Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin

‘Hacen lío! Make a fuss!’

‘Make a fuss about the environment. Do not let us off the hook! We may not like to hear it. It will make us uncomfortable, but for your sakes and for ours, and for the sake of the poor and those who are oppressed, call us to account, demand action, insist on change.’

This is the call of Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin to the young people of the Archdiocese, in a 64-page document available through Veritas Books and in digital form: The Cry of the Earth – the Cry of the Poor.

Calling all to lives of deep appreciation for the beauty of Ireland’s natural environment, Archbishop Farrell calls all to deep prayer also – for the discovery and adoption of a counter-cultural lifestyle that will truly be sustainable.

“‘Which of these three’, asked Jesus, ‘was neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ (Luke 10:36) Our planet, our common home, has ‘fallen into the hands of robbers who have stripped it’ of its assets, and plundered it, ‘and have gone away, leaving it half dead’ (see Luke 10:30).

“We are squeezing the goods of the planet. Squeezing them, like an orange. … Today, not tomorrow, today, we have to take care of Creation with responsibility.1

“The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) is not some story about goodness, it is a parable about involvement. What sets the Samaritan apart is that he is someone who acts. He sees, he has compassion, he acts, he gets involved. For Jesus, he is the model of our response to the world: he becomes involved in the situation in which he finds himself. Our world is being plundered; we cannot walk away leaving it half dead.”

To download a .pdf digital file of The Cry of the Earth – The Cry of the Poor click here.

The booklet briefly summarises the various aspects of the earth crisis – on land, sea and air – and concludes with evocative poems of prayer to St Kevin of Glendalough and to the Holy Spirit.

The booklet is also summarised on the website of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, here.

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The Song of the Three Young Men (Daniel 3:35–66)

O all you works of the Lord, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
And you, angels of the Lord, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.

And you, the heavens of the Lord, O bless the Lord.
And you, clouds of the sky, O bless the Lord.
And you, all armies of the Lord, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.

And you, sun and moon, O bless the Lord.
And you, the stars of the heav’ns, O bless the Lord.
And you, showers and rain, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.

And you, all you breezes and winds, O bless the Lord.
And you, fire and heat, O bless the Lord.
And you, cold and heat, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.

And you, showers and dew, O bless the Lord.
And you, frosts and cold, O bless the Lord.
And you, frost and snow, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.

And you, night-time and day, O bless the Lord.
And you, darkness and light, O bless the Lord.
And you, lightning and clouds, O bless the Lord.
O let the earth bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.

And you, mountains and hills, O bless the Lord.
And you, all plants of the earth, O bless the Lord.
And you, fountains and springs, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.

And you, rivers and seas, O bless the Lord.
And you, creatures of the sea, O bless the Lord.
And you, every bird in the sky, O bless the Lord.
And you, wild beasts and tame, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.

And you, children of men, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.

O Israel, bless the Lord. O bless the Lord.
And you, priests of the Lord, O bless the Lord.
And you, servants of the Lord, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.

And you, spirits and souls of the just, O bless the Lord.
And you, holy and humble of heart, O bless the Lord.
Ananias, Azarias, Mizael, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.

Let us praise the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit:
To you be highest glory and praise for ever.
May you be blessed, O Lord, in the heavens.
To you be highest glory and praise for ever.

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O Light Invisible TS Eliot (1888–1965)

O Light Invisible, we praise Thee!
Too bright for mortal vision.
O Greater Light, we praise Thee for the less;
The eastern light our spires touch at morning,
The light that slants upon our western doors at evening,
The twilight over stagnant pools at batflight,
Moon light and star light, owl and moth light,
Glow-worm glowlight on a grassblade.
O Light Invisible, we worship Thee!

We thank Thee for the light that we have kindled,
The light of altar and of sanctuary;
Small lights of those who meditate at midnight
And lights directed through the coloured panes of
windows
And light reflected from the polished stone,
The gilded carven wood, the coloured fresco.
Our gaze is submarine, our eyes look upward
And see the light that fractures through unquiet water.
We see the light but see not whence it comes.
O Light Invisible, we glorify Thee!

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Prayer to Saint Kevin of Glendalough

A Chaoimhín le caoineas do mhéine
Fuair an-chion ainmhithe is éanlaith;
I do láthair ba ghnáth leo go léir a bheith
Gan scá romhat I bhfásach an fhéir ghlais.
Bímisne, a Chaoimhín na féile,
Dea-iompair le dúile gan éirim:
Dia a chruthaigh is a chuir ar an soal iad
Is cúiteoidh Sé linn an croí truamhéile.

Kevin, with your kind nature,
you were loved by animals and birds;
they stayed in your presence
without fear in the green grassy growth.
Let us all, o generous Kevin,
behave well towards dumb creatures:
God created them and put them into this world
and he will reward us for a merciful heart.

[Donla uí Bhraonáin (ed.), Paidreacha na Gaeilge: Prayers in Irish (Dublin: Cois Life, 2009), 122–3. Published 2021 by Veritas Publications
7–8 Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1, Ireland]