CLC Laudato Si’ Exercise. 2024 March 8
We of St Mark’s UBC CLC Two (located in Vancouver, British Columbia) wish to share this Exercise with you. This was the content in Part Two of our regular meeting. We found this Exercise meaningful and it reminded us to continue to ask ourselves what we are doing for Christ? What are we doing for CLC? What are we doing for our Common Home?
*First Week..As an assignment, members watched "The Letter " which is easily accessed online. The Letter: Hometheletterfilm.orghttps://www.theletterfilm.org
Our CLC has two time zones and many postal codes so everyone watched this movie independently.
This film records what happened when Pope Francis sent a letter(Laudato Si') to four people representing the four Apostolic Preferences with which we are familiar. The documentary showed them receiving their letters and then traveling to Rome and sharing their letters (responses) with Pope Francis. The photography and narration are exceptional in this compelling film.
*Representing the marginalized due to poverty – Arouna Kandè who is a climate refugee from Senegal
*Representing Indigenous People – Cacique Dadà who is a Land Defender from the Amazon
*Representing Youth – Ridhima Pandey who is a climate activist from India
*Representing the Natural World – Greg Asner and Robin Martin who study the coral reefs of Hawaii
Note: None of the recipients identified as being Christian.
For a brief summary of the significant messages in Laudato Si’:
Laudato Si – CRS High School Animated Brief
But watching the movie was a precursor to the assignment.
*Assignment..For the Next Meeting please prepare your response – your Letter – to the Pope’s letter Laudato Si’. This short response will be shared during our meeting (5-7 minutes per person). Please begin with the grace you seek as we learn how to Care for our Common Home.
*Next Meeting..Our sharing was personal, reflective and demonstrated the fruits of many graces. And enjoyable! Our responses were very grace endowed and we have forwarded them to Pope Francis and Archbishop Miller.
Trudy Moul wrote this about her experience with this assignment..
Drafting this letter became a deep Examen. Words did not flow easily. I asked for the grace of hope in on-going creation. This was while keeping in clear view not only the signs over my lifetime warning us that the earth may have reached the "tipping point" but also keeping in clear view the astounding new contributions of young researchers and activists alongside my own small contributions in research, education and action. For CLC people, the letters could be part of a communal discernment of ways to answer the plea to care for our common home.
CLC St Mark’s Two are happy to share our experience responding to Laudato Si’.
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