Laudato si' and Green Liturgy

Pope Francis is calling for a revolution to combat climate change and save the environment from destruction.  His recent encyclical, called

Laudato Si,

which means “Praise Be To You,” is taken from the “Canticle of the Sun,” a song written by Francis of Assisi, the patron Saint of the environment.  In the encyclical, the Pope presses for a change in “lifestyle, production and consumption” in order to ensure the survival of the earth. Pope Francis is calling all of us to be attentive to, to respect and to care for all creation.

If we look closely and listen attentively, we will see and hear how the liturgy helps us to attend, to respect, and to care for creation.  For the liturgy and the cosmos are deeply intertwined.

The entire liturgical calendar is governed by the cosmos.  The full moon of spring determines the date of Easter, from which the entire year is planned.  In fact, the mother of all liturgies, the Easter Vigil, begins outside--under the stars with the blessing of one of earth’s primal elements:  fire.

During the liturgy, we profess our faith in the God who created heaven and earth.  We proclaim in song that heaven and earth are “full of God’s glory.”  We are sprinkled with water.  We eat bread, “fruit of the earth.”  We drink wine, “fruit of the vine.”     

The liturgy not only uses elements of our good earth, it teaches us how to be good stewards of the earth’s gifts.  Water is blessed, bread and wine are blessed and incensed, oil is sanctified, the altar and the ambo, which are made of material from the earth, are dedicated and consecrated.  

The symbols and the rituals of the liturgy tell us that God’s presence permeates the environment, that all of creation reveals the divine, that not the smallest component of our planet is to be taken for granted, and that all creation is holy and is to be treated as sacred.  If we do this, we will heed the call of Pope Francis, to look broadly, to live simply and to care deeply.