Laudato Si Reflection
With Contributions by Fr. James DiLuzio, CSP, Team Member
This week I invite us to share our thoughts on an inspirational video presented by the Fordham University Center on Religion and Culture. Check out the YouTube link and respond to the questions below. Our Laudato Si Team looks forward to hearing from you!
We also welcome your thoughts on Team Member Erik Mencos’ presentation on April 22nd; hope you caught it in-person or online.
Take a look at the promotion for the Thursday, April 30th evening event on Spirituality, Environment, and Justice at St. Ignatius Loyola on the Upper East Side. And be sure to try our Recipes for the week contributed by a Saint Paul’s parishioner!
CREATION AS ART – Join in the Conversation with Us
On April 15th, the Fordham University Center on Religion and Culture offered a critically important, and inspirational on the work of New York-born iconographer Angela Manno, renowned for her icons of endangered species painted in the style and tradition of Eastern Orthodox devotional art.
Professor David Gibson, Director, convened a dialogue with Fordham emerita theologian Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, a leading Catholic thinker on creation care, and Fordham’s George Demacopoulos, theologian and co-director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center. The event was entitled Sacred Biodiversity: Contemporary Icons of Endangered Species and it highlighted the teachings not only of Pope Francis and his encyclical Laudato si’ but also the teachings of “the green patriarch” Bartholomew (who initiated the Annual Season of Creation Observance –September 1st through October 4th-back in 1989) and the connection between icons and spirituality in Eastern Orthodoxy.
There are theology and spirituality and care of creation in this conversation – and Angela Manno’s idea of “visio divina” as a counterpart to the traditional “lectio divina” is worth the price of presentation – which is free.
Take some time this week to view and contemplate the conversation with the artist and faith-filled academics. Here’s the link to the video: Sacred Biodiversity: Contemporary Icons of Endangered Species.
I invite you to share your responses to the topic with our Laudato Si Team and the Parish-at-Large via [email protected]. In responses, indicate whether you would like me to use your full name, initials only, or “anonymous.” I am certain that our parish community will benefit from reading your answers to these 3 questions:
- What is your response to the concept of endangered species depicted in Iconography?
- Explanation: In Classic Iconography, all stylized depictions of Saints are meant to be windows of Jesus-the Orthodox and Catholic Incarnational belief that all the baptized lead us to Christ in our words, actions, and contexts. In addition to their Christocentricity, all iconography invites contemplation of God Creator and the Holy Spirit -as all are one in the Trinity. All Creation is meant to be a window unto God as well. Do you agree or disagree that depiction of animals and aspects of nature belong in iconography? Why or why not?
- What do you think we need to do to promote more extensive conversation about Environmental care among the US Catholics at large?
- Explanation: Those interviewed in the video indicated that Laudato Si’s appeal is limited primarily to academics and segments of the Young Adult population. Interestingly, here in the Archdiocese of New York, membership in Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement (our official Laudato Si International franchise) comprises mostly Senior Citizens while Saint Paul the Apostle’s Laudato Si Team comprises mostly Young Adults although widespread parish involvement is wanting.
- Last Fall, St. Paul the Apostle Parish invited Sr. Elizabeth Johnson to present her COME, HAVE BREAKFAST featured in the video. Would you be interested in a Study Series on this Meditation on God and the Earth? To get the most out of Dr. Johnson’s reflections, I propose a monthly meeting -one on each chapter on Zoom and two in-person meetings a few months apart beginning in Fall 2026. Let me know ASAP at [email protected].
To view more of Angel Manno’s icon work, go to: Endangered Species Collection — Angela Manno
Books by Featured Speakers – (Consider Supporting Local Bookstores – It’s Better for the Environment!)
Come Have Breakfast: Meditations on God and the Earth – by Elizabeth Johnson
The Sacred Biodiversity Oracle – by Angela Manno
In the Local News: Manhattan Event on Thursday, April 30th at 6:30 PM
The St. Ignatius Loyola Laudato Si’/Care for Creation Ministry Presents
The Sisters of St. Joseph Brentwood: Spirituality, Ecology, and Justice in Action.
St. Ignatius Loyola
980 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10028
Wallace Hall
Thursday, April 30th at 6:30 PM
(Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. for light bites, program starts promptly at 6:30 pm)
Join us on for what will surely be an amazing evening. The talk will open with a brief introduction from two ecology experts from Brentwood, Christine Massi and Nico Carl, who will share how The Sisters of St. Joseph Brentwood are putting Laudato Si’/ Care for Creation Stewardship into Action.
Fr. Mark Hallinan, S.J. will interview Sister Karen Burke, CSJ, EdD, Director of Sisters of St. Joseph Sustainability Department in Brentwood, Long Island. The discussion will focus on the passion, commitment, and perseverance in preserving and conserving God’s gift — the earth.
We will meet in Wallace Hall, which is located right beneath the main entrance of the church. Please RSVP by e-mail to [email protected].
For more details on the event, click here.
Plant-Based Recipes of the Week
Thanks to St. Paul’s parishioner Adria Gallup-Black for the recipes!
Sautéed Chickpeas and Olives
Ingredients:
- One 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained
- 10-20 pitted kalamata olives sliced in half
- 1 small to medium sized red onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (or more if you love garlic)
- 2 Tbsp EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- Salt & lots of freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Heat the EVOO. Sauté the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, stir, and sauté until garlic is fragrant but not quite brown. Add the chickpeas and sauté until golden brown. Add the olives, thyme, salt & fresh ground pepper, and sauté for another 2 minutes. This veggie mix is great sautéed with orecchiette or rice.
Smashed Red Lentils and Barley Soup
This is a rip off of the soup by the same name at California Kitchen but using red lentils rather than split peas (red lentils taste like chickpeas when cooked and take only about 15 minutes to make.) You need an immersion blender for this one, though a regular blender will work, too!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup dry barley
- 2 cups water (for cooking the barley)
- 2 cups red lentils
- 6 cups water (for cooking the lentils)
- 3 cubes vegetable bouillon
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
- 1/4 tsp Thyme
- 2 Tbsp EVOO
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 celery stalks, chopped, divided in half
- 1 large carrot, chopped, divided in half
Instructions:
First, cook the barley in 2 cups of water according to package instructions; set aside.
Heat the EVOO and sauté the onion, garlic, half of the celery, and half of the carrots. When the onion is translucent, add the red lentils, water, thyme, salt and pepper, and bouillon cubes. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Blend the soup but not too much — you want this on the chunky side. Add the other half of the celery and carrots and add the cooked barley. Heat through, salt to taste of necessary.
Here is a link to the original recipe this is based on that uses split peas: California Pizza Kitchen’s Dakota Smashed Pea & Barley Soup Recipe – Food.com