May 22, 2025
At their January Meeting of the JPIC/UN NGO Network, the participants were challenged by the reflections on Biodiversity and Integral Ecology presented by Sister Maamalifar Poreku, MSOLA. This prayer is developed around this theme.
Leader: Loving God of all creatures, everywhere Mother Earth is crying out for mercy, for help. She asks us to show compassion for the suffering of so many living beings in the plant and animal worlds, for humans living in poverty, enslaved, abused, forced from their homes by war or poverty or climate change, and for generations of beings as yet unborn. May we act to protect endangered species and preserve biodiversity on the Earth—because when we protect all life, we protect our own lives, everything you have created in love. Amen.- Inspired by reflections of Jane Goodall
Poem – A Celebration of Creation – adapted from a Cosmic Eucharistic Prayer, Fr. Seán ÓLaoire
Reader 1: God, the Cosmic Dancer, you choreograph the solar flares, the orbits of the planets, and the wild careening of comets and meteors. You who can name every ancient rock in the Asteroid Belt,
you who can tango with typhoons and twisters and tornadoes. We celebrate your creation.
Reader 2: God, the Artist, you paint sunrises and sunsets, the plumage of birds and the camouflage of insects. You, with finest brushes, watercolor the wings of butterflies, and the costumes of flowers.
We celebrate your creation.
Reader 3: God, the Sculptor, you chisel out rocks and mountain ranges, and cup your hands to form sand dunes.
We celebrate your creation.
Reader 4: God, the Musician, you make flutes of the willows by the lakeside and of the reeds on the river bank; your bass-baritone reverberates in the thunder and your soprano trills in the morning music of the blackbird; you drum ecstatically with your raindrops on the sun-parched plains;
and you hold all of these sounds in the silence of a star-studded night sky.
We celebrate your creation.
Reader 5: God, the Architect, you silently whisper the secrets of home-building in the hearts of weaver-birds and ants; in the hearts of spiders and mice; in the sacred geometry of the temple-makers.
We celebrate your creation.
All: We are one with all creation, interdependent and interconnected, knowing that your heart beats in every leaf, in every rock, in every animal and in every person – all made in the power of your creative imagination. Amen.
Reflections
Biodiversity enables humans to live well, in balance and harmony with Mother Earth. It is the pillar that supports all systems of life. Today we appear to be alive, but in fact we are partly dead: Mother Earth is struggling because of the injuries inflicted upon her by human greed and by our lack of care. Biodiversity is an ethical, moral and justice issue. For example, the loss of plant species is a loss for future generations in developing medicines to cure diseases. Maamalifar Poreku, MSOLA
Daughters of the Motherhouse, you are the roots, the trunk of the tree that God has planted in this garden. You are planted in the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Drink from the ocean of life, the living sap that will satisfy you and that through the trunk will communicate itself to all the branches that have sprung from it and will spring from it. If your feet touch the earth, may your spirit, your heart, your whole being be totally rooted in God. Gailhac – 22 July 1882
Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species which we will never know, which our children will never see, because they have been lost forever. The great majority become extinct for reasons related to human activity. Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right. Pope Francis, Laudato Sí § 33
As humans, we are born of the Earth, nourished by Earth, healed by Earth. The natural world tells us: I will feed you, I will clothe you, I will heal you…. I offer you a communion with the divine; I offer you gifts you can exchange with one another. I offer you flowers whereby you can express your reverence for the divine and your love for each other. In the vastness of the sea, in the snow-covered mountains, in the rivers flowing through the valleys, in the serenity of the landscape, and in the foreboding of the great storms that sweep across the land, in all these experiences I offer you inspiration for your music, your art, your dance. Evening Thoughts: Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community, Thomas
Berry
We, Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, recognize the sacred commitment we have with our earth and its peoples. As contemplative listeners with a preferential ear to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, we desire to take prophetic action, reflecting our conviction that the earth is God’s dwelling, a sacramental communion of creation and re-creation. RSHM Deepening our Call to Stewardship of the Planet
[Biodiversity] matters because human well-being depends on stable and thriving ecosystems
and services: from clean water and food to oxygen, clothing and climate regulatory services,
amongst other resources we use from nature…Biodiversity matters because all of God’s
creatures have value. The loss of biodiversity is an issue of justice because it is the poor and
marginalized who directly depend on the health of ecosystems and are most severely affected
by the collapse of the natural systems that sustain all life. Billions of people today face the loss
of productive soils, clean water, forests, fish and coral reefs, and biodiversity loss is a major
driver of human migration. Arnold Ambundo
Personal Reflection/Sharing
1. What understanding/experience do I have of biodiversity?
2 .Sr. Maamalifar Poreku, MSOLA, stated that “Every founder or foundress always has a vision beyond the particular concrete situation that prompt them to found a group.” She presented an intriguing question to the JPIC/UN NGO Network: “Looking at the vision that led Jean Gailhac to found your congregation, and Mère St. Jean who understood his vision so well, what would they say to you today in this time of ecological crisis?” How might I respond to this question?
Closing Prayer:
Our Father, Mother, Creator – Diane Smith, CSJ
Creator of the universe, holy and blessed be your name.
Acknowledging the web of life and the interconnectedness of all living things,
we embrace your presence in all that exists.
Give us this day what we need to embrace our brokenness.
May we heal one another and the Earth so that all may have life. Amen.
Prayer written by Sr. Cathy Minhoto
