Entering into the Season of Creation
September 1 through October 4 is designated the Season of Creation. Starting with the anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home” and ending on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, we pray, reflect, and work together to care for God’s creation on many levels. The climate crisis impacts us all through the rising costs of food and other needs, the increase of refugees fleeing weather and climate related events, the loss of animal species because of interruptions of their ecosystems and insufficient time to adapt, and the small window left to address climate change. Pollution and waste also contribute to the disturbance of the balance of creation. Fossil fuels, plastics, water contamination, commercial meat-based diets, and the energy usage surge all contribute to this crisis. There are ways, through prayer and contemplation, that we can be creatively inspired to act on behalf of God’s creation to repair the damage we have inflicted. It has not happened just in our lifetime but we are responsible to respond in this critical time. It is an essential life issue.
Season of creation invitations to prayer/reflection/action – I can act under my own limited scope and resources, but it will have a very limited effect. If I use the pray/ reflect/ act process, I am uniting myself to God’s will and creative inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This model also invites me into community with others who have the same desire to care for creation. Together, as co-creators and stewards of the gifts of creation, we can be led to action by the Holy Spirit. The group, which studied Pope Francis’ Exhortation “Laudate Deum”, is the core of our possibilities, and we need your participation. We will seek to discern action on three levels: personal/family, parish, greater community.
This is the Laudate Deum* Study Group invitation -
“Just thinking about environmental challenges can be overwhelming. Relating them to our everyday choices even more so. We are grateful that we, as unintentional ecological offenders/sinners, are choosing to gather to experience how others might be dealing with a topic weighing heavy on many a heart and mind. It turns out sharing lifehacks can be an effective way to put our Catholic faith into real-world action. Interestingly, not only are we finding ways to save time and money as we optimize our actions to what works for creation, we are also experiencing one of the subtle ways the Holy Spirit improves all our lives.
The funny thing about our Creator God, our brother Jesus, and “Mother” Nature is how accommodating all are to newcomers. This includes each of us as we journey in creation care.
It’s not too late to join in…
The Laudate Deum* Study Group: Amy, Emily, Rich, Kate, John, Jim, Mary, Lori, Luke, Wendy, Karen, Russ
* Laudate Deum (“Praise God) is Pope Francis’s message calling for speedier action against the climate crisis.
Consider this your invitation to enter more deeply into creation care, honoring God the creator, Jesus the Word who brought about creation, the Holy Spirit who hovered over the chaos and guides us today, and all those with whom we share our common home! Pray for and consider what you can do as an individual, family, or our parish and how that will inspire us to call forth greater action through legislative advocacy and joining others of goodwill for our common home.