NauMai September 2021
In 2015, Pope Francis has established 1 September as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, encouraging the Catholic community around the world to pray for our common home. The day is inspired by the Holy Father’s landmark encyclical Laudato si’, which calls on ‘every person living on this planet’ to care for our shared Earth.
Pope Francis calls us all to celebrate this opportune moment to ‘reaffirm [our] personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation, as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live’.
‘The annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation offers to individual believers and to the community a precious opportunity to renew our personal participation in this vocation as custodians of creation, raising to God our thanks for the marvellous works that He has entrusted to our care, invoking his help for the protection of creation and his mercy for the sins committed against the world in which we live.’ – Pope Francis in his announcement for the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation.
The National Liturgy Office has resources for the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation on September 1, and the Season of Creation on its website: nlo.org.nz/news-and-events/media-releases/season-of-creation-2021/
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 recognise 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.
– Pope Francis, Laudato si’
The Integral Ecology Committee of the Wellington EJP Commission has created resources and activities for liturgy groups, parishes, families and communities to help deepen our commitment to care for creation, during the Season of Creation. Resources are online at: wn.catholic.org.nz/about/commission-for-ecology/laudato-si-in-the-archdiocese/
Pitching ‘Abraham’s tent’ during the 2021 Season of Creation
The World Day of Prayer also falls at the beginning of the Season of Creation – from 1 September until 4 October, the feast of St Francis of Assisi. This is an ecumenical season dedicated to prayer for the protection of creation and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles. Thousands around the world join in prayer for a time of restoration and hope, a jubilee for our Earth, and to discover radically new ways of living with creation and take action for our common home.
Every year the Season of Creation also features a new theme and a new logo for everyone to unite around to care for God’s creation. This year’s theme is ‘A home for all? Renewing the Oikos of God’; and the logo reflects that theme as it’s Abraham’s tent, which symbolises ‘a home for all’.
In ancient Greek, Oikos means ‘house’ or ‘family’. By framing the 2021 Season of Creation theme around the concept of oikos, we celebrate the integral web of relationships that the sustain the well-being of the Earth.
Amid crises that have shaken our world, globally we have been awakened to the urgent need to heal our relationships with creation and with each other during the ecumenical Season of Creation.
Learn more at: seasonofcreation.org