Dear brothers and sisters of Earth,
We have entered a new season of the church in which we celebrate the beauty and the life of Creation.
We worship this Sunday with the whole fauna and flora family on Earth.
New Zealand is renowned for its unique flora and fauna, featuring a high proportion of endemic species that evolved in isolation, resulting in a rich biodiversity. Many species – such as the flightless kiwi and the giant kauri tree – are found nowhere else.
So let’s celebrate with all the creatures, birds, animals, reptiles, majestic trees, tiny mosses, fungi and lichens…. Let’s give thanks for and flora and fauna with our Creator.
In our daily worship, we join the Psalmists and rejoice with all living things. We sing with all the birds and animals that make our lives richer because of their presence. We lament the times we and others have taken this world for granted and not allowed all creatures a free and clean space in which to live.
I resonate with what St. Francis of Assisi says: “God requires that we assist the animals, when they need our help. Each being (human or creature) has the same right of protection.”
Also, Happy Father’s Day, everyone!
May God’s grace abounds,
Yukiko
