Pope Francis urges us to, 'Live Wisely, Think Deeply and Love generously'

 

Laudato Si’ discusses the damage being inflicted on the Earth by humans and calls on ‘every person living on this planet’ to make urgent changes to our lifestyles and how we consume energy in order to protect the planet. It deals with many environmental issues including pollution; climate change; water; loss of biodiversity and decline in the quality of human life. In his letter Pope Francis implores us to work together to create a better world for future generations and asks us to make the necessary changes in our lives in order to take care of, respect and value our ‘common home’. 

Watch the animation below and ask:

What is the Pope asking us to do in his letter?

What do you think Pope Francis means by ‘common home’?

How does the Pope say we have treated the Earth?

What has happened to the Earth because of this?

Play the animation for a second time:

Why do you think Pope Francis wrote this letter?

Who is suffering because of our actions?

How can we play our part to look after our ‘common home’?

What kind of world do we want to leave for future generations?

Look at the poster:

What is happening in this poster?

How can we care for God’s world?

Read the banner on the poster. What does this mean?

In Laudato Si’ Pope Francis asks us to care for the earth by doing all three of these things. How can we live wisely? Think deeply? Love generously? Create a list of actions. Explain that we are all going to try for the next month (or week) to live wisely, think deeply and love generously.