When you open your Laudato Si’ Action Platform dashboard, you’re greeted with a powerful reminder: change is possible. Under each Laudato Si’ Goal—Adoption of sustainable lifestyles, Ecological spirituality, Response to the cry of the earth, and more—you’ll find actions that have been carefully researched for impact. They’re not just ideas; they are proven pathways toward ecological conversion.
See all the possible actions listed in your dashboard
But if you’re leading in a parish, a school, or your office, you may wonder: What can we realistically do right now? What can we do without a budget approval, without a long committee process, without waiting for “the perfect time”?
Here are three actions—each from a different Laudato Si’ Goal—that you can begin today. They require little or no money, no special authority, and no perfect conditions. Most importantly, they build momentum.
1. Host a Laudato Si’ Prayer Moment
(Goal: Ecological Spirituality)
One of the actions under Ecological Spirituality is to organize a prayer experience rooted in Laudato Si’—whether during Mass, a parish gathering, or as a stand-alone moment of reflection.
This is one of the simplest and most powerful things you can do.
You don’t need funding. You don’t need a long planning timeline. You need a reading from Laudato Si’, one of the two prayers at the end of the encyclical, or a simple intercession added to Sunday Mass. Even a short reflection before a meeting can shift the tone of your community.
Why does this matter? Because ecological conversion begins in the heart. Organizational change research consistently shows that culture shifts when shared meaning shifts. Prayer creates that shared meaning. It reminds your community that care for creation is not an optional hobby: it is part of our discipleship.
Practical tip:
- Choose one upcoming moment already on the calendar (a staff meeting, youth group night, parish council meeting).
- Open with a five-minute Laudato Si’ reflection.
- Invite one person to share briefly why caring for creation matters to them personally.
That’s it. Once you do this, you can confidently mark that action complete in your dashboard, and more importantly, you’ve planted a seed.
2. Reduce Single-Use Plastics at an Upcoming Event
(Goal: Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles / Response to the Cry of the Earth)
Many actions in these categories focus on reducing waste and encouraging sustainable habits. You don’t need to overhaul your entire parish facility to make progress. Start with one event.
Choose the next coffee hour, parish celebration, or ministry gathering. Commit to reducing or eliminating single-use plastics for that event. Encourage parishioners to bring reusable mugs. Use existing cups instead of disposable ones. Skip bottled water if safe drinking water is available.
This kind of visible, practical step does two important things. First, it directly reduces environmental impact. Second, it makes ecological responsibility the norm and makes it visible within your institutional culture.
The key is not perfection: it’s clarity. Communicate ahead of time:
“This event is part of our parish’s commitment to care for our common home.”
People are more willing to adapt when they understand the purpose. And when they see that the change is manageable, resistance softens. You don’t need a facilities overhaul. You need one concrete experiment. Small institutional wins build confidence for larger ones later.
3. Share One Educational Resource Widely
(Goal: Ecological Education)
Ecological Education encourages formation and awareness-building. One accessible action is to share a Laudato Si’ resource with your community—through a bulletin insert, social media post, email newsletter, or parish website.
Choose a short excerpt from Laudato Si’, a reflection on one of the Laudato Si’ Goals, or a local environmental issue connected to Catholic social teaching. Frame it simply:
“As part of our Laudato Si’ commitment, we’re sharing one monthly reflection on care for creation.”
You don’t need to be an expert. You need consistency.
Organizational research shows that repeated small signals from leadership shape culture over time. When care for creation is regularly incorporated into communication, it starts to feel like part of the community’s identity.
If you feel under-supported, this is especially powerful. Education builds allies. The more people understand the “why,” the more likely you are to find collaborators.
Why These Three Matter
Notice the pattern:
- One action shapes hearts (prayer).
- One action changes habits (waste reduction).
- One action builds understanding (education).
Together, they reflect the integrated vision of Laudato Si’: spirituality, lifestyle, and formation working together. And each one can be marked complete in your dashboard without waiting for permission, funding, or ideal circumstances.
You may sometimes feel that your parish is too small, too busy, or too stretched thin to make a difference. But momentum rarely begins with sweeping reform. It begins with visible, faithful steps.
See all the possible actions listed in your dashboard
When you mark an action complete in your Laudato Si’ Action Platform dashboard, you are doing more than checking a box. You are joining a global movement of Catholic communities responding to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
Start small. Start today. And trust that grace multiplies what we offer.