A Prayer for Our Common Home: Hope and act with creation, not against it
August 29, 2024 at 2:59 p.m.
This year’s World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, September 1, 2024, continues the annual tradition established by our Holy Father Pope Francis after the release of his May 24, 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’: Care of Our Common Home.” Each year for September 1, Pope Francis selects a theme and publishes a message which “focuses on care for the natural environment and all people, as well as broader questions of the relationship between God, humans, and the earth (Christopher Rice, “Best Summary of “Laudato Si’”,May 5, 2022).
Pope Francis has chosen as the theme for this year’s celebration “Hope and Act with Creation” … (which is) “drawn from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans (8:19-25), where the Apostle explains what it means for us to live according to the Spirit and focuses on the sure hope of salvation that is born of faith, namely, newness of life in Christ” (Pope Francis “Message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation,” June 27, 2024).
There he explains, “The earth is entrusted to our care, yet continues to belong to God according to the Judeo-Christian tradition. … To claim the right to possess and dominate nature, manipulating it at will, thus represents a form of idolatry, a Promethean version of humanity who, intoxicated by its technocratic power, arrogantly places the earth in a ‘dis-graced’ condition, deprived of God’s grace.”
The Holy Father continues, “Why is there so much evil in the world? Why so much injustice, so many fratricidal wars that kill children, destroy cities, pollute the environment and leave mother earth violated and devastated?”
“Creation itself, like humanity, was enslaved, albeit through no fault of its own, and finds itself unable to fulfill the lasting meaning and purpose for which it was designed. It is subject to dissolution and death, aggravated by the human abuse of nature.”
At the same time, reflecting on St. Paul’s letter, Pope Francis observes, “the salvation of humanity in Christ is a sure hope also for creation which will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
“This conversion entails leaving behind the arrogance of those who want to exercise dominion over others and nature itself, reducing the latter to an object to be manipulated, and instead embracing the humility of those who care for others and for all of creation.”
“To hope and act with creation, then, means above all to join forces and to walk together with all men and women of goodwill. … It also means rethinking the meaning and limitations of human power, which has ‘made impressive and awesome technological advances.’ (However) “unchecked power creates monsters and then turns against us.”
Rather than being used for domination over humanity and nature, technology must be “harnessed for the service of peace and integral development.”
In “Laudato Si’”, Pope Francis makes the case that care for creation as our “common home” is not merely a good or nice thing to do it is a moral imperative for all who inhabit the planet. He is not the first pope to do so.
Pope St. Paul VI wrote “(We have wished) to understand better the urgent need of a radical change in the conduct of humanity if it wishes to assure its survival. It took millennia for man to learn how to dominate, to ‘subdue the earth’ according to the inspired word of the first book of the Bible (Genesis 1:28). The hour has come for him to dominate his domination” (Address to the UN, November 16, 1970, para. 4).
Pope St. John Paul II wrote that "when man turns his back on the Creator's plan, he provokes a disorder which has inevitable repercussions on the rest of created order. If man is not at peace with God, then earth itself cannot be at peace. … Christians in particular realize that their responsibility within creation and their duty towards nature and the Creator are an essential part of their faith” (1990 “World Day of Peace Message”, nos. 5 and 15).
Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed that “the great gift of God's Creation is exposed to serious dangers and lifestyles which can degrade it. Environmental pollution is making particularly unsustainable the lives of the poor of the world ... we must pledge ourselves to take care of creation and to share its resources in solidarity” (Angelus Address, August 27, 2006).
This year, as we celebrate “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation,” let’s remember that creation is God’s work, God’s gift to us as our common home. Care for creation, our common home, God’s gift, is our work and our gift back to God. Let’s hope and act with creation, not against it!
Read the Holy Father's message HERE.
Creation is God's gift for humanity to steward, not prey upon, Pope says
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
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This year’s World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, September 1, 2024, continues the annual tradition established by our Holy Father Pope Francis after the release of his May 24, 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’: Care of Our Common Home.” Each year for September 1, Pope Francis selects a theme and publishes a message which “focuses on care for the natural environment and all people, as well as broader questions of the relationship between God, humans, and the earth (Christopher Rice, “Best Summary of “Laudato Si’”,May 5, 2022).
Pope Francis has chosen as the theme for this year’s celebration “Hope and Act with Creation” … (which is) “drawn from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans (8:19-25), where the Apostle explains what it means for us to live according to the Spirit and focuses on the sure hope of salvation that is born of faith, namely, newness of life in Christ” (Pope Francis “Message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation,” June 27, 2024).
There he explains, “The earth is entrusted to our care, yet continues to belong to God according to the Judeo-Christian tradition. … To claim the right to possess and dominate nature, manipulating it at will, thus represents a form of idolatry, a Promethean version of humanity who, intoxicated by its technocratic power, arrogantly places the earth in a ‘dis-graced’ condition, deprived of God’s grace.”
The Holy Father continues, “Why is there so much evil in the world? Why so much injustice, so many fratricidal wars that kill children, destroy cities, pollute the environment and leave mother earth violated and devastated?”
“Creation itself, like humanity, was enslaved, albeit through no fault of its own, and finds itself unable to fulfill the lasting meaning and purpose for which it was designed. It is subject to dissolution and death, aggravated by the human abuse of nature.”
At the same time, reflecting on St. Paul’s letter, Pope Francis observes, “the salvation of humanity in Christ is a sure hope also for creation which will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
“This conversion entails leaving behind the arrogance of those who want to exercise dominion over others and nature itself, reducing the latter to an object to be manipulated, and instead embracing the humility of those who care for others and for all of creation.”
“To hope and act with creation, then, means above all to join forces and to walk together with all men and women of goodwill. … It also means rethinking the meaning and limitations of human power, which has ‘made impressive and awesome technological advances.’ (However) “unchecked power creates monsters and then turns against us.”
Rather than being used for domination over humanity and nature, technology must be “harnessed for the service of peace and integral development.”
In “Laudato Si’”, Pope Francis makes the case that care for creation as our “common home” is not merely a good or nice thing to do it is a moral imperative for all who inhabit the planet. He is not the first pope to do so.
Pope St. Paul VI wrote “(We have wished) to understand better the urgent need of a radical change in the conduct of humanity if it wishes to assure its survival. It took millennia for man to learn how to dominate, to ‘subdue the earth’ according to the inspired word of the first book of the Bible (Genesis 1:28). The hour has come for him to dominate his domination” (Address to the UN, November 16, 1970, para. 4).
Pope St. John Paul II wrote that "when man turns his back on the Creator's plan, he provokes a disorder which has inevitable repercussions on the rest of created order. If man is not at peace with God, then earth itself cannot be at peace. … Christians in particular realize that their responsibility within creation and their duty towards nature and the Creator are an essential part of their faith” (1990 “World Day of Peace Message”, nos. 5 and 15).
Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed that “the great gift of God's Creation is exposed to serious dangers and lifestyles which can degrade it. Environmental pollution is making particularly unsustainable the lives of the poor of the world ... we must pledge ourselves to take care of creation and to share its resources in solidarity” (Angelus Address, August 27, 2006).
This year, as we celebrate “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation,” let’s remember that creation is God’s work, God’s gift to us as our common home. Care for creation, our common home, God’s gift, is our work and our gift back to God. Let’s hope and act with creation, not against it!
Read the Holy Father's message HERE.