Sr. Mary Ellen O’Connell, CSJ, Sr. Betsy Conway, CSJ, and Sr. Maryann Enright, CSJ, blessing the compost and compost bin.

Earth Day Celebration: Giving Back to the Earth

Communications Office

On Earth Day 2026, we gathered to celebrate our shared commitment to care for our common home through prayer and action. Guided by the Laudato Si’ Committee, our focus was composting—a simple, tangible practice that reflects both environmental responsibility and spiritual meaning.

Composting was presented not only as a practical way to reduce waste, but as a sacred action, returning to the earth what has nourished us so that it may give life again. Our prayer included a reading from Fr. Raymond Ellis’s Theology of Garbage, reminding us that everyday scraps—eggshells, coffee grounds, and fruit peels—tell a story of self-gift, abundance, and renewal.

Sister Maryann Enright offered a clear and accessible presentation on how composting works and shared simple ways each of us can participate in this life-giving process. A short video, “Composting: How It Works” (Science Trek/PBS), helped ground our understanding, followed by time for reflection, questions, and shared insights.

Walking down to the garden to bless it.

We concluded our gathering outdoors with a procession to the garden, where composting bins and gardens were blessed. Compost is returned to the soil as a sign of gratitude and hope, affirming our call to co-labor with God in the ongoing work of creation.

This Earth Day celebration invited us to see new life in what is often overlooked and to renew our commitment to care for the earth with reverence and love.

Above, left: Sr. Dorothy sharing some thoughts on the blessing of the garden.
Above, right: educational materials for Sr. Maryann Enright’s Walking down to the garden to bless it.