us endless worth.
Help us as we envisage the sacredness of earth.
We would reclaim the treasure of rainbows in clear skies,
and seek to save this pleasure for children’s wondering eyes.
As we face each tomorrow, we pray for strength to dare
to live as if each sparrow depends upon our care.
Text: Edith Sinclair Downing; Tune: THAXTED Gustav Holt
A prayer for our earth
All powerful God,
you are present in the universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with your peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned
and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle,
for justice, love and peace.
– Pope Francis, ‘LAUDATO SI’
GOD OF THE UNIVERSE
God of the universe,
We thank You for Your many good gifts –
For the beauty of Creation and its rich and varied fruits,
For clean water and fresh air, for food and shelter, animals and plants.
Forgive us for the times we have taken the earth’s resources
for granted
And wasted what You have given us.
Transform our hearts and minds
So that we would learn to care and share,
To touch the earth with gentleness and with love,
Respecting all living things.
We pray for all those who suffer as a result of our waste,
greed and indifference,
And we pray that the day would come when everyone has enough
food and clean water.
Help us to respect the rights of all people and all species
And help us to willingly share your gifts
Today and always. Amen.
– Fiona Murdoch, Eco-Congregation Ireland
(shared by Denis Collins)
Prayer from the Svetasvatara Upanishad
The whole universe is ever in his power.
He is pure consciousness, the creator of time: all-powerful, all-knowing.
It is under his rule that the work of creation revolves in its evolution,
and we have earth, and water, and ether, and fire and air.
His being is the source of all being, the seed of all things that in this life have their life.
He is beyond time and space, and yet he is the God of infinite forms who dwells in our inmost thoughts and who is seen by those who love him.
May God who is hidden in nature, even as the silkworm is hidden in the web of silk he made, lead us to unison with his Spirit.
From Thomas Ryan, Interreligious Prayer: A Christian Guide. Paulist Press, 2008
A Sikh Prayer
In the beginning God brought forth his light, from his creative power came all beings.
From the One Light the entire universe came forth.
So who is good and who is bad?
Stray not in doubt, O Siblings of Destiny!
The Creator is in the creation, the creation is in the Creator,
He is ever-present, pervading everywhere.
The clay is the same, while it is fashioned into many forms by the Master Potter.
There is no fault with the vessel of clay, as there is no fault with the Potter.
Within all is the One True Lord.
It is by His will that all exist.
One who realizes God’s will comes to know God.
He is the true servant of the Lord.
The invisible Lord cannot be seen.
The Guru has blessed me with this sweet realization.
I see the Perfect Pure Lord everywhere.
From Thomas Ryan, Interreligious Prayer: A Christian Guide. Paulist Press, 2008
(shared by Laurin Dodge)
PRAYER FOR ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY
Let us pray
for an end to the waste and desecration of God’s creation,
for access to the fruits of creation to be shared equally among all people,
and for communities and nations to find sustenance
in the fruits of the earth and the water God has given us.
(pause for silent prayer)
Almighty God, you created the world and gave it
into our care so that, listening deeply to you,
we might serve all people:
Inspire us to use the riches of creation with wisdom,
and to ensure that their blessings are shared by all;
that, trusting in your bounty, all people may be
empowered to seek freedom from poverty, famine, and oppression.
~ Xavier University
WALK LIGHTLY
Each leaf, each petal, each grain, each person,
sings your praises, Creator God.
Each creature on the earth,
all the mountains and great seas show your glory, Spirit of love.
And yet the hand of greed has patented and plundered your splendour,
has taken and not shared your gift,
has lived as owner of the earth, not guest.
And so. the ice is cracked, the rivers dry,
the valleys flooded
and the snowcaps melt.
Gentle God, show us how to step gently,
how to live simply,
how to walk lightly
with respect and love
for all that you have made.
Amen.
~ Linda Jones/CAFOD, UK (alt.)
Litany of Intercession
Based on St. Francis’ Canticle of Creation
You are praised, O HOLY ONE, by our Brother, Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him.
~May light be shed on all your people that they may see your likeness in one another and your glory in all of creation.
You are praised, O HOLY ONE, through our Sister, Moon, and the stars;
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and beautiful.
~May the nations of the earth, upon whom they look down each night be blessed with your peace.
You are praised, O HOLY ONE, through our Brothers, Wind and Air, Clouds and Storms, and all the weather through whom you nourish all creatures on Earth;
~May the heavens drop dew from above and the clouds rain down justice for all Earthkind.
You are praised, O HOLY ONE, through our Sister, Water;
~May we be cleansed of selfishness and greed and share her life-giving refreshment with the poor, the downtrodden, and those who are ill, or in trouble of any kind.
You are praised, O HOLY ONE, through our Brother, Fire, through whom you brighten the night and restore fields and prairies;
~Kindle in us the fire of your love that our lives may brighten a world darkened by hatred and greed.
You are praised, O HOLY ONE, through our Sister / Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us,
and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs;
~ Give us the wisdom and will to work with her to provide freedom, flourishing and fullness of life for all creation.
Be praised, O HOLY ONE, through those who forgive for love of you;
through those who endure sickness and trial.
~Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.
~ The Daily Feast
1 September – Prayer for Care of Creation
4 October – Feast of St. Francis
The Works of Our God Are Created in Wisdom
The works of our God are created in wisdom,
we view the earth’s wonders and call God to mind;
we hear what God says in the world we discover,
and God shows such glory in all that we find.
Not even the angels have ever been granted
to tell the full story of nature and grace;
but open to God is all human perception,
the mysteries of time and the secrets of space.
The sun every morning lights up God’s creation,
the moon marks the rhythm of months in their turn;
the glittering stars are arrayed in God’s honour,
adorning the years as they ceaselessly burn.
The wind is God’s breath and the clouds are the signal,
The rain and the snow are the robes of God’s choice;
the storm and the lightning, watchmen and heralds,
the crash of the thunder, the sound of God’s voice.
The song is unfinished; how shall we complete it,
and where find the skill to perfect all God’s praise?
At work in all places, God cares for all peoples
how great is our God to the end of all days!
Christopher Idle (alt.) © 1976 The Jubilate Group (admin. Hope Publishing Company) Tune: KREMSER
A Call to Prayer
The earth is at the same time mother,
She is mother of all that is natural, mother of all that is human.
She is the mother of all, for contained in her are the seeds of all.
The earth of humankind contains all moistness, all verdancy, all germinating power.
It is in so many ways fruitful.
All creation comes from it. Yet it forms not only the basic raw material for humankind, but also the substance of the incarnation of God’s son.
Hildegard of Bingen
From: Interfaith Declarations and Worship Observance Resources;
The North American Conference on Religion and Ecology; 5 Thomas Circle, NW, Washington, DC 20005
A Prayer of Awareness
God is the foundation for everything
This God undertakes, God gives.
Such that nothing that is necessary for life is lacking.
Now humankind needs a body that at all times honors and praises God.
This body is supported in every way through the earth.
Thus the earth glorifies the power of God.
Hildegard of Bingen
From: Interfaith Declarations and Worship Observance Resources;
The North American Conference on Religion and Ecology; 5 Thomas Circle, NW, Washington, DC 20005
A Call to Prayer
We who have lost our sense and our senses–our touch, our smell, our vision of who we are: we who frantically force and press all things, without rest for body or spirit, hurting our earth and injuring ourselves: we call a halt.
We want to rest. We need to rest and allow the earth to rest. We need to reflect and to rediscover the mystery that lives in us, that is the ground of every unique expression of life, the source of the fascination that calls all things to communion.
We declare a Sabbath, a space of Quiet; for simply being and letting be; for recovering the great, forgotten truths; for learning how to live again.
For other Prayers published by the Web of Creation, click here.
Website and prayers shared by Anna Slowiak