St Joseph’s Parish, Bonnybrook Celebrates Laudato Si Week

Margo Delaney sent us this report:

Laudato Si’ Week brought our parish together to celebrate together under the 2023 Laudato Si’ theme: “HOPE FOR THE EARTH, HOPE FOR HUMANITY”.

Recalling the memory of many of our parishioners who died during covid lockdowns, we gathered to plant a flower cherry in the church ground in their memory.

Despite all the devastation and destruction and exploitation of our earth, Easter resurrection triumphs. Our sacred space illustrates this by the symbols of new life -spring flowers, baby rabbit and fluffy ducks at the foot of the resurrection cross.

Our parish notice board invites all to participate in taking individual responsibility as well as community responses in creating “Hope for the Earth”. It reminds us that no one has to do everything. But everyone can do something.

Bringing an awareness of the need to care for and respect God’s gift of creation, the Senior Infants from our local St Joseph’s National school helped to begin a wildflower garden along the edge of the school pathway, joining in scattering the seeds, covering them lightly with soil and watering them plentifully to ensure growth during this long dry spell.

To open and close the liturgies of Laudato Si’ Week, our choir sang the Climate Song:

We need to wake up, We need to wise up, We need to build a better future, And do it now, now, now