February  27. Sunday 8C.  In the Lord your labour is not in vain. Some Justice and Peace groups had begun to focus on environmental issues.  The Mayberry team had chosen to combine that with a family focus. “It makes sense to ask ourselves, ‘How clean is our backyard?’  As a family we have a right to services like water, electricity and shelter, but also have to take responsibility to care for our own immediate environment. Brian may be involved in the bigger municipal issues beyond our own walls but we can’t neglect our own yard.”  Fr Oliver was pleased that his J&P and Family teams were working together. He suggested, “Apart from keeping your yards tidy you families could start a little vegetable patch and encourage the children to take responsibility for that.  That is how all our work can bear fruit.  Becoming an eco-friendly family:   As a family examine your commitment to caring for the environment.

My beloved brethren be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain. 1 Cor 15:54-58.   Pope Francis:  Some committed and prayerful Christians ridicule expressions of concern for the environment. Others are passive. What they all need is an ecological conversion. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue. The effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ becomes evident in their relationship with the world around them. LS217.