The Season of Creation is an annual Christian celebration starting on September 1 and ending on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology. Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to join the celebration in 2015, with the release of his landmark encyclical Laudato Si'.
The theme of this year's Season of Creation is "Peace with Creation," and our Biblical text for this year is Isaiah 32:14-18. The prophet Isaiah pictured the desolated Creation without peace because of the lack of justice and the broken relationship between God and humankind. This description of devastated cities and wastelands eloquently stresses the fact that human destructive behaviors have a negative impact on Earth.
Our hope: Creation will find peace when justice is restored. There is still hope and the expectation for a peaceful Earth. To hope in a biblical context does not mean to stand still and quiet, but to act, pray, change, and reconcile with Creation and the Creator in unity, metanoia (repentance), and solidarity.
The symbol in the logo is characterized by a dove carrying an olive branch to the Garden of Peace. In the Biblical story of the flood, the dove plays the role of the blessed messenger; the dove sent out by Noah returns to the ark with a fresh olive branch in its beak, signaling that the flood is receding. As the flood story begins with a situation where "the Earth is filled with violence" (Genesis 6:13), the return of the dove with the olive branch came to be known as a sign of new peace.
Pope Francis' Message
Resources to Celebrate the Season of Creation
- To get the Celebration Guide, go to: www.season of creation.org.
The Season of Creation in Holy Cross Province
The Season of Creation is an annual opportunity to deepen our Ecological Spirituality, where we “discover God in all things,” both in the beauty of creation and in the suffering of the Crucified of Today.
As part of the Season of Creation, Passionist ministry sites hold special services. For example, the three Passionist-staffed parishes around Birmingham, AL., Holy Family, and St. Joseph in Birmingham, and St. Mary's in Fairfield, take turns hosting a Green Mass on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
St. Mary's, Fairfield, parishioners DeNell Bell and John Meehan
display the quilt created by Ms. Bell,
which serves as an altar cloth at the Green Mass.
They also acknowledge the work of those who work with Creation and those who work for environmental justice.
John Meehan (pictured above), one of the organizers, volunteered to share his experience and advice with others in Holy Cross Province who would like to plan a Green Mass. He can be contacted at [email protected].
For Passionist videos celebrating the Season of Creation, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLX1oMVs1ZQAdGEawsookkw
To see what other parishes are doing, go to:
https://catholicclimatecovenant.org/programs/feast-of-st-francis/