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The Grammar of Animacy

In Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer uses the phrase "the grammar of animacy" as she points out that in her ancestral language, Potawatomi, " we use the same words to address the living world as we use for our family. Because they are our family.... [R]ocks are animate, as are mountains and water and fire and places....Isn't this just what it means, to be, to have the breath of life within, to be the offspring of Creation?"

A river, an insect, a flower, is not a "what" but a "who".

"The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects."--Thomas Berry

"Francis had a unique ability to call others—animals, planets, and elements —“brother” and “sister” because he himself was a little brother. He granted other beings and things mutuality, subjectivity, “personhood,” and dignity because he first honored his own dignity as a son of God."--Richard Rohr

"The Spirit of Life dwells in every living creature and calls us to enter into relationship with him." (Laudato Si', 88)

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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#laudato si #st. francis of assisi #richard rohr #Robin Wall kimmerer #Thomas berry

It's not going to get better

"Ravenous fires. Searing heat waves. Freakish storms. The summer of 2026 has already shattered meteorological records in several European countries. On a continent that has weathered centuries of upheaval... it is the weather itself that now has Europe feeling close to a breaking point.

“2026 is just the beginning,” Professor [Johan] Rockström added. “It will inevitably get worse. It will get worse and worse and worse to the point where, I’m afraid, we’ll be passing the limits of adaptation.”

"Yet for all the urgency, Europe’s commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions — a goal that scientists say is the only conclusive way to curb climate change — is in danger of being watered down. This month, the European Union proposed to adjust rules so that some industries could pollute at slightly higher levels, further into the future."

nytimes.com/2026/07/29/world/europe/summer-heat-wave-fires-climate-change.html?searchResultPosition=1

"If up to now we could have heat waves several times a year, what will happen if the global temperature increases by 1.5° C, which we are approaching? Those heat waves will be much more frequent and with greater intensity." (Pope Francis, Laudate Deum, 5)

Not sure what to make of the stigmata.

Bluegrass fans (or not): Listen to Billy Strings sing "Watch It Fall."

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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#laudato si #pope francis #Wildfires #climate change #Youtube

Why Is Canada Burning?

It's not just Canada.

In the year 2026 (first seven months!), there have been wildfires in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming....Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, the U.K....Australia, Japan.

Many of us in the Northeast and Midwest didn't pay much attention until we had to breathe the smoke.

And the Canadian wildfires have nothing to do with "forest management"--an impossibility in the vast and remote sections of that country. They have everything to do with the high temperatures and low humidity that have set in due to climate change set in motion by fossil fuel emissions.

"Is it realistic to hope that those who are obsessed with maximizing profits will stop to reflect on the environmental damage which they will leave behind for future generations?" (Pope Francis, Laudato Si', 190)

"Breathe the air now, children, breathe it now with me...and the world will last forever and a day." (from Tom Chapin's "Walk the World Now, Children")

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Monarda

One of the most encouraging developments we've seen in recent years is the movement toward replacing ecologically sterile plantings, such as lawn grass and garden-store annuals, with native perennial flowers that give a boost to our insect and avian wildlife. Now it is mid-July, and the bees are enjoying themselves on echinacea (coneflowers), rudbeckia (black-eyed Susans), and monarda (beebalm).

"Everything is connected." (Pope Francis, Laudato Si')

It's the feast day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha! Visit the website of the St. Kateri Conservation Center at www.kateri.org.

Welcome to our new Parish Arks program! https://www.kateri.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Parish-Arks-Coming-Soon-Marker-2023-9-9-Facebook-P

#laudato si #pope francis #pollinators

Shifting Baseline Syndrome

Let's go back to 1950. OK, too far back. Some of you were not around. Try 1970, or whatever date in your childhood you want to choose.

How many insects did we commonly see?

How many species of birds?

How much snow fell in the winter?

What temperatures, and how many days, constituted a heat wave?

Considerable changes have taken place in climate and biodiversity over the last 50 years. But we have pretty much forgotten what was the "old normal" and replaced it with the "new normal". And what was "normal" back then was not normal in previous times.

"'Shifting baseline' describes a gradual change in our accepted norms and expectations for the environment across generations. Our tolerance for environmental degradation increases and our expectations for the natural world are lowered." (National Parks Service)

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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Neonics

Neo-what? And do they have anything to do with nicotine?

Neonicotinoids are a group of insecticides used widely on farms and in urban landscapes. Although less acutely toxic to mammals and other vertebrates than older insecticides, neonicotinoids are highly toxic in small quantities to bees.

(Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation)

Neonics are banned in the European Union and in two states--Vermont and New York. Other states have taken measures to restrict their use. This article has state-by-state information. Check out the map!

Pollinators are vital to our food systems and maintain the planet’s ecosystems. Action by states is needed to protect them.

And yes, neonicotinoid means "new nicotine-like insecticide."

"There is also pollution that affects everyone, caused by transport, industrial fumes, substances which contribute to the acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and agrotoxins in general. Technology, which, linked to business interests, is presented as the only way of solving these problems, in fact proves incapable of seeing the mysterious network of relations between things and so sometimes solves one problem only to create others." (Laudato Si', 20)

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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#laudato si #pope francis #neonics #pesticides #pollinators #Youtube

Pollinators!

It's Pollinator Week (June 22-28)!

Though some folks have dedicated the entire month of June to pollinators.

And some are really in it for the long haul. Great news on that front, as reported in the Brooklyn Diocesan newspaper, The Tablet: The Sisters of St. Joseph are all in on sustainability on their 211-acre property on Long Island.

The State of New York gave a $100,000 grant to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood to improve pollinator habitats on Long Island.

This story was also covered on CurrentsNews in this video:

The Sisters of St. Joseph have received grant funding to expand pollinator habitats, and protect native bees.

"...[St.] Francis asked that part of the friary garden be left untouched, so that wild flowers and herbs could grow there, and those who saw them could raise their minds to God, the Creator of such beauty." (Laudato Si', 12)

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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#pope francis #laudato si #pollinators #Sisters of St. Joseph #The Tablet Brooklyn

World Refugee Day

"There has been a tragic rise in the number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty caused by environmental degradation." (LS, 25)

[And war. And poverty. And violence. And...]

Pope Francis states repeatedly in Laudato Si': "Everything is connected."

World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives. (United Nations)

"You too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt." (Deuteronomy 10:19)

Marathoners, bakers, teachers—refugees are all of those things and so much more. But human beings above all. At the IRC, we never, ever give

From usafact.org: About 11,511 refugees came to the US in 2025. That's 89% fewer than the prior year.

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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#laudato si #pope francis #refugees

The Windshield Phenomenon

Older readers: Do you remember taking a road trip in a car, years ago, and having to repeatedly clean the dead bugs off your windshield?

Younger readers: Do you have the faintest idea of what we're talking about?

Research published this month found that even in pristine, untouched areas, insect populations are still on the decline. Climate change is a

"It may well disturb us to learn of the extinction of mammals or birds, since they are more visible. But the good functioning of ecosystems also requires fungi, algae, worms, insects, reptiles and an innumerable variety of microorganisms. Some less numerous species, although generally unseen, nonetheless play a critical role in maintaining the equilibrium of a particular place." (Laudato Si', 34)

Let's appreciate our insect friends!

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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#pope francis #laudato si #youtube #windshield phenomenon #insects #Youtube

Plastic

Plastic is an environmental problem. You knew that.

It is a problem because the manufacturing of plastic involves tremendous amounts of energy and petroleum. And it is a problem because it is not biodegradable, it is very difficult to recycle, and so it ends up in landfills and in the ocean.

In New York City, the Department of Sanitation accepts "all rigid plastic" for recycling. But of all "recyclable" materials (paper, metal, glass), plastic is the most difficult to find a market for reuse. We can do better by avoiding the use of plastic products whenever possible, especially single-use plastic items.

Here’s everything you need to know about the most ubiquitous (and avoidable) kind of plastic waste: the kind made to be tossed in mere minut

"...Our industrial system, at the end of its cycle of production and consumption, has not developed the capacity to absorb and reuse waste and by-products....A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of counteracting the throwaway culture which affects the entire planet...." (Laudato Si', 22)

For thoughts on alternatives to plastic, read

catholicclimatecovenant.org/blogs/hopeful-signs-regarding-plastic-alternatives/

One organization working on this problem is Beyond Plastics. Check them out:

beyondplastics.org

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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Who's in charge of our future?

Pope Leo wants us to get ahead of the game when it comes to AI. We need--now--to develop guidelines for its use rather than allowing those who control it to make all the decisions--usually based on profit.

"...crucial questions impose themselves on our conscience and can no longer be avoided: Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as a people and as a human community?" (Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas, 6)

Pope Francis spoke of a "technological paradigm" which fails to consider the human and environmental consequences of technological developments:

"We have to accept that technological products are not neutral, for they create a framework which ends up conditioning lifestyles and shaping social possibilities along the lines dictated by the interest of certain powerful groups." (Pope Francis, Laudato Si', 107)

Here is a 4-minute video summarizing the encyclical:

The Holy See has produced short videos, in English and Spanish, of Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,

Here is the full text:

ENCYCLICAL LETTER MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV ON SAFEGUARDING THE HUMAN PERSON IN THE TIME OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE [

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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Don't Blame Baby Jesus

"El Niño" is a phenomenon involving the warming of ocean currents in the Pacific. It was first described by Peruvian fishermen who noticed that it occurred around Christmas. As the term is now used, it refers to a broader scope of periodical warming of Pacific Ocean currents.

A strong El Niño affects weather across the globe.

This year, an extreme El Niño is expected. If it materializes, the weather effects will likewise be extreme.

How do variations in ocean currents affect climate across the globe? This is a complicated concept, so (sorry) we're sending a link to a longer video this week (16 min.)

Go behind the scenes with senior editor Corey Mitchell and reporter Bob Berwyn as they break down what to expect from the looming El Niño.

Or, if you would rather watch a shorter video, go here (it's from California) (4 min.)

KSBY News Meteorologist Jim Castillo reports on the likelihood of an especially strong El Niño event by the end of 2026. Read more: https://

"Some effects of the climate crisis are already irreversible, at least for several hundred years, such as the increase in the global temperature of the oceans, their acidification and the decrease of oxygen." (Pope Francis, Laudate Deum, 15)

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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#laudato si #pope francis #climate change #laudate deum #el niño

Listen to the Mockingbird

"If you’ve been hearing an endless string of 10 or 15 different birds singing outside your house, you might have a Northern Mockingbird in your yard. These slender-bodied gray birds apparently pour all their color into their personalities. They sing almost endlessly, even sometimes at night, and they flagrantly harass birds that intrude on their territories, flying slowly around them or prancing toward them, legs extended, flaunting their bright white wing patches." (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corn cribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Harper Lee, of course, in To Kill a Mockingbird.)

"We need to hear the song of the mockingbird thrown out to the universe from the topmost branch of the highest tree in the meadow ...." Fr. Thomas Berry, in The Christian Future and the Fate of Earth.

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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Coalition of the Willing

"Regrettably, the climate crisis is not exactly a matter that interests the great economic powers, whose concern is with the greatest profit possible at minimal cost and in the shortest amount of time." (Pope Francis, Laudate Deum, 13)

Last week, representatives of 59 countries (a "coalition of the willing") met in Colombia at the First International Conference for the Phase-Out of Fossil Fuels.

Since the annual UN COP meetings have been unable to produce meaningful progress towards eliminating the fossil fuels which drive global warming, this new movement has been born. Participating countries (the U.S., Russia, China, India, Saudi Arabia notably absent) hope to respond to the climate crisis with greater urgency.

As reported in The Guardian, "Colombia and the Netherlands, co-hosts [of the conference] ...convened discussions on trade, debt, producer countries’ dependence on fossil fuel exports and ways to reduce demand. In the preceding days, activists, Indigenous leaders, scientists and other experts gathered in Santa Marta to discuss the social and economic impacts of fossil fuels and ways to curb demand."

Nearly 60 countries back voluntary roadmaps to wean world off coal, oil and gas, at conference prompted by frustration with UN climate summi

The next meeting will be in 2027 in Tuvalu, co-hosted by Ireland.

"Playing for Change" by Sara Bareilles. Just because.

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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The Boundary Waters

The image is of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a U.S. Wilderness Area along the border of Minnesota and Canada. It consists of pristine lakes and rivers popular for recreation. More broadly, the term "boundary waters" includes adjacent state, national, and provincial areas and is the ancestral homeland of the Anishinaabe people, who still have tribal rights over some of the area and help to care for it.

Two weeks ago, the Senate passed a bill (50-49) which had already passed the House in January, and is expected to be signed by President Trump, granting to a Chilean corporation, for the purpose of sulfide-ore copper nickel mining, an exemption to the 2023 prohibition of mineral extraction in this area. The proposed mine would be in the headwaters of the wilderness area.

More information: savetheboundarywaters.org/action-center

Deep dive: nytimes.com/2026/04/27/travel/boundary-waters-copper-mine.html

The limits which a healthy, mature and sovereign society must impose are those related to foresight and security, regulatory norms, timely enforcement, the elimination of corruption, effective responses to undesired side-effects of production processes, and appropriate intervention where potential or uncertain risks are involved. (Laudato Si', 177)

Tangentially related listening:

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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Arbor Day

“Nature is a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness. Rather than a problem to be solved, the world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise.” (Laudato Si’, 12)

Celebrating the Earth this week! Not only Earth Day (4/22) but also Arbor Day (4/24 in New York, but varies by state.)

Arbor Day was the initiative of a Nebraskan by the name of J. Sterling Morton, who persuaded the state legislature to set aside a day for people to plant trees. And Nebraskans responded by planting some one million trees on April 10, 1872 ! Since then, the observance has spread to all 50 states and across the world.

"Arbor Day is not like other holidays. Each of those reposes on the past, while Arbor Day proposes for the future." Julius Sterling Morton

Learn more about Arbor Day from the Arbor Day Foundation: arborday.org

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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Safer Flight for Migrating Birds

In some parts of the country, migration season has already begun. We will be seeing warblers and many other species passing through.

The NYC Bird Alliance informs us that

"Each spring and fall, millions of birds migrate through New York City under the cover of night. But artificial light from buildings can confuse and disorient these birds, pulling them off course into the City’s dangerous maze of glass– putting them at risk of deadly collisions with buildings. Collisions kill nearly 250,000 birds in New York City each year, and over one billion across the country."

Project Safe Flight works with building owners to have them turn off unnecessary lights (even, at times, the memorial 9/11 World Trade Center beams) and install coatings on otherwise clear glass windows.

Project Safe Flight is a decades-long research program of NYC Bird Alliance to make New York City bird-friendly, studying ways to prevent bi

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI – A SERMON TO THE BIRDS

“My little sisters the birds,

Ye owe much to God, your Creator,

And ye ought to sing his praise at all times and in all places,

Because he has given you liberty to fly about into all places;

And though ye neither spin nor sew,

He has given you a twofold and a threefold clothing

For yourselves and for your offspring."

Sharing Laudato Si' comes to you from the St. Andrew the Apostle Care for Creation Ministry, Brooklyn, New York, affiliated with the Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement.

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#laudato si #pope francis #Bird migration #warblers #st. francis of assisi #Project Safe Flight #NYC Bird Alliance

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