September 15
Dear brothers and sisters, the Borgo Laudato Si’, where we now find ourselves, seeks to be, in line with the vision of Pope Francis, a kind of “laboratory” where we can experience that harmony with creation which brings healing and reconciliation, and to do so by developing new and effective ways of protecting the natural environment entrusted to our care. I want to assure all of you, who are working to realize this project, of my prayers and my encouragement.
The Eucharist we celebrate sustains and gives meaning to our work. As Pope Francis wrote, “it is in the Eucharist that all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation. Grace, which tends to manifest itself tangibly, found unsurpassable expression when God himself became man and gave himself as food for his creatures. The Lord, in the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter. He comes not from above, but from within; he comes that we might find him in this world of ours” (Laudato Si', 236). I would like to conclude these thoughts by leaving you with the words with which Saint Augustine, in the last pages of his Confessions, brought together creation and humanity in a cosmic hymn of praise: Lord, “your works praise you, that we may love you; may we love you, that your works may praise you” (XIII, 33, 48). May this be the harmony that we spread throughout the world. (Pope Leo XIV)
For the fruits of this creation, Thanks be To God; for the gifts of ev’ry nation, Thanks be to God; For the plowing, sowing, reaping, Silent growth while we are sleeping, Future needs in earth’s safekeeping, Thanks be to God.
In the just reward of labor, God’s will be Done; In the help we give our neighbor, God’s will be done; In the world-wide task of caring For the hungry and despairing, In the harvests we are sharing, God’s will be done.
For the harvests of the Spirit, Thanks be To God; For the good we all inherit, Thanks be to God. For the wonders that astound us, For the truths that will confound us, Most of all, that love has found us, Thanks be to God.
Prayer