For St. Gabriel鱿鱼视频app parishioners, Laudato Si鈥�: On Care for Our Common Home is more than another encyclical. It鱿鱼视频app an affirmation of the collective commitment the parish makes every Sunday as it gathers to praise God and revere God鱿鱼视频app gift in the natural world.
鈥淲e have to preserve the world we live in. We have to look at the way we live,鈥� said Calvin Li on his way home from the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass three days after Pope Francis鈥� encyclical swept into Catholic consciousness.
鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app the biggest piece of news in years,鈥� said Blair Day, chatting just outside the sanctuary doors. 鈥淗e鱿鱼视频app talking not just to Catholics but to the whole world.鈥�
At St. Gabriel鱿鱼视频app, the whole parish is paying attention to the Pope鱿鱼视频app message on the morality of climate change, said Day.
鈥淗e鱿鱼视频app going much deeper than carbon taxes and cap and trade,鈥� he said.
The parish will bring in eco-theologian Dennis Patrick O鈥橦ara for a one-night seminar on Laudato Si鈥� June 30. Parishioner Lily D鈥橤ama plans to be there.
The Passionist Fathers鈥� dedication to the environment and social justice as more than a side issue 鈥� as something that comes up in homilies, parish bulletin notes, youth ministry and all kinds of programming 鈥� is a major part of why D鈥橤ama has chosen St. Gabriel鱿鱼视频app as her parish. With standing room only at the 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Sunday Masses, she鱿鱼视频app not alone.
鈥淭his is one of the few parishes that talks about it at all,鈥� she said.