Some suggestions to celebrate Earth Day
On the occasion of Earth Day, which will be celebrated on April 22, we invite you to take a contemplative walk as a moment of encounter with God through creation. The nature that surrounds us is not merely an environment to be observed, but a gift to be embraced, as a sign of God’s presence and His love.
In a fast-paced world, stopping becomes a precious gesture. Walking slowly and mindfully then becomes a way to pray, to listen, and to recognize, in every detail, the beauty of God’s work. In the silence, in the sounds, in the colors, we can rediscover a living relationship with Him and allow a deep sense of gratitude to arise in our hearts.
This leaflet is meant to accompany you in a simple yet meaningful experience: a time to pause, contemplate, and thank God for the gift of the Earth, entrusting yourself to Him with trust and gratitude.
How to Experience a Contemplative Walk
1. Observe
Walk slowly and let your gaze rest on the small things: the light filtering through the trees, the colors of the flowers, the details often overlooked in the rush of daily life. Contemplate creation as God’s work, recognizing in every detail a sign of His wisdom and beauty. Don’t rush: stop when something catches your eye and welcome it with wonder.
2. Listen
Open your heart and ears to the sounds around you: the wind, the birds, footsteps on the ground. In the silence, try to listen within yourself as well. This is a time for deep listening, when you can sense the presence of God speaking gently. Make room for whatever emerges, without judging.
3. Give thanks
Conclude each stretch of the journey with a gesture of gratitude. It can be a simple prayer, a word, or even just a thought directed toward God. Thank Him for the beauty you have seen, for the life that surrounds you, and for the gift of this moment. Gratitude transforms our gaze and helps us recognize everything as a grace received.
For Vespers:
To bring what we have experienced into our communal prayer, during Vespers, after the short reading, we can:
- read this excerpt from “Laudato Si’” (n. 233–234):
The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face. The ideal is not only to pass from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the soul, but also to discover God in all things. Saint Bonaventure teaches us that “contemplation deepens the more we feel the working of God’s grace within our hearts, and the better we learn to encounter God in creatures outside ourselves”. Saint John of the Cross taught that all the goodness present in the realities and experiences of this world “is present in God eminently and infinitely, or more properly, in each of these sublime realities is God”. This is not because the finite things of this world are really divine, but because the mystic experiences the intimate connection between God and all beings, and thus feels that “all things are God”. Standing awestruck before a mountain, he or she cannot separate this experience from God, and perceives that the interior awe being lived has to be entrusted to the Lord: “Mountains have heights and they are plentiful, vast, beautiful, graceful, bright and fragrant. These mountains are what my Beloved is to me. Lonely valleys are quiet, pleasant, cool, shady and flowing with fresh water; in the variety of their groves and in the sweet song of the birds, they afford abundant recreation and delight to the senses, and in their solitude and silence, they refresh us and give rest. These valleys are what my Beloved is to me”.
- Pray the following intercessions for Vespers:
Intercessions
Brothers and sisters, let us lift up our prayers to God the Father,
with contemplative and grateful hearts, and say:
R. Grant us, Lord, a gaze that contemplates your beauty on earth.
- For the Church, that, following the example of Saint Francis, she may recognize in every creature a reflection of your beauty and invite all people to praise you and care for creation, let us pray.
- For the world, often distracted and hurried, that it may rediscover the preciousness of pausing, of silence, and of listening, and learn to place You at the center of life, recognizing You as Lord and us as the work of Your hands, let us pray.
- For all of us, that as we walk in nature we may learn to contemplate You in Your works, humbly acknowledging that we are creatures loved and cared for by You, let us pray.
- That our hearts may open to gratitude, able to praise You for the gift of the Earth, for every creature, and for the life we continually receive from Your hands, let us pray.
A symbolic gesture
Each person places a seed or a leaf before the altar to symbolically offer themselves as a seed for a world of justice, peace, and care for creation.