Tomorrow is the day Christians pray for the earth. Pope Francis designated September 1 as a Day of Prayer for Creation in 2015. He was following the lead of other Christian denominations and groups. In my experience not enough Catholics know about this day.
Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I of Constantinople in 1989 was first to proclaimed September 1 an annual day of prayer and action to protect the environment. Subsequently many different Christian traditions have set the month between that date and October 4 as a season of Prayer for Creation. It’s a time of celebrating, praying for, and acting on behalf of creation. October 4 is the Feast Day of St. Francis.
St. Francis’ connection to nature and his love of all living things have made him one of Christianity’s most popular saints. Catholics, by proclamation of Pope John Paul II, have added to St. Francis’ titles “patron saint of those who promote ecology.”
Promoting a Season of Prayer for Creation
This year nine leaders from different denominations in a joint letter endorsed the concept of a Season of Creation. “As the environmental crisis deepens,’ they write, “we Christians are urgently called to witness to our faith by taking bold action to preserve the gift we share.”
Cardinal Peter Turkson is one of the signers. He is Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. “Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue,” the cardinal declares. “It is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.”
Remembering Laudato Si
For Catholics a Day of Prayer for Creation is also a time to remember Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home.” The pope spoke to Catholics and the entire world. He called for an ecological conversion that respects the dignity of both the human and non-human worlds. Everything is connected, but especially are the health of world ecology and the well-being of the world’s poor connected.
The pope explains how Christianity can nurture a spirit of care for the earth. The incarnation of the divine into created matter makes everything sacred. “The very flowers of the field and the birds which [Jesus’] human eyes contemplated and admired are now imbued with his radiant presence.” The world is a web of relationships, say ecologists. It would have to be, according to Francis. It is created “according to the divine model” of relationships within the Trinity.
The Christian leaders who signed the joint letter would agree. It’s time, they say, to “deepen our relationship with the Creator, each other, and all of creation.”
Pope Francis concluded the encyclical Laudato Si with two prayers, which I reproduce here. The first Francis intends for all believers in God; the second is specifically Christian.
A prayer for our earth
All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle for justice, love and peace.
A Christian joins with created things in prayer for creation
Father, we praise you with all your creatures.
They came forth from your all-powerful hand;
they are yours, filled with your presence and your tender love.
Praise be to you!
Son of God, Jesus,
through you all things were made.
You were formed in the womb of Mary our Mother,
you became part of this earth,
and you gazed upon this world with human eyes.
Today you are alive in every creature in your risen glory.
Praise be to you!
Holy Spirit, by your light
you guide this world towards the Father’s love
and accompany creation as it groans in travail.
You also dwell in our hearts
and you inspire us to do what is good.
Praise be to you!
Triune Lord, wondrous community of infinite love,
teach us to contemplate you in the beauty of the universe,
for all things speak of you.
Awaken our praise and thankfulness
for every being that you have made.
Give us the grace to feel profoundly joined
to everything that is.
God of love, show us our place in this world
as channels of your love
for all the creatures of this earth,
for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.
Enlighten those who possess power and money
that they may avoid the sin of indifference,
that they may love the common good, advance the weak,
and care for this world in which we live.
The poor and the earth are crying out.
O Lord, seize us with your power and light,
help us to protect all life,
to prepare for a better future,
for the coming of your Kingdom
of justice, peace, love and beauty.
Praise be to you!
Amen.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In