Love God. Love Your Neighbor.
Jesus gave us the two greatest commandments:
“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and ” You must love your neighbor as yourself.”
Saint John Paul II reminded us that respect for life and for the dignity of the human person extends also to the rest of creation, which is called to join humankind in praising God.
Recognize that all of creation is comprised of our brothers and sisters, including soil, water, and plants and animals. Human beings have a distinctive role in cultivating and caring for creation.
If you’re Catholic, be fully Catholic. 
Go To Church.
Our experience of worship makes us more aware of God as being active in all of creation.
Out of worship comes a Christian response to rule creation rightly – humbly, justly, sustainably, and with holiness and wisdom.
The divine grace of God is experienced through the seven sacraments.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “the Eucharist, the sacrament of our salvation accomplished by Christ on the cross, is also a sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for the work of creation. In the Eucharistic sacrifice the whole of creation loved by God is presented to the Father through the death and the Resurrection of Christ. Through Christ the Church can offer the sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for all that God has made good, beautiful, and just in creation and in humanity.” (no. 1359)
Bring a friend.
Learn.
Read the Bible every day. A good study Bible can be helpful.
Read the extensive collection of quotes and documents that we offer in our Catholic ecology library.
Read the Catholic Ecology blog.
Bring the children to religious education.
Bring children outdoors, to a park, to the woods, to a farm, or to a nature center.
Read books about Catholicism. Books written by any of the popes are a good place to start.
Read Pope Francis’ encyclical on integral ecology, Laudato Si’.
Read books about ecology, nature, gardening, and farming.
Take adult education courses.
Buy or borrow nature field guides, such as guides to birds, trees, butterflies, and wildflowers.
Go out and explore.
Teach.
Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children.
Teach children about their faith, about nature, and about caring for creation.
Share your faith and the Gospel with others, gently and as is helpful.
Often the best way to teach is by example.
Contemplate.
Creation provides opportunities for spiritual contemplation because it is from God and reveals God.
In the words of Saint John Paul II, “the aesthetic value of creation cannot be overlooked. Our very contact with nature has a deep restorative power; contemplation of its magnificence imparts peace and serenity.”
Pray.
Ask for the intercessions of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Saint Francis of Assisi, and Saint Isidore the Farmer.
Many Catholics find great value in praying the Rosary.
Pray for people who are poor, marginalized, sick, disabled, outcast, or vulnerable.
Pray for souls in Purgatory and for sinners everywhere.
Pray for God to bless us as we strive to take care of our common home.
Be Active.
All Catholics have a critical role in the well-being of the Church and the care of creation. Catholics cannot be resigned to being passive observers, as world leaders and governments decide the fate of the varied species of life, the climate, the water, our quality of life, and social justice. Each of us is called, today, beginning at home and in our parishes, to help rebuild the Church and to restore the Earth, in the footsteps of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha and Saint Francis of Assisi. One of the best ways to participate in the rebuilding of the Church and the stewardship of creation is to create a Saint Kateri Habitat.
Ours is an integral ecology. Each of us is responsible for the care and cultivation of God’s creation. Respect for creation begins with respect for human life, most especially for the weakest among us, the pre-born baby.
Catholics are called to be co-workers and co-creators with God in the work of creation.
Show children how to cooperate with God in the work of creation.
Make your voice heard in the public square and in the political arena. Keep God present in both.
Choose to invest and spend in ways that protect the integrity of creation.
Enjoy re-creation and the outdoors.
Make a pilgrimage to the Saint Kateri National Shrine and Historic site in Fonda, New York.
Take a hike.
Create a Saint Kateri Habitat or Parish Ark.
Create a Saint Kateri Habitat for people and wildlife at home, at your church, in your community, or at school. Saint Kateri Habitats enhance our faith in God while preserving biodiversity, saving energy, reducing climate change, and protecting land and water for future generations. A tri-fold brochure can be downloaded here: Saint Kateri Habitat Brochure.
Start by planting a native plant. If you’re able, grow a garden, even a small container garden. Plant native flowers for pollinators (bees, moths, butterflies, and hummingbirds). Plant a vegetable garden. Consider sharing some of your garden with other people and wildlife.
Register your Saint Kateri Habitat.
Learn more about Parish Arks here.
Donate.
Donate to support people who are poor, disadvantaged, disabled, sick, or vulnerable.
Consider the practice of almsgiving, which can be a monetary donation or a work of mercy, such as feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, visiting a person who is sick or a shut-in, visiting prisoners, tutoring a child, mentoring a young mother, treating someone with kindness, offering up suffering, or giving up on hoarding more than we need for ourselves.
Donate to support the Church.
Donate to support the mission of the Saint Kateri Conservation Center. Bless you!
Rest.
The Sunday celebration of the Eucharist is meant to be framed by leisure and rest.
In the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: “Do not become utterly absorbed in activism! There would be so much to do that one could be working on it constantly…. Not becoming totally absorbed in activism means maintaining ‘consideratio,’ discretion, deeper examination, contemplation, time for interior pondering, vision, and dealing with things, remaining with God and meditating about God.”E
We depend on you.
Our work is funded primarily by individual donations like yours.
Other Ideas.
Form a “Creation Care Team,” at parishes and schools to take the lead on creating a Parish Ark or Saint Kateri Habitat, gardening, recycling, composting, conserving energy, raising environmental awareness, and sharing the good news of creation and redemption.
Create a Saint Kateri Habitat as a scout project.
Create an “Energy Action Plan” at your parish or school to reduce energy use.
Take steps to save energy at home. This can include planting trees and shrubs for shade and to block wind.
Turn off air conditioners when the nights are cool, choosing instead to open windows.
Use a clothes line to dry clothes.
Reduce the size of your lawn and replace it with trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and garden vegetables.
Recycle.
Reduce use of plastics and throw-away materials.
Be mindful of travel and its carbon footprint.
Minimize water use.
Manage and reduce the use of fertilizers.
Minimize or avoid pesticide use.
Buy and share locally-grown food.
Reject excessive consumerism and replace it with “lifestyles animated by sound ecological virtues.”