Care of Creation

STATION 1

Living God Creator of all things, 

You call us to be good stewards of this earthly home, strengthen us to care for your creation; and forgive us when, through our greed and indifference we abuse its beauty and damage its potential. Empower us, through your Spirit to nurture and love the world, so all creation sings to your glory.

Adopted from The Church of England

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STATION 2

God of all creation,

How splendid and majestic is the world you created! It reveals your glory; it teaches us about you.

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When you made us in your image, you gave us this command: care for the world and for all the creatures in it, for this is our common home.

 

Yet your holy creation cries out, for our home is burdened, misused and laid waste.

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Come among us, mighty Creator, so we might remember our interdependence.

 

Let us see the face of your Son in those who suffer from the destruction of our common home.

 

Help us to be stewards and honor you in the world you have made for the good of all creation and for future generations.

 

May your justice reign forever! Amen.

Adopted from US Conference of Catholic Bishops https://www.usccb.org

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STATION 3

Canticle of Creation II

In the beginning, Lord my God, You alone existed: eternally one yet pregnant in the fullness of unity.

 

Full to overflowing, You, Father of All Life, exploded outward In a billion bits and pieces.

Your word became flesh, whirling in shining stars, shimmering suns and in genesis glimmering galaxies.

 

You, my God, spoke and Your Words became flesh: In sun and moon, earth and seas, mountains and gentle hills, rolling rivers and silent streams.

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You, my God, spoke and Your Words became flesh: in winged bird, in deer and elephant, in grazing cow, racing horse, and fish of the deep. Your Words, so unique and so varied, filled the earth also with rabbit, squirrel, and ant.

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And all Your Words were beautiful, and all were good. From each of these Holy Words arose a prayer of praise and adoration to You, their Creator and Wondrous Womb.

 

‘Praise You,” rang out the redwood, “Blessed be You,” chimed in the cedar, “Holy are You,” prayed the prairie grasses.

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From all four corners of this earth, rose up a chorus of perpetual adoration.

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O Sacred Spirit, O Divine Breath of Life, unseal my ears that they may ever listen to Your continuous canticle of creation; open my heart and my whole self, to sing in harmony with all its many voices.

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Teach me to commune with Your first Word made flesh, Your creation, that I may be able to unravel the wondrous words of Your second Word made flesh, Jesus, through whom, with whom, and in whom,

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I may see myself as another Word of Yours made flesh, to Your glory and honor.

- Author Unknown

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STATION 4

The Canticle of the Creatures

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor, and the all blessing, to You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no human is worthy to mention Your name.

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Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day and through whom You give us light.

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And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor; and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars, in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

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Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather, through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures. 

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Creation Artwork Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water, who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

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Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night, and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

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Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

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Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation.

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Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility.

-St. Francis of Assisi

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STATION 5

God Bless the World. Mighty God, Father of all, Compassionate God, Mother of all, bless every person I met, every face I have seen, every voice I have heard, especially those most dear; bless every city, town, and street that I have known. Bless every sight I have seen, every sound I have heard, every object I have touched.

 

In some mysterious way these have all fashioned my life: all that I am, I have received.

Great God, bless the world.

- John J. Morris, S.J.

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STATION 6

God our Creator,

You created the world and sent your own Son to live among us, made of the same stuff, breathing the same air, marveling at sunrise and sunset just as we do.

Help us to participate in the life around and within us as your life, as you living in us and we living in you and in each other.

God of love and life, restore us to your peace, renew us through your power, and teach us to love all that you have created and to care for the earth as your gift and our home.

- The Earth Community: In Christ through the Integrity of Creation

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STATION 7

Heavenly Father, Creator of all things:

The Earth is the Lord’s, this we know: the earth does not belong to us. The earth is the Lord’s and so are all its people.

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This we know: we did not weave the web of life. The earth is the Lord’s and so is all that breathes on it.

 

This we know: we are called to till and work the earth. The earth is the Lord’s and so are all who work the land.

 

This we know: that we are called to take care of creation. The earth is the Lord’s, yet we have polluted and abused it.

 

This we know: that whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. This we know: that the earth is the Lord’s. And so, we will serve Him in it.
Amen.

- Bishop Eric Pike 

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STATION 8

Prayer of Gratitude for the Beauty of Creation

God, our Creator of heaven and earth, how blessed we are to be surrounded by the beauty of your creation.

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We lift our prayer of gratitude as we see the stars of heaven, and the beauty of the sunset.

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We are amazed by the seas and waterways and all that are in them.

 

We are enchanted by the flowers and trees which are clothed by you.

 

We are awed by all the animals you created.

 

For the beauty of the earth, the mountains and valleys, the sun and the moon – we give you praise.
Amen.

- Author Unknown, Xavier University JesuitResource.org

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STATION 9

Canticle of the Creatures

All praise be yours, My Lord, through all that you have made.

 

And first My Lord, Brother Sun, who brings the day...How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

 

All praise be yours, My Lord, through Sister Moon and Stars; in the heavens you have made them, bright and precious and fair.

 

All praise be yours, My Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air.

 

All praise be yours, My Lord, through Sister Water, so useful, lowly, precious and pure.

 

All praise be yours, My Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten up the night.

 

All praise be yours, My Lord, through Sister Earth, our mother, who feeds us and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

 

Praise and bless My Lord, and give him thanks, and serve him with great humility.

- Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi

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STATION 10

God of love, we praise you for the magnificence of creation.

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We marvel at both its grandeur and the intricacies of its smallest microscopic life forms.

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As we reflect on the creation, help us to take in its true significance.

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This is your work in which you have invested deeply of yourself.

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It is the costly outpouring of your creativity.

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So, we ask you to instill in us a proper reverence for all that you have made - a genuine respect for all environments and all creatures. 

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Lord, we are in awe of the formidable power of nature, but, in these times, may we also come to comprehend its complex fragility. Amen. 

- Reverend Prebendary Mark Geldard

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STATION 11

O Lord, grant us the grace to grow deeper in our respect of and care for your Creation. 

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Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

O Lord, help us to recognize the sacredness of all of your Creatures as signs of your wondrous love.

 

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

O Lord, help us turn from the selfish consumption of resources meant for all and to see the impacts of our choices on the poor and vulnerable.

 

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.

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STATION 12

God of All Creation,

I pray for an end to the waste and desecration of Your creation.

For access to the fruits of creation to be shared equally among all people.

For communities and nations to find sustenance in the fruits of the earth and the water You have given us.

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Almighty God, you created the world and gave it into our care so that, in obedience 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.

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Lord, in your mercy, hear my prayers for all creation! Amen.

- Unknown

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STATION 13

God of this day,

I thank You God for most this amazing day: for leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes.

- E.E. Cummings

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Great Gardener of All Creation, 

The garden is rich with diversity, with plants of a hundred families, in the space between the trees with all the colours and fragrances.

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Basil, mint and lavender, Great Mystery keep my remembrance pure, Raspberry, Apple, Rose, Great Mystery fill my heart with love, dill, anise, tansy, Holy winds blow in me.

Rhododendron, zinnia, may my prayer be beautiful, may my remembrance O Great Mystery be as incense to thee in the sacred grove of eternity as I smell and remember the ancient forests of earth.

- Chinook Psalter

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STATION 14

Dear Mother earth,

Who day by day unfolds rich blessing on our way, O Praise God! Alleluia!

The fruits and flowers that verdant grow, let them his praise abundant show.

O praise God, O praise God, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

- St. Francis

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Creator God,

We thank you, creator God, for the goodly heritage you offer us, from green downland to the deep salt seas, and for the abundant world we share with your creation.

Keep us so mindful of its needs and those of all with whom we share, that open to your Spirit we may discern and practice all that makes for its wellbeing, through Jesus Christ our Lord,

- Rev. Peter Lippiett

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STATION 15

Lord, grant us the wisdom to care for the earth and till it.

Help us to act now for the good of future generations and all your creatures.

Help us to become instruments of a new creation,

Founded on the covenant of your love.

- The Cry of the Earth

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O God, we thank you for this earth, our home; for the wide sky and the blessed sun, for the salt sea and the running water, for the everlasting hills and the never-resting winds, for trees and the common grass underfoot.

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We thank you for our senses by which we hear the songs of birds, and see the splendor of the summer fields, and taste of the autumn fruits, and rejoice in the feel of the snow, and smell the breath of the spring.

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Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty; and save our souls from being so blind that we pass unseeing when even the common thorn bush is aflame with your glory, O God our creator, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

- Walter Rauschenbusch