The theme for this year’s Season of Creation, which will run from 1 September until 4 October, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi patron of the environment and ecology, is: To Hope and Act with Creation. This six-week seasonal fixture on the Church’s calender was established by Pope Francis in 2015 following the publication of his bestselling encyclical letter Laudato Si – on care for our common home.
Commenting on the Season, Kieran Graham, a Theology and International Development student at Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and who is currently undertaking a summer internship with Trócaire’s Church team, “the Season of Creation is a time that is asking for the conversion of hearts, a time to hear the cries of humanity and all of creation. It is a time to acknowledge our vulnerability and our need to make a change. We know that those who are least responsible for the climate and biodiversity crises bear the brunt of the effects. This is an injustice.”
Mr Graham continued, “We are called in this time of need to have hope, a hope that if truly grasped, is capable of great change in all its convictions for a world and life of better prosperity and relationships. This is an active hope. We are called to witness our bonds of brothers and sisters and that all of nature and our environments were made with a common destiny, in which we have come to gravely ignore and exploit. We are called to bring all things into right relationship.
“The Season of Creation is a time to take action, a time to not only witness our faith in our thoughts and words, but also by our actions. To physically go out into the world and make change. This Season is a time to reflect and mirror the kingdom of heaven through justice and our will to live in a better world, where we care for our neighbours, and act for justice. This is a time where we bear witness to God and show our willingness to put our faith into hope-filled action.”
Mr Graham concluded, “Let us come together in joy and hope in this Season of Creation to care for our world. One of the ways we can do this in our parishes is by using the bank of resources from Trócaire and the Laudato Sí’ Working Group of the Bishops’ Conference.”
To read more and download resources of the Season of Creation 2024 click here.
ENDS
