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 recognise 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. (Pope Francis, Laudato Si’)
It’s our mess, God: A world full of toxic waste, a world of plastic
that consumes our everyday living, like a drug that has possessed us.
Creating God, help us to take better care of this wonderful planet we call home.
Teach us how to respect and be mindful of the gifts that you give, gifts that sustain our lives and the lives of others.
Enable us to understand the need to protect our fragile eco-systems that maintain the rhythm of life.
Empower us to become less reliant on plastic.
Let us pray for generations yet to come.
Let us begin today to reverse the effects of climate change for their sake.
Let us model our approach to recycling on your grace which regards no gift as trivial and no person as redundant.
Recycle our faith with new vigour and purpose.
Recycle our hope with conviction that things can change.
Recycle our love so that there is justice for all living things.
Amen