Each Sunday in Advent, Sr. Elizabeth Davis and her fellow Mercy sisters light a candle on their cosmic Advent wreath adorned with shells, pinecones, rocks and colorful ribbons.
The four candles symbolize the births of, in order: the universe, the solar system, Jesus Christ and, finally, “the birth of each one of us into the whole cosmic body of the universe,” said Davis, a member of Mercy International Association.
While Christmas is a celebration of God becoming incarnate through the birth of Jesus Christ, theologians consider God’s first act of incarnation to be the birth of the cosmos, inspiring some religious communities to incorporate a cosmic dimension to their seasonal reflections and celebrations. (Davis noted that her community, Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland, got the idea of a cosmic Advent wreath from the School Sisters of Notre Dame.)
The Mercy sisters are working to democratize the theological language around Christ and the cosmos through Mercy Global Presence, a program that uses art and ordinary language to examine otherwise abstract topics. The online resource for December is themed “Incarnate God in Cosmos and in Person of Jesus.”
“What’s happening now is quite a fundamental shift for ordinary sisters, men, women and children, that we’re starting to understand [the universe] in ways we couldn’t have even 10 years ago,” said Davis, who serves on the guiding team for Mercy Global Presence and as liaison with the 12 congregational leaders of Sisters of Mercy.
“That’s a fundamental shift in our theology, in our spirituality, in how and where we do ministry,” she said.
And a shift in how to think about Christmas…
Read the rest of the article in Global Sisters Report here
The Pope was expressing his appreciation for the attorneys’ commitment to developing a legal framework aimed at protecting the environment.
El Papa estaba expresando su aprecio por el compromiso de los abogados para desarrollar un marco jurídico destinado a proteger el medio ambiente.
This day is intended to encourage people to adopt behaviors that reduce their impact on the environment. It urges all humankind to take action to protect our natural resources and save plants and animals facing the threat of extinction.
ecology is often hindered by limited access to the academic publications on the subject, which are not affordable for many individuals and institutions in lower-income countries.
More than 150 countries participate in this international day, which features a different environmental focus each year – air pollution, biodiversity loss, food security, illegal wildlife trade. This year’s theme focuses on plastic pollution. More than 400 million tons of plastic is produced every year, with approximately 20 million tons ending up in lakes, rivers and oceans.
A new cosmological narrative with “Cosmos meaning all creation, the entire universe, every dimension of time and space (spiritual and material)” is one of “a global heartbeat” in “kinship as a planetary community”. In uniqueness, we are “aligned” /”in harmony”/ “in wonder”/”delight”/”bending low…play-ful” as “one with the heartbeat of God”.
Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22, seeks to highlight and promote efforts dedicated to protecting our planet and its natural resources. The theme for this year’s Earth Day, Invest in our Planet focuses on engaging governments, institutions, businesses and citizens in the work of restoring the health of our planet. We are all too aware of today’s many environmental crises that negatively affect our planet and pose a serious risk to our health and our future – global warming, deforestation, widespread pollution, loss of biodiversity, endangered wildlife, shortages of clean water, etc.