News Archives » Season of Creation
2022 Season of Creation: Listen to the Voice of Creation September 1st, 2022
(Photo courtesy of Jaime Reimer, Pexels)
The 2022 Season of Creation observance begins on September 1 and ends on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Oct. 4, The Season of Creation is the annual Christian celebration to listen and respond together to the cry of Creation: the ecumenical family around the world unites to pray and protect our common home. The observance this year will unite around the theme, “Listen to the Voice of Creation.”
May this 2022 Season of Creation renew our ecumenical unity, renewing and uniting us by our bond of Peace in one Spirit, in our call to care for our common home. And may this season of prayer and action be a time to Listen to the Voice of Creation, so that our lives in words and deeds proclaim good news for all the Earth.
(READ Fr. Harry Winter, OMI’s article “Christian Unity and JPIC Bond in the Season of Creation“)
Find additional resources at these links:
- Resources from the Season of Creation ecumenical coalition.
- Download this Catholic Season of Creation social media kit and share it
- Laudato Si’ Movement
- Laudato Si’ Action Platform
- Catholic Climate Covenant
- Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate– JPIC Tips for living sustainably – download brochures in English & Spanish
OMI JPIC – Most Viewed Stories in 2020 January 19th, 2021
Want to know which stories received the most attention on OMI JPIC’s website and Facebook page in 2020? Click the link for the list and happy reading!
http://omiusajpic.org/2020-most-viewed-stories/(opens in a new tab)
Laudato Si Put Into Action at Sacred Heart Parish August 31st, 2020
We join the global ecumenical family in prayer and action for the Season of Creation which begins on September 1. We are also inspired by Fr. Jack Lau, OMI’s efforts to turn Pope Francis’ Laudato Si message into concrete action at Sacred Heart Parish, Oakland, CA.
Years ago gardens were built for St. Martin’s de Porres School (now a Mandarin immersion charter school). But the gardens were recently abandoned and when the school switched to virtual learning earlier this year, Fr. Jack, with help from a parishioner, got to work reviving the gardens.
Fr. Jack recently completed training to become a Laudato Si Animator and with proper care and attention, the garden is already producing a bounty of vegetables.
Although churches remain closed in the California Bay area, Sacred Heart Parish hosts Sunday zoom Masses and drive-thru communion.
Immediately after Mass and drive-thru communion, fresh vegetables from the now flourishing gardens are available for parishioners who may have been laid off or otherwise in need. As a multicultural parish, some parishioners have enjoyed touring the gardens just to remind themselves of gardening back in the Philippines, Vietnam or Nigeria.
This past Sunday, Fr. Jack as usual picked what vegetables were ready to share with the parish after Mass and before drive through communion. Parishioners then brought in vegetables from their own gardens, day old bread and fruit for sharing as well. A beautiful synergy is taking place!
Like many of us, throughout the month of September Sacred Heart Parish joins in acknowledging and celebrating “the Season of Creation.”
WANT TO BECOME INVOLVED?
From September 1 to October 4, participate with Christians around the world in a celebration of restoration and hope to heal our relationships with creation and with each other. Learn about and participate in events by visiting this link: http://bit.ly/JoinSOC2020
2020 Season of Creation Calls for Prayer & Action August 28th, 2020
The Season of Creation is a new Liturgical Season for the Catholic community globally as it joins the 30-year ecumenical/orthodox history of celebration under the leadership of Pope Francis and through the promotion of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. It extends from September 1st, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, to October 4th, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
Liturgical seasons invite us to reflect, pray, and practice different aspects of our faith and the Season of Creation is a time for intentional reflection, prayer, and practice on care for our common home. Several organizations have collaborated on the 2020 Season of Creation Catholic Liturgy Guide. Click here to download the guide.
Celebrating a Worldwide Season of Creation September 1st, 2016
La Vista Ecological Learning Center invites you to participate in the
Worldwide Season of Creation
September 1 – October 4, 2016
(Visit seasonofcreation.com for worship resources)
Last year Pope Francis designated September 1 as the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation, joining the Orthodox Church which has been celebrating it since 1989. The day has now been extended by some groups to be a month-long Season of Creation, ending on October 4 (Feast of St. Francis).
Speaking to the faithful on Sunday, August 28th, 2016, Pope Francis said, “This coming Thursday, September 1st, we will mark the World Day of Prayer for the care of creation, together with our Orthodox brothers and with other Churches,” describing the event as, “an opportunity to strengthen the common commitment to safeguard life, respecting the environment and nature.”
Announcing this special day in 2015, Pope Francis said Christians want to make their special contribution to safeguarding creation, but to do that they must rediscover the spiritual foundations of their approach to earthly realities, beginning with an acknowledgment that “the life of the spirit is not dissociated from the body or from nature,” but lived in communion with all worldly realities.
The ecological crisis, he said, is a summons “to a profound spiritual conversion” and to a way of life that clearly shows they are believers. Quoting his encyclical, he said, “living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.”
For Your Reflection
Pope Francis calls upon our Christian faith to care for nature and for the most vulnerable among us, honoring the three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbor, and with Earth. This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature.
Selected Quotes from Laudato Si’
“Each community can take from the bounty of Earth whatever it needs for subsistence, but it also has the duty to protect Earth and ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations. “(67)
“Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, and political and for the distribution of good. Its worst impact will probably be felt by developing countries.” (25)
“Fresh drinking water is an issue of primary importance, since it is indispensable for human life and for supporting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems” (28)
“The spirit of God has filled the universe with possibilities and therefore from the very heart of things, something new can emerge”. (80)
“The entire material universe speaks of God’s love and boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God. ” (84)
“Everything is interconnected, and genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others.” (70)
“Our relationship with the environment can never be isolated from our relationship with others and with God. “(119)
What touches your heart? What calls you to action?
(Thank you to Denise Turcotte, CSC, for calling us to deepen our relationship with our rare and precious planet.)
