Earth Day was celebrated on April 22

Posted on 18. Apr, 2012 by admin.

From our Friend Sister Donna Graham, OSF and St. John the Baptist Province, some Earth Day tips and suggestions (let’s make everyday Earth Day!)

Earth Day
St. John the Baptist Province NewsNotes
By Donna Graham, OSF

Green Burial:  There is a movement afoot to return to the “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” burial practices of our ancestors, which are more in tune with both nature and our Catholic faith. Instead of filling bodies with toxic chemicals and encasing them in metal caskets and concrete vaults, bodies can be buried simply in a shroud or a wooden or biodegradable casket and allowed to undergo the process that nature intended for all matter. While there are no state laws prohibiting green burials, it is often difficult to find a cemetery or mortuary that will accommodate them. The movement, however, is growing. The cost of traditional burial is high, both for families ($10,000 on average) and the environment. Green burials protect the health of mortuary workers, conserve natural resources, reduce carbon emissions and preserve natural habitats. To preserve their highly manicured appearance conventional cemeteries use tremendous amounts of water, fuel, pesticides and fertilizer. With green burials, cemeteries can preserve the land in a more natural state. Who wouldn’t prefer to be buried under a tree, surrounded by flowers and greenery, with all kinds of creatures enjoying the natural area? Families can still have a traditional wake with a green burial. The body can be kept on dry ice or embalmed with non-toxic fluids. Check with the Green Burial Council for approved “green” providers and additional information. http://www.greenburialcouncil.org

Protecting Animals:   Animals are often the forgotten victims of poor environmental choices. Fortunately, organizations who advocate for environmental polices that protect animals and their natural habitat are meeting with some success. For example, about 30 years ago whales were significantly depleted in numbers due to commercial whaling. That was outlawed in the 1980’s, and the whale population has been recovering at a slow and steady pace ever since. Today whales are exposed to underwater noise pollution thanks to shipping, seismic testing for oil exploration, marine construction and military activities. The noise can interfere with navigating, finding food, avoiding predators, etc. Various efforts are in the works to promote international standards that protect whales from these dangers. Another endangered animal is the Amur leopard.  Only 40 are thought to remain in Russia and China. So the World Wildlife Fund recently established a new national park in Russia, which includes about 60 % of the endangered cat’s remaining habitat, providing a safe haven for them to increase in number. The giant panda has also been endangered by loss of its habitat in China due to development and poaching. The Chinese government has been successful in protecting more than 60% of the panda population by establishing over 50 panda reserves on more than 45% of the panda’s remaining habitat. Want to know what your “inner animal” is? Find out at https://secure.worldwildlife.org/inner-animal/inner-animal.html

Decrease Global Warming:  While there are signs of hope this Earth Day, we still face a number of challenges. There were more than 100 tornados in 24 hours in the Midwest this past weekend, tossing vehicles, ripping through homes, destroying lives. Six people died. This month is already the most active April for tornadoes in U.S. history! Wildfires in Texas have burned more of America so far this year than at any time before. States in the southwest are drier than ever before while the Midwest has seen record rainfalls and snowfalls. The arctic has melted for the first time in thousands of years, releasing carbon held in the ice into the atmosphere. Severe weather events were predicted to occur as a result of global warming. Now they are here. As we continue to send carbon into the air by burning fossil fuels, the air is becoming warmer. And warm air holds more moisture. But each of us can help slow the global warming process by decreasing our carbon contribution, or carbon footprint. 1) Use less energy: lower the heat; raise the cooling temperature; turn off electrical appliances at the power source; use CFL light bulbs. 2) Decrease our use of oil: drive less; buy fuel efficient cars; limit our use of plastic; recycle the plastic we do use; buy food and products produced locally. 3) Promote alternative energy like wind and solar. Check out your ecological footprint and changes you can make to decrease it at http://www.earthday.org/footprint-calculator.

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A New Use for Plastic Bottles – Br. Tim Arthur ofm

Posted on 03. Apr, 2012 by admin.

Thanks to Br. Tim for sending this along!!

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The Birds Preach Back – Fr. Daniel Barica ofm

Posted on 10. Feb, 2012 by admin.

Our brother Daniel Barica shares the fruit of his contemplative time spent with the birds. As he points out at the end of the article, St. Francis gave loving attention to the birds and they responded. To the eyes of faith, their response was a call to mission. In the meantime, the birds have lessons to teach to those willing to sit patiently in the outdoor “classroom”.

Northern Cardinal

One of the most popular images of St. Francis comes from Chapter 16 of an early collection of tales known as the Fioretti, or The Little Flowers of St. Francis. The story depicts how St. Francis preached to the birds while on a journey with Brother Masseo and Brother Angelo between the Italian towns of Cannara and Bevagna.

The most famous visual interpretation of that story was created as part in a series of frescoes painted by Giotto in 1297, illustrating the life of St. Francis and stretched out along the walls of the upper Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi. The story is also immortalized inside the church of San Francecso in Bevagna, Umbria (about two to three kilometers from Assisi), in the form of a large stone believed to be the pedestal from which St. Francis gave his notorious homily. [...]

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Third Continental Meeting of JPIC, Quito, Ecuador

Posted on 27. Dec, 2011 by admin.

In November Martin Ibarra represented the St. Barbara Province in Quito Equador at the Third Continental Meeting of JPIC of the Americas. The week after the meeting, Martin spoke to the Province JPIC Council and communicated the passion behind the meeting’s theme: “Praised be My Lord for Sister Mother Earth with all her Creatures.”  The Amazon Project figures in several of the meeting’s recommendations.  The first section of the meeting’s final document is printed below.

For the full document, click here.

For a brochure about the Amazon Project, click here.

For a full description of the Amazon Project, click here.  

For more photos (thank you Fr. Joseph Rozansky, ofm), click here.

 

 

FINAL DOCUMENT OF THE MEETING

ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND THE CHALLENGE OF THE AMAZON

The Third Continental Meeting of JPIC of the Americas met in Quito, Ecuador, at Bethany House of the Ecuadoran Episcopal Conference, from 1 to 4 November 2011.  Seventy-nine friars, Sisters and Secular Franciscans, and representatives of other institutions of the Franciscan family, such as Franciscans International, were welcomed by the Province of St. Francis of Assisi of Quito.  This meeting was convoked by the Executive Council of UCLAF and the Office of JPIC in Rome.

The meeting was guided and accompanied by religious who have inserted themselves among the peoples of Amazonia and by experts in environmental justice, global warming and theology. Those gathered participated in a series of conferences which awakened the Franciscan conscience regarding the themes of justice, peace and the integrity of creation, offering a spiritual orientation according to the Franciscan charism, the General Constitutions and other documents of the Order of Friars Minor.

Objectives of the meeting:

-       Deepen our reflection on the theme of Environmental Justice.

-       Raise awareness of the importance of the Amazon in the context of the current ecological crisis.

-       Take up the new challenges offered by the Amazon for our evangelizing mission.

-       Add our JPIC contribution to the Amazon project.

-       Form and animate those responsible for JPIC in the values and activities of this service.

[...]

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Notre Dame signs St. Francis Pledge

Posted on 22. Dec, 2011 by admin.

Good News From the University of Notre Dame - Office of Sustainability

Fr. John Jenkins signed the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor November 30, 2011, making Notre Dame a partner in a national movement to respond to Pope Benedict’s and the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ call for faithful action on climate change.

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