Liturgical, Prayer and Spiritual Resources

Liturgical

• Recursos en español
• Prayers of the Faithful: by the Franciscans or by GCCM.
• Worship:
  • US Bishops Conference:
    • Resources for Liturgy
    • Resources for Preaching
    • Resources for Taking Action
    • Environmental Quotes, including Quotes from Church Teaching on Ecology
    • Caring for God’s Creation: Resources for Liturgy, Preaching, and Taking Action | en Español 
  • Sermons/homilies can help members sense the breadth of God’s compassion, one that encompasses all of creation.
  • Songs/hymns can open members to familiar feelings as well as new ways of seeing.
  • Prayers and scriptural readings can call members to deeper communion with God, each other, and the rest of creation.
  • Occasions for outdoor worship help members realize that the holy can be experienced outside of buildings too.
  • Banners and decorations in your congregation can be “icons” and symbols that serve as “windows” through which to glimpse God’s incarnate presences in the world.
  • Sacraments lie at the heart of many congregations’ sense of meaning.Special seasons and holidays offer the opportunity to incorporate creation-honoring worship into the liturgical year.  See resources for Sept. 1 – Oct. 4th at Season of Creation
• Caring for God’s Creation Resources for Liturgy, Preaching, and Taking Action – USCCB
• A Prayer for our Earth – from Laudato Si’
• A Christian Prayer in Union with Creation – from Laudato Si’
• Creation Time worship materials for Sept 1 to Oct 4 by Eco-Congregation Scotland
• Subscribe to To Inspire and Mobilize

Other Worship Materials

• Prayer & Reflection Booklet
• Rosary
  • Guided Rosary on Caring for Creation
  • Rosary Eco-Meditations
• Cards
  • Prayer cards (to print)
  • Climate postcard reflections
• Litany to the Holy Trinity, The Creator
• Stations
  • Stations of the Cross with John Paul II: On the path of Ecological Conversion
  • Creation prayer stations
• Ecological Examen
• Other Resources
  • Ecumenical Celebration guide of the Franciscans
  • Nonviolence and Earth
  • Garden Planet
  • Pure Gift

Group Resources

Faith-Sharing Group Logistics

• Starting a Small Faith-Sharing Group (from Voice of the Faithful): http://www.votf.org/Voice_of_Renewal/FaithSharingGroups.pdf
• Sharing Communion: http://youngadultcatholics-blog.com/2014/01/17/guerrilla-communion-dit-do-it-together/

Prayer/Reflection Resources

• Moment by Moment: A Retreat in Everyday Life:  by Carol Ann Smith and Eugene F. Merz: Book of 32 reflections based on the spiritual exercises. Each reflection questions that could be used for discussion in a small group setting.
• Creighton University (Jesuits) Online Ministry: daily and weekly Scripture reflections, audio talks to download, and a 34-week online retreat.
• Prayer Windows: http://www.prayerwindows.com/, resources, including a gallery, about how to pray with art, and an online retreat based on the spiritual exercises.
• Living With Christ: Monthly missal/magazine. Highlighted writers include Joyce Rupp and James Martin.  Each issue includes two guides for a faith-sharing group; there’s a PDF at the bottom of the link that includes a sample of the guide.  It’s about $25 for a year’s subscription (as of 2013).
• Sacred Space: Daily Prayer Online (Irish Jesuits), http://www.sacredspace.ie/: Daily scripture and online prayer, managed by Irish Jesuits. Available in many languages.
• Loyola Press 3-Minute Retreat: http://www.loyolapress.com/3-minute-retreats-daily-online-prayer.htm#sthash.DyAGTj9C.dpbs, short, daily, multi-media reflections online or via IPhone app. Also available in Spanish.
• CRS Operation Rice Bowl Reflections: http://resources.crs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/crs-rice-bowl-for-small-faith-sharing-groups-crs-rice-bowl-2013.pdf, reflection questions for faith-sharing groups to accompany Catholic Relief Services’ Lenten Operation Rice Bowl for solidarity with the poor.
• America Magazine “Teacher Resources”: http://americamagazine.org/issue/687/100/resources-teachers, popular articles from the magazine on a variety of topics such as social justice, the saints, and Catholicism and politics.
• Congregation of Saint Joseph Weekly Peace and Justice Reports: http://www.csjoseph.org/peaceandjusticereports.aspx, concise, one-page reports linking faith and social action on various timely topics.
• Clamor for Justice: Network Publication: http://www.networklobby.org/nep/resource/clamor, a fully bilingual publication that “brings Catholic Social Teaching to life through articles and reflection questions.”
• Reflections on Advocacy: http://www.networklobby.org/files/advocacy_quotes.pdf, a collection of quotes about faith and social justice advocacy accompanied by photographs and artwork.
• Praying With Refugees: http://www.jrsusa.org/Prayers, prayer page of Jesuit Refugee Service; scripture and reflection questions about topics relevant to their work. Online retreat also available.
• FutureChurch Magdala Market: https://xfuturechurch.merchantquest.net/store/, some free and many very affordable resource downloads about women in the church and other topics.
• Breath of the Spirit: http://www.dignityusa.org/breath, Dignity USA’s spiritual and liturgical resources by and for LGBT and allied Catholics.
• Monasteries of the Heart: https://www.monasteriesoftheheart.org/, online monasticism, spiritual nourishment, and group faith sharing managed by the Benedictine Sisters of Erie.
• Education for Justice Resources for Prayer: https://educationforjustice.org/resources-prayer, prayers, prayer services, reflections, and retreats addressing social justice issues.

The Holy Spirit is foundational to who we are as a community. It inspires and informs our work to act for justice and build inclusive communities. The Spirit’s dynamic presence embodies our quest for transformation. This is where the Spirit has called us – and continues to do so.  As we work for renewal, we’re inspired by a powerful prayer by Diarmuid O’Murchu:

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, breathe down upon our troubled world. Shake the tired foundations of our crumbling institutions. Break the rules that keep you out of all our sacred spaces,and from the dust and rubble, gather up the seedlings of a new creation.

Come, Holy Spirit, enflame once more the dying embers of our weariness. Shake us of our complacency. Whisper our names once more, and scatter your gifts of grace with wild abandon. Break open the prisons of our inner being, and let your raging justice be our sign of liberty.

Come, Holy Spirit, and lead us to places we would rather not go; expand the horizons of our limited imaginations. Awaken in our souls dangerous dreams for a new tomorrow,and rekindle in our hearts the fire of prophetic enthusiasm.

Come, Holy Spirit, whose justice outwits international conspiracy;whose light outshines spiritual bigotry, whose peace can overcome the destructive potential of warfare,whose promise invigorates our every effort to create a new heaven and a new earth, now and forever.

Empowered by the Spirit, we continue the mission entrusted to us.

Come, Holy Spirit, Come!