Monday

1

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Tuesday

2

Creator God, You reveal your glory and love in the smallest bits of life, cells of our bodies, the microbial substance of soil, segmented insect wings, glistening scales of fish. Come to us, manifest in us your loving care for the humble and small, that we may preserve your abundance. 
Amen.

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Wednesday

3

“By reading the scriptures I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green. The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet.”

Thomas Merton

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Thursday

4

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen, to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourself on behalf of the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday.

The Lord will guide you always, he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

Isaiah 38.9-11

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Friday

5

Love at the Heart of the Universe

 We used to believe that reality was comprised of little separate “elemental” building blocks, but now we realize that nothing exists in isolation; rather, as scientists like Franciscan sister Ilia Delio point out, everything exists as one interconnected whole. In today’s meditation, I want to share Ilia’s insights from the new science of quantum physics:

Quantum physics is based on the primacy of energy and the interconnectedness of all that exists. . . . Being is intrinsically relational and exists as unbroken wholeness. Each part is connected with every other part. . . . We are, fundamentally, wholes within wholes. [David] Bohm wrote:

The notion that all these fragments are separately existent is evidently an illusion, and this illusion cannot do other than lead to endless conflict and confusion. Indeed, the attempt to live according to the notion that the fragments are really separate is, in essence, what has led to . . . pollution, destruction of the balance of nature, over-population, world-wide economic and political disorder and the creation of an overall environment that is neither physically nor mentally healthy.

The properties of the parts are not intrinsic properties, but can be understood only within the context of the larger whole. What we call a part is merely a pattern in an inseparable web of relationships. [Shifting from viewing parts to the whole requires us to transition from thinking about each thing around us as an object to seeing relationships. Everything around us is held in a system, which is, as Ilia describes,] . . . an integrated whole whose essential properties arise from the relationships between its parts. Nature is an interlocking network of systems, an “unbearable wholeness of beings,” as Steve Talbott wrote. Nature is more flow than fixed, like a choreographed ballet or a symphony. Life evolves toward ever-increasing wholeness and consciousness, and something more – love. . . .

As life becomes more complex and conscious, it becomes more integrally whole. What accounts for evolution toward greater wholeness? Pierre Teilhard de Chardin identified an energy of centration, whereby elements unite and complexify into greater wholeness, and called this “love-energy.”

We are accustomed to thinking about love as a human sentiment or emotion, but Teilhard saw love as a passionate force at the heart of the Big Bang universe: the fire that breathes life into matter and unifies elements, centre to centre. “Love,” he wrote, “is the physical structure of the universe.”  It draws together and unites and, in uniting, it differentiates. Love is intrinsically relational, the affinity of being-with-being in a personal, centred way; a unity toward greater wholeness of being that marks all cosmic life. If there was no internal propensity to unite, even at a rudimentary level – indeed, in the molecule itself – Teilhard said, it would be physically impossible for love to appear higher up, in the human form. Love is the core of evolution.

Gateway to Silence:
We live, move, and have our being in love.

From Richard Rohr’s daily meditations
www.cac.org

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Saturday

6

Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

• By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round
• By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons

Pray that this goal may be achieved.  Due to the continued increase in the world population, progress on this Goal is far behind.

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Sunday

7

God of all, you are far off as well as near. You see what may be coming, and so judge justly. As Jesus noted, we do read changes in the weather rather well. But changes in the climate confound us, and we find right decisions about our impact on it difficult to make. Give us wisdom to so faithfully care for the earth’s atmosphere, that all living creatures might share its benefits with justice and peace.

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Monday

8

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Tuesday

9

Consider:

A significant part of our problem is that we have lost the understanding that the earth is the Lord’s, and with it the biblical sense that there is a life-giving triangle of relationships between God, the earth and humanity: that we humans are part of Nature and dependent on Nature for our wellbeing, but that we also have responsibility under God to care for God’s creation on God’s behalf.

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Wednesday

10

“To walk into nature is to witness a thousand miracles.”

Mary Davis
CEO: Special Olympics International

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Thursday

11

World Population Day

We humans are remarkable creatures. From our humble beginnings in small pockets of Africa, we have evolved over millennia to colonise almost every corner of our planet. We are clever, resilient and adaptable – perhaps a little too adaptable and today the world population stands at a staggering 7.7 billion – 7.7 billion bodies that need to be fed, clothed, kept warm and ideally, nurtured and educated.   These 7.7 billion individuals who, while busy consuming resources, are also producing vast quantities of waste, and our numbers continue to grow. The United Nations estimates that the world population will reach 9.2 billion by 2050.

The world population is growing by approximately 74 million people per year

• Population growth is not evenly distributed across the globe
• Scientists are yet to conclusively determine the human ‘carrying capacity’ of Earth
• Population is only one of many factors influencing the environment
• We have consumed more resources in the last 50 years than the whole of humanity before us
• The 20^th century saw the biggest increase in the world’s population in human history

The impact of so many humans on the environment takes two major forms:

• consumption of resources such as land, food, water, air, fossil fuels and minerals
• waste products as a result of consumption such as air and water pollutants, toxic materials and greenhouse gases.

 One million species face extinction unless we address population growth. 

There is much debate as to the population size that the earth can carry, but one fact is indisputable – Planet Earth has finite resources, and there is no Planet B!

Pray for wisdom for everyone involved in this delicate debate.

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Friday

12

“Sustainability: It’s the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do, it’s the profitable thing to do.”

L. Hunter Lovins

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Saturday

13

JAEI has partnered with Adva YSD in the Eco-brick project.  Benches, food gardens, waste bins and stools are made with rubbish filled bottles, removing untold plastic and other non-recyclables from landfills and our environment.

Adva Academy is a National public benefit company that aims to create a ripple for change by upskilling youth and young adults to enable them to become more beneficial members of their communities. The tested methods and value systems contained in the youth programs designed by Lord Baden-Powel to train in leadership, skills and teamwork are used in their programmes.

Pray for God’s hand of blessing on this special organisation, its leaders and children as they care for each other, communities and our environment.

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Sunday

14

Shark Awareness Day

It is so unfortunate that sharks get such a bad rap!  Google “shark” and you can be assured that the first results will be those of bloody and gory shark attacks!  The mere fact that sharks may mistake people (mainly surfers) for lunch on the odd occasion – about 60 worldwide annually – as opposed to the roughly 100 million sharks that are killed by humans each year seems to be overlooked.  At least 30% of shark species are endangered – many of them, critically endangered!  Certainly, the legacy of the mythical “Jaws” doesn’t exist! 

The waters off the South African coast are incredibly diverse and teeming with life.  Where there is an abundance of food, there is also an abundance of predators, and these oceans are home to some of the most highly evolved apex predators on the planet – sharks.

Sharks have been around since before the dinosaurs, and some species have remained virtually unchanged for millions of years. There are more than 400 species of shark in the world, and South Africa is home to around 100 of them.  The most well-known, of course, is the great white shark – the largest predatory shark worldwide and reaching a length of 7 metres.  However, there are also sharks that just make 25cm long (pygmy shark) at a stretch!  The whale shark is largest shark (the largest fish in the ocean as well) reaches over 12 metres long and sports a cavernous mouth, but doesn’t snack on people, seals or any such thing, but dines on plankton, krill and squid – it is a filter feeder.  Find out more about these incredible creatures that our Creator has blessed us with!

• Pray for all those involved in shark conservation
•  Pray for the ceasing of the senseless killing of sharks for the restaurant and “muti” market
• Revisit your own mindset on sharks and encourage others to do the same.

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Monday

15

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Tuesday

16

Psalm 148 (The Message)

148 ^1-5 Hallelujah!
Praise God from heaven,
    praise him from the mountaintops;
Praise him, all you his angels,
    praise him, all you his warriors,
Praise him, sun and moon,
    praise him, you morning stars;
Praise him, high heaven,
    praise him, heavenly rain clouds;
Praise, oh let them praise the name of God—
    he spoke the word, and there they were!

⁶ He set them in place
    from all time to eternity;
He gave his orders,
    and that’s it!

^7-12 Praise God from earth,
    you sea dragons, you fathomless ocean deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and ice,
    hurricanes obeying his orders;
Mountains and all hills,
    apple orchards and cedar forests;
Wild beasts and herds of cattle,
    snakes, and birds in flight;
Earth’s kings and all races,
    leaders and important people,
Robust men and women in their prime,
    and yes, greybeards and little children.

^13-14 Let them praise the name of God—
    it’s the only Name worth praising.
His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky;
    he’s built a monument—his very own people!

Praise from all who love God!
    Israel’s children, intimate friends of God.
Hallelujah!

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Wednesday

17

Indescribable

 From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creations revealing Your majesty
From the colours of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom –

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Chris Tomlin 

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Thursday

18

Mandela Day

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Friday

19

As tools come to be sharpened by the blacksmith,
    so may we come, Lord.

As sharpened tools go back to their owner,
    so may we go back to our everyday life,

To be used by Thee.

A prayer from Africa

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Saturday

20

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Sunday

21

Father, we pray for the scientists responsible for research into ways of reducing our carbon footprint, and for politicians responsible for converting their recommendations into legislation. Grant them honesty, integrity and deep perception of the long-term effects of their actions, so that short-term economics are not allowed to weigh decisions on policies that will affect generations to come.

Amen

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Monday

22

Reflection:

Pope Francis – Laudato Si

“48. The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation. In fact, the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet: “Both everyday experience and scientific research show that the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest”.  For example, the depletion of fishing reserves especially hurts small fishing communities without the means to replace those resources; water pollution particularly affects the poor who cannot buy bottled water; and rises in the sea level mainly affect impoverished coastal populations who have nowhere else to go. The impact of present imbalances is also seen in the premature death of many of the poor, in conflicts sparked by the shortage of resources, and in any number of other problems which are insufficiently represented on global agendas.”.”

Prayerfully reflect on this

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Tuesday

23

Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’ Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’

Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history – and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely, warns a landmark new report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the summary of which was approved at the 7th session of the IPBES Plenary in May in Paris.

“The overwhelming evidence of the IPBES Global Assessment, from a wide range of different fields of knowledge, presents an ominous picture,” said IPBES Chair, Sir Robert Watson. “The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.”

“The Report also tells us that it is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global,” he said. “Through ‘transformative change’, nature can still be conserved, restored and used sustainably – this is also key to meeting most other global goals. By transformative change, we mean a fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values.”

“The member States of IPBES Plenary have now acknowledged that, by its very nature, transformative change can expect opposition from those with interests vested in the status quo, but also that such opposition can be overcome for the broader public good,” Watson said.

The IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is the most comprehensive ever completed. It is the first intergovernmental Report of its kind and builds on the landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005, introducing innovative ways of evaluating evidence.

Read the full Media Release

There is no doubt that the sate of the Planet’s biodiversity is in serious trouble and requires in depth prayer and action at all levels.  Read the Press Release and cover all areas in fervent prayer and action!

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Wednesday

24

“By means of all created things, without exception, the divine assails us, penetrates us, and moulds us. We imagined it as distant and inaccessible, when in fact we live steeped in its burning layers”

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

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Thursday

25

Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

• By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment
• By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality

Pray that this goal may be achieved.  Due to the continued increase in the world population, progress on this Goal is far behind.

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Friday

26

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Saturday

27

“Can we actually suppose that we are wasting, polluting, and making ugly this beautiful land for the sake of patriotism and the love of God? Perhaps some of us would like to think so, but in fact this destruction is taking place because we have allowed ourselves to believe, and to live, a mated pair of economic lies: that nothing has a value that is not assigned to it by the market; and that the economic life of our communities can safely be handed over to the great corporations.”

Wendell Berry

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Sunday

28

Almighty God, who alone can govern the hearts of frail and sinful humans, send your Holy Spirit among the leaders of the world, that he may reveal the path that we must all now take if we are to fulfil your purposes on earth. Remove all prejudice, special pleading and vested interests, that our leaders may truly seek your will and find the courage to make the radical decisions that the world now needs. This we pray in the Name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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Monday

29

“I do not think a day passes in my life in which I fail to look with fresh amazement at the miracle of nature. It is there on every side. It can be simply a shadow on a mountainside, or a spider’s web gleaming with dew, or sunlight on the leaves of a tree. I have always especially loved the sea. Whenever possible, I have lived by the sea… It has long been a custom of mine to walk along the beach each morning before I start to work. True, my walks are shorter than they used to be, but that does not lessen the wonder of the sea. How mysterious and beautiful is the sea! how infinitely variable! It is never the same, never, not from one moment to the next, always in the process of change, always becoming something different and new”

Pablo Casals
Legendary Spanish cellist, aged 93

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Tuesday

30

World Friendship Day

Our world faces many challenges, crises and forces of division – such as poverty, violence, and human rights abuses – among many others – that undermine peace, security, development and social harmony among the world’s peoples.

To confront those crises and challenges, their root causes must be addressed by promoting and defending a shared spirit of human solidarity that takes many forms – the simplest of which is friendship.

Through friendship – by accumulating bonds of camaraderie and developing strong ties of trust – we can contribute to the fundamental shifts that are urgently needed to achieve lasting stability, weave a safety net that will protect us all, and generate passion for a better world where all are united for the greater good.

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Wednesday

31

World Ranger Day

When one thinks of a game ranger, one tends to think of someone living a care-free, dream life in the great outdoors.  However, a ranger’s life is not all glitz and glamour.

Whilst rangers are able to experience the majesty of Creation, they are responsible for the maintenance of game reserves and parks and some of their tasks include game counting, fence repairs, working with specialists such as ecologists and veterinarians to manage animal population and monitor diseases that the animals or plants may pick up. The environmental responsibilities of the game ranger also include taking care of erosion, alien plants, floods or water shortages and collecting samples too. Game rangers often educate their guests on the environment and eco systems in the hope of creating awareness of the conservation and care that needs to go into this world in order to maintain it and keep it as it is today.

Sadly, over and above these necessary duties, game rangers stand up to poachers almost daily as they battle to end the decimation of wildlife species, ranging from the poaching of rhino and abalone to the illegal removal of plants such as cycads and Proteas. Many dedicated and outstanding rangers have lost their lives in line of duty.

World Ranger Day is an opportunity for us to give thanks for these people and remember all who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Pray for blessings, protection and strength for the courageous men and women involved in this important work.

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