Centrepiece

Candle,   plants,  broken twigs representing trees we have cut down,  packets of potpourri   (packet for each participant)

Introduction:

In Laudato Si, Pope Francis calls us to hear  the cry of Mother Earth,  “this sister who now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted.”   This echoes the words of Thich Nhat Hanh who suggested that in order to save the world  that “What we most need to do is to hear within us the sound of the earth crying”.

Our opening song invites us to hear a tree crying out to us,  begging us not to cut her down.  As you listen, what feelings does the song touch into.  Allow yourself to feel within the sound of the tree crying.

I’m tall I need room to grow
I need the sun in my eyes
My home is the earth below
One day I know I will touch the sky

Don’t cut me down
For I am innocent
Don’t cut me down
I am your friend

I sigh when the four winds blow
I cry when the cool rains fall
I shine in the moonlight’s glow
I am a home for the great and small    Don’t cut me down…….

Give me a year
A year another year
It takes me time for new life to appear
You cut me down
Quicker than I can regrow
Give me a chance
I am the air you breathe
Imagine what life would be without me
I have been here
Longer than you have you know
Harvest the seeds you sow.              Don’t cut me down……

I’m tall I need room to grow
I need the sun in my eyes
My home is the earth below
One day I know I will touch the sky.    Don’t cut me down……

For I will never mend
Don’t cut me down
I am your friend

Olivia Newton John – Don’t Cut Me Down

Leader
The following poem by Cathal O’Searcaigh also speaks to us from a tree’s point of view.   As you listen,  imagine the tree before you and  hear not just the words but the feelings of the tree as it speaks to you.

The Tree Speaks

I am the tree that will be destroyed tomorrow,
I will be cut and laid low.

My dignity will be hacked at,
my limbs will be strewn

in the dirt of the street,
my strong limbs.
The white blossoms of my laugh will be stolen.

Everything I have stored
in the marrow of my memories will be destroyed.
My first tears of joy, my first leaves of hope,
the first syllables of music pulsing through my branches,
the first spring which clothed me in a green dress.

The tales of adventure related to me by the birds,
the nests that flourished in the leafy shelter of my eye,
the storms I calmed

In the softness of my embrace.

The children who swung between life and eternity
in my branches,
the whispered secrets breathed to me in the night sky,
the moon who dressed me in the golden lace of autumn,
the angels who alighted me with snow.

With the fluent tongue of my leaves,
I defend passionately this space which I thrive,
in which I spread with wonder

The green thoughts that come to me in Spring.

With bounteous seeds I covered
this earthly space around me with certainty

in celebration of the Tree Spirit

That quickened firmly in me

As I came of age.

And tomorrow when they burn me,
when my bones will smoke,
I will become one with the sky, the Fiery Sky!
that has fuelled my imagination from dawn to dusk
with brightness, with Light

 

Leader:
I invite you to read a word,  phrase, or line of the song or poem that spoke to you or to share what stirred within you as you listened.

SHARING in twos/threes or in a formation that suits the group.

Leader:
Our poem and song both put us in touch with  the damage we do to trees.  We are not separate from nature and we cannot escape the effect of the traumas we inflict upon  our forests.   COVID-19 has brought that lesson home.  David Quammen in his book Spillover,  reminds us that when we cut down forests,   we shake viruses loose from their natural habitat and “when this happens,  they need a new host.  Often we are it.”

When we destroy our forests we destroy our own wellbeing.   Thomas Berry, cultural historian once said that “We cannot have well people on a sick planet”.  Our healing and the healing of  forests happen together or not at all.   Our species evolved among trees and our bodies learned to benefit from breathing in the exhalation of trees. The forests are our lungs.  Our  meditation invites us to breathe with trees so that together we heal.

Forest Meditation
I invite you to sit in a comfortable position.    You might like to shift your weight so that you can feel fully supported by the chair.   Let your eyes softly close.   Take a deep,  cleansing breath…..inhaling as fully as you comfortably can….…..(pause)…..  and breathing out…….(pause)………….

Imagine now you are walking down a quiet lane.  The weather is beautiful and you move along at an easy comfortable pace. As you continue walking you come to an opening that leads into a forest.   You leave the lane and enter into the forest.    The path is soft beneath your feet, a combination of soil,   fallen leaves, moss and it is easy to walk upon.   As you walk your body relaxes and your mind clears. With each step you become more and more relaxed.    Listen to the sounds of the forest around you,   the birds singing,  the leaves on the trees rustling in the wind,   the pine needles crunching beneath your feet.    (pause)

As you walk along you admire the variety of trees around you.  Notice the different types of bark on each tree trunk,  some are rough,  some smooth,  some are coarse and deeply grooved.  Notice too.  the diverse colours of bark;  white,  brown,  tan,  black,   different combinations of colour.   (pause)

As you walk along,  you are drawn to one particular tree,   perhaps it is a tree that reminds you of a favourite childhood tree. You get the sense that this tree is special.  Its leaves are so green….and it sparkles with energy.  The air around it is very clear.

I invite you to spend some time with this tree,  breathing with it.   As you breathe you are aware of breathing with the tree. You breathe in the sparkling oxygen from the air,  becoming one with the tree.  As you breathe out,  the tree breathes in. As you breathe in, the tree breathes out.   Spend some time breathing with the tree, conscious that you are sustaining each other.   As you breath in,  the tree breathes out, as you breathe out,  the tree breathes in.   Spend a few moments breathing with the tree.  …………….pause……………………

The air sparkles with energy and you feel healthier with each breath you take.    You breathe in the air that supports all of life, .   you breathe with the tree and the tree breathes with you.   (pause……)

You begin to communicate with the tree  It is very old and very wise and your connection with it is very strong.    You are one with each other and with the Earth.   (pause…..)

Breathing  together you heal each other.   As you breathe in, the tree breaths out.  As you breathe out,  the tree breathes in.

Knowing that your connection is strong,  you thank the tree for the experience of oneness.   You say goodbye to it in whatever way feels right for you.   You might hug it,  you might place your hands on the trunk.   You might walk around it.       (pause……)

You now make your back to the lane and in your own time bring your awareness  back to the room.  Whenever you feel ready,  I invite you to open your eyes,  knowing that you can come back to this meditation whenever you need to breathe with tree again.

Commitment To Honour Trees

Leader:
I invite us now to take a few moments to decide what commitment you might make to respect and honour trees.   e.g.  plant a tree,   use less paper,  spend some time with a tree, eat less meat,  buy furniture made from local wood rather than imported wood,   join a forest support group,   send blessings to a tree,  show gratitude to trees.     (Pause to allow participants to choose what their commitment might be)

In a moment I will ask each of us individually to name what your particular commitment to trees will be.    Let us remember as we do this,  that we are not alone,  that the forest is there to support us. They are filled with mystery.    They are our medicine cabinets.  The Book of Revelation tells us that “the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nation”  They offer us the many benefits of their essential oils.   .   Some like pine,  eucalyptus and cedar help us to breathe well.

As each of us comes forward to name our commitment to the forest,  we will receive a gift from the forest to support us.    Each of us will receive a packet of potpourri.

As you take your potpourri from the centrepiece I invite you to make your commitment to the healing of the forest by saying.

As I now receive medicine from the forest,  I commit to be medicine for the forest by  …   NAME YOUR COMMITMENT.      

Leader:
Now that each of has received our gift from the forest and made our commitment,  I would like you to hold the potpourri in your hand and know that the forest will support you in your commitment.

Breathe in the fragrance of the forest.   Allow yourself to be healed by its medicine.   Breathe in Rosemary and Jasmin that are energising ,  Breathe in  Lavender and Rose for soothing,   Breathe in Lemongrass for stimulation,   Breathe in Geranium for balancing moods.

(you can add to the potpourri whatever you wish and adjust the blessing accordingly   e.g.  Frankincense – deepens and slows the rhythm of the breath.        Cedarwood – strength,   Cypress – protection,   Lemon -energising and uplifting      Lemon –  energizing and uplifting,  Lime – renews the spirit and mind.        Ylang ylang – happiness and gratitude and celebrating blessings)

Leader:
We now offer our thanks to the trees in the following litany.

LITANY OF THANKS FOR TREES
By Kathleen Glennon rsm

Response: We give thanks to you.
(Said after each group of four lines.)

For the beauty and wonder of the tree.
For its soothing shade
For the artistry and design of its branches
For the rich colour of its autumn leaves.

Response

For the time lines on its trunk
For the texture of its bark
For its hidden crevices and nooks
For the whisper of its leaves.
Response

For its rich memories
For the mystery of photosynthesis
For the oxygen it breathes into the atmosphere.
For the carbon cycle it regulates.

Response

For the multitude of insects nesting under its bark
For the playground it provides for birds.
For its leaves that are a source of food to many bacteria.
For the paper which it produces.

Response

For the furniture made from its wood.
For the rubber and resin which comes from its sap.
For the ivy, mosses and ferns which it supports.
For the magnificence which it lends to the landscape.

Response

Final Prayer

Leader:
I invite you to hold the packet  of potpourri you received earlier.     I will ask you to place the sachet in different positions for the final prayer and ask you to repeat the words after me.

Holding the potpourri at our solar plexus we pray:
May I honour my commitment to the forest and give it my best energy. 

Holding the potpourri at eye level.
May I keep my eyes on the medicine of the forest and not let it out of my sight.  

Holding the potpourri at my ear.
May I listen to  how the forest speaks to me and respect what it teaches me.

Holding the potpourri down towards the ground.
May I ground myself in the forest and walk gently on the earth.  

Holding the potpourri to my heart.
May I become one with the forest and cherish it.   

Leader:
May we go forth to heal the forest and be healed by her.   May we learn from the forest that nature sustains life by creating patterns of relationships.    May we be inspired by her to strive to co-create a world that works for all of life.   Amen.

Ritual created by Carmel Bracken rsm

For more resources for the Season of Creation, please click here