Pope Francis, in his February 9th homily, spoke of our responsibility to protect the Earth - not because we are "greens" (although we may be that too), but because we are Christians and the Earth is God's creation:

"God works, continues to work, and we can ask ourselves how we should respond to this creation of God, which is born of love, because he works through love.... Even for us there is responsibility to nurture the Earth, to nurture Creation, to keep it and make it grow according to its laws. A Christian who does not protect Creation, who does not let it grow, is a Christian who does not care about the work of God.... May the Lord give us the grace to understand that he is at work and give us the grace to respond appropriately to this labor of love."

• How and where do you see God at work in creation?
• How can we better nurture the Earth, for the benefit of all people and the whole amazing community of life that glorifies God?

We invite you to join the worldwide Church in a Lenten Fast for Climate Justice, coordinated by the Global Catholic Climate Movement , an international coalition of laity, religious, clergy, theologians, scientists and activists from every continent. In their statement, these leaders emphasize that, as St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have said as well, "climate change is for Catholics a profoundly spiritual, ethical, and moral issue."

In Lent 2015 (February 18 - April 2), this global fast for climate justice will join the year-long Fast For The Climate interfaith effort,asking that Catholics in every country include in their daily prayers our troubled Earth and especially those who are affected most by its violent climate shifts: the poor and those who live in threatened coastal communities.

In each of the 40 days of Lent Catholics and other Christians from a different country will fast and pray for action to solve the climate change crisis. The date assigned for the United States is Monday, March 16th. Please invite your friends and fellow parishioners to participate with you. Resources are available in several languages at the website,http://catholicclimatemovement.global/fast/.

Visit these links to learn more about Climate Change Facts and Catholic Teachings on Climate Change, and spread the word about the Global Catholic Climate Movement on Facebook and Twitter (#fastfortheclimate).

This Lent, the Justice for Immigrants Campaign invites you to pray, fast, learn, give and advocate for just and humane immigration reform, in solidarity with immigrants and refugees by committing to
one or more of the following activities. 

* Pray daily for the protection of immigrants and their families, for the boldness of the faith community to advocate for human dignity, and for our elected leaders to enact legislation that provides a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants and that reunifies families.
* Fast in solidarity with those who hunger and migrate from their homeland to seek opportunities to provide for themselves and their families.
* Learn from your friends, neighbors and fellow parishioners each week to better understand individual views, broader societal concerns and to help your community move forward in support of the Justice for Immigrants Campaign.
* Give your time to help organize at least one bridge-building event between immigrants and non immigrants to share stories, build new relationships, celebrate differences and improve unity among participants.
* Advocate for just and humane immigration reform by going to justiceforimmigrants.org once a week and sending an electronic postcard in support of immigration reform to members of Congress. Encourage your friends, family and neighbors to go to the website and send postcards
each week as well.

The complete JFI Lenten Toolkit is available for download at their website; the Spanish-language version will be available shortly at the same site.

The dates of February 18 (Ash Wednesday) through February 20 have been designated as National Call-In Days to urge members of Congress to support comprehensive immigration reform.  Call 1-800-855-5698 and leave this message:  "Please oppose including language in a DHS funding bill which reverses the President's executive actions on immigration, and please pass comprehensive immigration reform."