May 10 FFE Eco-Series Prayer Service: “Way of Beauty (Stations of Creation)”

Join us May 10th as we pray, The Way of Beauty, written by Fr. Gilbert Choondal, SDB, based on the Stations of the Cross

Please join the Franciscan Sisters on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 7pm via Zoom for a Franciscans For Earth Eco-Series Prayer Service. We will join together to pray, The Way of Beauty (Stations of Creation), with text by Father Gilbert Choondal, SDB, of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), and illustrations by Mrs. Tresa Tony of Bangalore, both in India. This meditation is based on the Stations of the Cross and is described by the author as “the fruit of Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Laudato Si’.

According to the website, Father Gilbert has gifted the Church with yet another series of the Stations, Stations of Creation, which is a reflective, prayerful, and practical devotional expression to bring to life the teachings of Pope Francis in Laudato Si’.

The fourteen Stations of Creation, following the pattern of the Stations of the cross, are considerations on creation taken from the Old and New Testament with appropriate biblical passages followed by suitable texts from Laudato Si’. “The entire Stations of Creation is a journey from the beginning of Creation (Genesis) till the end of our World (Revelation). It is basically a journey with the Word of God in the history of Salvation” says Fr. Gilbert.

The Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has appreciated the Stations of Creation as part of popular devotion for the people of God encouraged the use of it in the 5th anniversary year of Laudato Si.’ The text of this Way of Beauty is posted on the official website of Season of Creation.

We invite you to create a contemplative setting for the prayer service by placing a live plant on one side of your screen, and a small bowl of soil on the other. These symbols represent life and death in creation.

One singular theme from Laudato Si’ is repeatedly proclaimed —  “Everything is connected” God, Nature and Humanity. “One cannot separate ecology from economics, or economics from ethics, or ethics from politics” reflects Fr. Gilbert. This interconnectivity of everything and everyone in creation cannot and must not allow “the careless habits of mind and heart that allow us to pollute and waste also allow us to treat other human beings as disposable”. Stations of Creation is the prayer crying out to God for caring for creation. Thus, despite the horrible atrocities committed on earth, our only home, there is hope for humanity. The Stations of Creation try to fan that spark of hope into a flame.

The first Seven Stations are from the Old Testament and the subsequent Seven Stations are from the New testament. Thus, the entire Stations of Creation is a journey from the beginning of Creation (Genesis) till the end of our World / Revelation / Second Coming. Fr. Choondal has already authored earlier, Stations of Mercy – 14 Stations based on the spiritual and corporal works of mercy in the life of Jesus (2016) and Stations of Family – life of Jesus according to the Gospels in 14 Stations (2017). Presently, Fr. Gilbert Choondal is the director of “Nitika Don Bosco Catechetical Centre”, Kolkata established in 1977.

This Zoom prayer service is presented courtesy of the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help as part of their ongoing ministry to Care for Creation. It will be provided for free, and all are welcome. Scroll down to begin the registration process today. Upon registration, you will receive an email response that contains a Zoom link. Please save and flag/star this email so you can find that link to log in on the evening of May 10th at 6:45 pm (the presentation begins at 7, but we ask everyone to log in at 6:45 in case there are difficulties). We will attempt to send reminders one day and one hour before the event that will also contain the link, but they seem to be inconsistent in delivery.