“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name most high” (Psalm 92). In summer, we are grateful for God’s Creation and give thanks for the many blessings in our lives—especially the beauty and wonder of the world around us. Here are some resources to help support your prayer life this summer:
Grandad’s Prayers of the Earth, Pray Me a Story, by Douglas Wood: As a boy and his Grandad walk in the woods, the boy listens for the prayers of the Earth. The boy asks: “Are our prayers answered?” One day, long after Grandad is gone, long after the boy is grown, he understands Grandad’s reply: “If we listen very closely, a prayer is often its own answer.”
Earth’s Echo: Sacred Encounters with Nature, by Robert M. Hamma: Earth’s Echo is a book for people who love nature and find spiritual meaning in it. Using brief excerpts from the works of nature writers as touchstones for meditation, the book leads the reader to reflect on the sacred reality of nature as found in different settings: the seashore, the river, the forest, the desert and the mountain.
God’s Good Earth: Praise and Prayer for Creation, by Anne & Jeffery Rowthorn: This book features 52 beautiful, ready-made prayer services—each around a specific theme—drawing from a rich variety of ecumenical resources: psalms and other responsive readings, Scripture, hymns, prayers and reflections from the world’s most engaging nature writers and interpreters of the social and cultural landscape. Each section can be used in full, or the user may select smaller sections. Buyers have permission to reproduce for use in public prayer.
To borrow these or other resources, the diocesan library and Office of Faith Formation and Lay Ecclesial Ministry are open for in-person visits and consultations 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. You may also visit the library online. Once you make your selections, you can email the request to mhynes@youngstowndiocese.org.
