A prayer for our earth

Pope Francis, in memoriam

Author

Brad Johnson
April 22, 2025

PRESENTED BY THE CRY OF THE EARTH AND THE CRY OF THE POOR
Washington DC, September 24, 2015. Around three thousand climate justice activists mainly affiliated with corporatist environmental groups participated in a rally with speeches and musical performances in support of Pope Francis, who was expressing his views to the good for nothing U.S. Congress about a host of important issues including climate change, immigration rights, the obscene worldwide arms trade and the death penalty. Speaker John Boehner wept and old dirty bastard Mitch McConnell refused to stand up in agreement with the Pope's admonition to follow the Golden Rule.

A crowd of climate activists watches on the Mall as Pope Francis addresses Congress on September 24, 2015. Credit: Stephen Melkisethian

Pope Francis, who died this week at the age of 88, wrote the landmark ecological work Laudato si' ten years ago. In it, the pope challenged the world’s rich and powerful to “hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” 

The encyclical’s title (“Praise be to you”) comes from Saint Francis of Assisi’s canticle: «Laudato si’, mi’ Signore, per sora nostra matre Terra, la quale ne sustenta et governa, et produce diversi fructi con coloriti flori et herba».1

Laudato si’ concludes with A prayer for our earth:

❝

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.

May it be so.

Prior to today I’d only seen one warbler species yet this year, but the mountains of Southern Ohio are loaded right now (saw 10 species, heard 3 more). No great photo opportunities but amazing to see and hear so many. Hold in there northern/central Ohio, they’re almost here! 🪶

— SK Winnicki, PhD 🏳️‍⚧️ (@skwinnicki.bsky.social)2025-04-19T20:03:25.396Z

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1  “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.”

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