[5 MIN READ]
In this article:
- The Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation, deeply rooted in Laudato Si’ and honoring the legacy of St. Francis of Assisi, reflect our commitment to environmental stewardship.
- Learn an easy way to take your own pilgrimage at home or in a nearby park.
- Reflect on the interconnectedness between the health of people and our planet.
Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation: A call to heal our home
As summer slipped into fall, so began the Season of Creation, a time in which Catholics were called upon to reflect on the sacred relationship between God, humanity and Earth through prayer and environmental stewardship.
Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation began on September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ended on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. These pilgrimages were deeply rooted in the Laudato Si’, a 2015 encyclical in which Pope Francis called for action, advocacy and “integral ecology,” recognizing the connections between people, the planet and God.
In the Catholic faith, a jubilee year is a time of renewal and forgiveness. The theme of Jubilee 2025 is “Pilgrims of Hope.”
“Hope is something we need a lot of right now,” says Sister Sara Tarango, a Sister of St. Joseph of Orange and environmental stewardship liaison in Southern California for Providence. “This year, each one of us is called to be a Pilgrim of Hope.”
Embodying the teachings of Laudato Si’ and honoring the legacy of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology, these pilgrimages were a nationwide initiative launched by environmental advocacy groups and a coalition of Catholic organizations. At Providence, participating in pilgrimages with a focus on creation allows us to embrace the values of Laudato Si’ and St. Francis of Assisi while living out our commitment to environmental stewardship as an expression of faith, justice and healing.
‘Enter into the gift that is God’s creation’
“Pilgrimages have been a part of many faith traditions,” says Sister Sara. “You don’t necessarily have to walk great distances – it’s about turning inwards and a time of deep, spiritual reflection.”
In mid-September, Sister Sara attended Creation Camino, a pilgrimage at the Oak Canyon Nature Center in Anaheim, California.
“Midway through our walk, we participated in a breathing exercise and sensory reflection, where we paused to engage each of our senses in this woodland environment,” Sister Sara says. “The whole experience was grounding for me. I was able to break away from life’s busyness for a few hours and enter into the gift that is God’s creation. It was a time to focus on what’s beautiful in this world and deepen my relationship with God’s creation. I felt calm and at peace.”
The importance of environmental stewardship as a Catholic health care ministry
As a Catholic health care ministry, we are called to care for the whole person (body, mind and spirit), our resources and our Earth. The Sisters of Providence asked us to be a model of good stewardship. In turn, we created the Providence Center for Environmental Stewardship because we know that environmental issues are public health issues. Pollution, climate change and toxic exposures disproportionately affect vulnerable communities.
Our environmental stewardship work, including reducing plastic use, advancing green cleaning and utilizing renewable energy resources, directly supports the goals of Laudato Si’ and the Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation and helps us live out our mission and values in solidarity with the broader Catholic community.
Sister Sara frequently talks to Providence caregivers about the interconnectedness between environmental stewardship and our mission: “As expression of God’s healing love, witnessed through the ministry of Jesus, we are steadfast in serving all, especially those who are poor and vulnerable.” In doing so, she asks caregivers to think about our mission’s final phrase and consider expanding its definition.
“Our air, water, soil and trees – are those vulnerable populations?” she asks. “Are they doing poorly right now? Yes.”
As humans, we’re sometimes anthropocentric in our thinking, Sister Sara says. With that in mind, she asks us to consider the first chapter of John where it says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
“Who is us?” she asks.
Sister Sara invites us to consider “us” as all of creation.
“The health of our world, the health of our environment and human health are interconnected,” Sister Sara says. “If one is doing poorly, the other is doing poorly. If we don’t lift up creation, how are we going to lift up humankind? They must be healed together.”
WE ACT – and so can you
At Providence, we developed the WE ACT framework as a way to track and report key reduction targets. In Sister Sara’s monthly reflections, Heartwiring with Sr. Sara, she notes that environmental stewardship work often celebrates our actions. But it can be helpful, she says, to sometimes “pause and turn back to the heart of the matter, reminding us of what’s at stake – our common home.”
In these reflections, Sister Sara regularly advocates for more time in nature and offers resources such as terra divina (sacred Earth). Here, she shares how you can practice terra divina while on a pilgrimage of your own:
“I encourage you to write these steps on a piece of paper. The next time you visit a park, spend some time in your backyard, or go for a hike, pull out the piece of paper and enjoy the experience,” Sister Sara says. “To begin, become present in the moment and with the place where you are in nature. Begin to wander, taking in your surroundings with all of your senses – seeing, smelling, feeling, hearing and tasting.”
Allow yourself to focus on something you see.
“It could be something as large as the whole sky, or something very small, like sporophytes on a clump of moss,” she says. “Whatever it is, spend some time with this other. Get close to it. What does it look like? Feel like? What is it doing? How does it interact with what is around it? What might it have to say? Then, respond to the other. You could speak or sing to it. Mirror it. Say a prayer or write in a journal. And finally, offer your gratitude, and let it go.”
Our ancestors used to spend more time in creation. Spending less time in creation affects our relationship with creation, Sister Sara says.
“If you want to have a relationship with somebody or something, you have to spend time with it.”
At Providence, we encourage all people to take a pilgrimage and reflect on our planet, our place within it, and how we intend to care for all of creation, today and tomorrow.
Contributing caregiver
Sister Sara Tarango is a Sister of St. Joseph of Orange and environmental stewardship liaison in Southern California for Providence.
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Related resources
Spiritual care in times of climate change
Greener cleaning: A healthier way to care
Reducing plastic use in health care
This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your health care professional’s instructions.
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