Listen to the Voice of Creation
1 September marks the 7th annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in the Catholic Church. In 2015, Pope Francis decided to set up this annual celebration and announced it in a letter released on 6 August that year. The Orthodox Christian churches have celebrated this day for many decades and Pope Francis’ decision to establish this practice within the Catholic Church can be viewed as an act of solidarity in ‘caring for our common home’. This day also begins what is now called the Season of Creation which runs from 1 September until 4 October and encourages prayer and action for the environment.
2022 will be the first year that we celebrate the Season of Creation at St Patrick’s. We are doing this as part of our Laudato Si Action Plan, a seven year commitment to join the global Catholic community in response to Pope Francis’ call to respond to the cry of the Earth and the poor. It will be a chance to raise awareness of the issues relating to the suffering of creation and to pray ecumenically with other Christians.
This year we will unite around the theme, “Listen to the Voice of Creation.”
The Psalmist declares, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge…their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the Earth, and their words to the end of the world.” (19: 1-4)
During the Season of Creation, our common prayer and action can help us listen for the voices of those who are silenced. In prayer, we lament the individuals, communities, species, and ecosystems that are lost, and those whose livelihoods are threatened by habitat loss and climate change. In prayer, we centre the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.
The burning bush is the Symbol for the Season of Creation 2022. “I have heard their cry…I know their sufferings…Come, now! I will send you…I will be with you” (Ex 3:1-12).
Today, the prevalence of unnatural fires is a sign of the devastating effects that climate change has on the most vulnerable of our planet. Human greed, desertification and land misuse lead to the disintegration of ecosystems, the destruction of habitats, and the loss of livelihoods and species at an alarming rate. Creation cries out as forests crackle, animals flee, and people are forced to migrate due to the fires of injustice that we have caused.
On the contrary, the fire that called to Moses as he tended the flock on Mt. Horeb did not consume or destroy the bush. This was a flame of the Spirit that revealed God’s life sustaining presence. This holy fire affirmed that God heard the cries of all who suffered, and promised to be with us as we followed faithfully to deliverance from injustice. During the Season of Creation, this symbol calls us to listen to the voice of creation, and faithfully respond through worship, repentance and action.
Moses was told to remove his sandals, for he was standing on holy ground in God’s presence. May this symbol move us to remove the “sandals” of our unsustainable lifestyles that disconnect us from creation and our Creator, contemplate our connection to the holy ground where we live, and listen for the voice of creation.
Louise Barry - Religious Studies Coordinator