April 22, 2025 - Earthday Blessings! The Earth is Full of God’s Goodness

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

Scripture Readings

The Easter season is in full bloom after the octave of celebrating the Good News of New Life in Jesus’ Resurrection. Easter season flowers including lilies, tulips and pastel shades, and springtime signs of new life—eggs, chicks, bunnies, greening, woodland native wildflowers and warmer weather are all part of what we appreciate in our Eastertide.  As the psalmist (psalm 33) proclaims: The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. In today’s gospel reading, the Risen Jesus appears as a gardener to grieving Mary Magdalene who finds the empty tomb and is in search of Jesus.  It is also time for us to search for Jesus in new ways, to recognize his ongoing call to us and feel his comforting care with us.

On Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, we were greeted with the news of Pope Francis entering eternal life, and tributes characterize his humility and pastoral attentiveness, and deep care for our Common Home - our planet earth and especially all disadvantaged people - those forced into migration because of violence and environmental pollution/climate warming and the economically poor. 

We can honor Pope Francis’ legacy by our actions, as we join the global celebration of Earth Day today(April 22) https://earthday.org. The 2025 theme of “Our Power, Our Planet, is calling for everyone to unite around renewable energy so we can triple clean electricity by 2030.  To help mobilize Catholics to achieve this, Pope Francis’ created the Laudato si Action Plan https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/ inviting all of us to be involved in doing our part to Care for Our Common Home - planet and people.  Catholic Climate covenant has some wonderful resources that can be used anytime to help us be Christ’s Light for the World. https://catholicclimatecovenant.org/programs/earth-day/

Prayer Suggestions:  

  • Take time to read and pray with Pope Francis’ inspiring and challenging encyclical  Laudato si - (Praised be) - On the Care of our Common Home, that has been appreciated by people of faith and good will throughout the world.  https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

    • Reflect on what next action steps you can take to respond to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, and the cry of youth today.  

  • Take time each day to encounter our Risen Christ in Creation’s goodness that so fills the earth.Take a prayerful walk, stop to admire beauty, smell the flowers, listen to the birdsongs, observe the insects.  Give thanks to God for the renewal of life. 

—Sr. Leanne Jablonski, FMI