a Soul in ev'ry stone

[Doug Millison]

A seasonal item not at all out of synch with Pynchon's stance re the 
living Earth and Spirit:

Litany of Forgiveness

During this Lenten season, we walk with Jesus as he grieves over
Jerusalem which will be destroyed because it does not know the ways of
God; as he warns the people to repent, or change their ways; and as he is
betrayed and deserted by his followers after his arrest.

If we recognize the earth as the Body of Christ, God's beloved.  these
stories of and words attributed to Jesus take on fresh meaning.  The
Litany of Forgiveness below is used with permission by Dr. Alexandra
Kovats, a spiritual director and faculty member at the University of
Creation Spirituality with a Ph. D.  in ecological spirituality

Response: Kyrie, kyrie, eleison

Creator Spirit, we praise you and thank you for the creation of the world
and for all the living creatures of earth, sea and sky . . . for trees
and forest, grasses and wildflowers that you fashioned in love. We ask
forgiveness for taking your gifts for granted. . for the often
destructive and hurtful ways we have used your precious creatures.

Forgive us for annihilating our companion creatures at such a rapid
rate...

Forgive us for silencing your word of beauty by threatening and
endangering the lives of so many animal and plant species... gray wolf
and brown pelican, Aleutian goose and green sea turtle... silver spotted
butterfly ... and all the others unknown to us by name. . .

Forgive us for poisoning our life support systems of soil, water and air
with toxic wastes,  fumes and chemicals, sewage and detergents,
pesticides and other pollutants...

Forgive us for ripping open the ozone layer. the shield that has been
protecting all of life from harmful sun rays, with careless use of
chemicals...

Forgive us for littering our great oceans, rivers and wetlands with
plastic and lacing them with harmful sewage...

Forgive us for turning our fertile fields into deserts through
insensitive agricultural methods... for destroying our forests and
disturbing wilderness areas with noise and other pollutants...

Forgive us for not being wise earthkeepers of our home, Mother Earth...

Creator Spirit, you who hear each of us, forgive us and heal us. Teach us
to listen, so we call hear you in water, in wood and even in stone. Help
us to remember that we are of earth, flesh of her flesh, a member of the
community of her being. Teach us to be sister and brother to all that is.
AMEN.
-- 
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