Bulletin Boards

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI5I5g0M9sc

    April Eco-Challenge   Please reflect on the following quotes from a text from Sadlier Religion BLOC, following an interview with Cardinal Parolin on the Climate Conference 2025 in Brazil.  We will then put these words into an action across the Congregation. “Our call to care for creation is unceasing, and we as disciples should look for opportunities that will help us recommit our efforts to taking better care of our earth and all the people who live on it.”   April 22 is Earth Day.  The celebration of Earth Day gives Catholics the opportunity to converse in our community about our responsibility to care for God’s creation.  Our call to care for creation is relentless, and we as disciples can use Earth Day to recommit our efforts to better care for our planet and all the people who live on it.   CDP Action To live out of our Directional Statement “to care for all creation” and to be disciples, let us plant something:  a flower, a vegetable, a small tree sapling to give witness to our hope and care for creation.  You may be able to do this in large community settings, or even in small convents and apartments.  In order to share our actions across the Congregation, we are asking you to take a photo of your planting and send it to: bmcmullen@cdpsisters.org We hope to share these photos on our CDP congregational website, Facebook page, and in Global Connections.    Prayer Provident God, be with us as we heed the call to care for creation unceasingly.  Help us to be witnesses of our care to others and bring hope and healing to our environment.  We pray this in the name of our Blessed Trinity, Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.  Amen.

image: World Water Day - Background | United Nations   World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993, is an annual United Nations Observance. UN-Water, the UN’s inter-agency coordination mechanism on water and sanitation, sets the theme and coordinates a Task Force which develops the global campaign.   Background  What is World Water Day? World Water Day celebrates water and inspires action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.   Why is this year’s focus on water and gender equality? Women and girls are disproportionately affected by water-related challenges due to entrenched gender roles, inadequate infrastructure, underrepresentation, limited funding, restrictive social norms and systemic inequalities. The 2026 World Water Day campaign calls for a transformative, rights-based approach where women have equal voice, leadership, and opportunities in water decision-making – making water a force for a healthier, more prosperous, gender-equal future that will benefit us all. (Download the Factsheet to learn more.)   Why do we need to take action on water? Access to safe water is a human right, yet 2.1 billion people still live without safely managed drinking water services, with devastating impacts for their lives and wider society. A well-managed water cycle underpins the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and is essential for action on climate change.   What is the UN doing to accelerate progress? The UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation is a commitment by the UN and our partners to unify and maximize support – technical and financial – to help countries make faster and greater progress. The Strategy’s Collaborative Implementation Plan sets out how UN entities and partners will work together to achieve more rapid and impactful results.   What happens on World Water Day? In the lead-up to 22 March, people and organizations host World Water Day events and promote the theme through communications, advocacy and social media. The UN World Water Development Report is released, focusing on the same topic as the campaign and recommending policy direction to decision makers. The campaign – #WorldWaterDay – reaches a global online audience of billions and engages thousands of people in conversation and debate, raising awareness and informing decision-making across the world.

image: World Water Day Events - Planet Water Foundation     March Eco-Challenge: "Water of Life, Breath of Poverty" March 22nd is World Water Day. The theme for World Water Day 2026 is “We should conserve water to protect our planet.”   Dear Sisters, as spring awakens in March, we focus our hearts on "Water"—the precious gift from God. Let us care for our common home and embrace the spirit of religious poverty through small acts of temperance in our daily lives.   📍 [Scripture for Meditation] "Give me a drink." (John 4:7) : Jesus’ thirst at Jacob’s well is the thirst of our Earth today, which is suffering from pollution and drought.   ✅ [Action Items for March] Use a Cup and Basin (Conserving Water) Instead of letting the water run, use a cup when brushing your teeth and a basin for washing dishes. Use only as much as you truly need. Religious Value: Practicing 'Simplicity' by possessing and using only what is necessary. Reduce Shower Time by 2 Minutes (Joy of Sacrifice) Shortening your shower by just two minutes saves hundreds of liters of water each month.   Religious Value: An act of 'Sacrifice' for the Earth and our suffering neighbors by giving up a bit of personal comfort. Reduce Water Pollution (Using Less) Try to use half the amount of detergent or shampoo. Use rice water or natural loofah sponges for cleaning.   Religious Value: An attitude of 'Spiritual Purity,' keeping even the invisible parts of creation clean. Use Personal Tumblers (Reducing Plastic Bottles) Use a personal tumbler instead of purchasing water in disposable plastic bottles. Religious Value: A 'Responsibility' to protect God’s creation and reject the "throwaway culture."   🌟 [Prayer Challenge] Every time you use water (washing your face or taking a drink), offer a short aspiration: "Lord, Giver of Living Water, may my life be as simple and pure as a clear stream."   💡 A Small Note for the Sisters: "Just as small droplets gather to form a great river, may our humble actions flow together to become a wave of honest renewal as we journey toward our 2026 General Chapter."  

image: Hands World Map - Free photo on Pixabay    A Prayer for Our Earth By Pope Francis 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 gainat 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. Amen.   Pope Francis published this prayer in Laudato Sí and it is meant for sharing with all who believe in our Creator God. Let us use this prayer to meditate on Pope Francis’ words and to experience a deep relationship as we pray to God our Creator. Let us experience our relationship as we are part of God’s creation. Let us pray to our Provident God of the poor and of our broken world. Let us pray for justice, love and peace and let us practice this every day now for each other and for our world.

  January 2026                                                            Laudato Si Commission   CDP ENVIRONMENT REFLECTION QUESTIONS   How am I in relationship with God, my neighbor, and the earth? Are my relationships healthy or broken? Read Matthew 6:26. What am I doing to share the gift of creation with others, especially the poor, and with future generations? Everything is related, and we human beings are united as both.      

Image:  Pixabay   Eco Challenge for December, 2025   CDP Environment Day Prayer Creator of Life, at Your world, the Earth brought forth plants yielding seed and trees of every kind bearing fruit. The rivers, mountains, minerals, seas and forest And throughout time the Earth has sustained life. In your Wisdom, you granted a Sabbath. But these days our living pushes the planet beyond its limits. During this Season of Creation, we ask you to grant us courage to observe a Sabbath for our planet. Strengthen us with the faith to trust in your providence. Inspire us with the creativity to share what we have been given. Teach us to be satisfied with enough. And as we proclaim a Jubilee for the Earth, send Your Holy Spirit to renew the face of creation.  Amen.   CDP Environment Day Reflection Questions   “The created things of this world...as part of the universe, called into being by one Father, all of us are linked by unseen bonds and together form a kind of universal family...“ LS #89   Recalling that God's community is linked by unseen bonds and together form a kind of universal family, I Am a being who follows and practices God's will. Recognizes that all humans possess dignity and are equal to one another. Take time to deeply reflect on the fact that, as a member of God's created community, I am responsible for respecting and caring for other creatures.      

  CDP Environment Day Prayer   Creator of Life, at Your world, the Earth brought forth plants yielding seed and trees of every kind bearing fruit. The rivers, mountains, minerals, seas and forests… And throughout time the Earth has sustained life… In your Wisdoms, you granted a Sabbath… But these days our living pushes the planet beyond its limits… During this Season of Creation, we ask you to grant us courage to observe a Sabbath for our planet. Strengthen us with the faith to trust in your province. Inspire us with the creativity to share what we have been given. Teach us to be satisfied with enough. And as we proclaim a Jubilee for the Earth, send Your Holy Spirit to renew the face of creation.  Amen.     CDP Environment Day Reflection Question   Are we always aware that we should be grateful to the Animals as our fellow creatures for what they give us and what they are to us? Do we treat them responsibly and carefully, according to God’s creative will? For example: Bees give us their honey Chickens give us their eggs Cows give us milk and meat Dogs and cats are our friends Dogs are trained to help the blind, sick, disabled and as search dogs Horses and oxen pull carts

  CDP Environment Day Prayer   Creator of Life, at Your world, the Earth brought forth plants yielding seed and trees of every kind bearing fruit. The rivers, mountains, minerals, seas and forests… And throughout time the Earth has sustained life… In your Wisdoms, you granted a Sabbath… But these days our living pushes the planet beyond its limits… During this Season of Creation, we ask you to grant us courage to observe a Sabbath for our planet. Strengthen us with the faith to trust in your province. Inspire us with the creativity to share what we have been given. Teach us to be satisfied with enough. And as we proclaim a Jubilee for the Earth, send Your Holy Spirit to renew the face of creation.  Amen.     CDP Environment Day Reflection Question   As Sisters of Divine Providence, how can I/we better live in communion with the environment?       

photo: https://pixabay.com/     Reflection/Quotes "We must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God's image and given dominion over the Earth, justifies absolute domination over other creatures." ~ Pope Francis "He who is kind to animals, heaven will protect." ~ Attributed to Gautama Buddha  "We know we cannot be kind to animals until we stop exploiting them -- exploiting animals in the name of science, exploiting animals in the name of sport, exploiting animals in the name of fashion, and yes, exploiting animals in the name of food." ~ Cesar Chavez   Eco-Challenge Each day this month, take a moment to thank God for all creatures great and small and consider how our lives have been and continue to be enriched by the lives of animals.   Facts/Education  "It is not enough, however, to think of different species merely as potential 'resources' to be exploited, while overlooking the fact that they have value in themselves." ~ Laudato Si, paragraph 33.  How often do we walk through nature counting blessings in terms of what they can do for us? The bees as pollinators, the trees as timber, the water as our nourishment. Yet this quote reminds us that each swallow dancing on the breeze, each humble blade of grass, carries a divine dignity that transcends all human purpose.  This shift of perspective is nothing less than a conversion of heart. When we recognize that the sparrow exists not for our sake but for God's delight, we begin to participate in the Creator's own perspective. We move from masters to companions in creation's grand symphony.  ~ Claude Sonnet