31/08/2026
๐๐ก๐ ๐
๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง โ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Tuesday 1 September is the Feast of Creation, a day which begins a month long celebration by Christians all over the world of Godโs creation, of the Earth itself, of humanity, of all the flora and fauna, of the land and its waters. The theme for this year is โLiving Waterโ from Ezekiel (47:9,12), where all things flourish from the waters flowing from the Temple of God.
The Feast of Creation has a long history, beginning in 1989 as a feast of the Orthodox Church. The then Patriarch of the Orthodox Church noted that it is a day to offer โprayers and supplications to the Maker of all, both as thanksgiving for the great gift of Creation and as petitions for its protection and salvationโ. In 2015 Pope Francis followed suit and established the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation for the Catholic Church.
Even before 2015 the World Council of Churches extended the feast to be a month long Season of Creation, which all major Christian denominations joined to celebrate together.
The full Season of Creation runs from 1 September to 4 October, the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology. And this year is the special Jubilee Year of St Francis, proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV to mark the 800th anniversary of his death. In St Francis we have a great example of humility, living simply and caring
generously about our fellow people and all of creation. Pope Leo XIV has supported his predecessorโs interest in environmental issues. Last year he instituted the new Mass for the Care of Creation to integrate the Churchโs commitment to caring for creation into its liturgical practices. Pope Leo celebrated the first Mass on 1 September 2025, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. In his message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation 2026, Pope Leo emphasises the connection between armed conflict and environmental degradation. The message calls for a transformation of weapons into agricultural tools, symbolising a shift from destruction to sustenance. It echoes the words of Isaiah (2:4), โThey shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooksโ.
The message goes on to say โAs we observe this World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, we are once again invited to contemplate the gift of life and to cherish the earth that sustains it, for they are tangible ways of offering praise to our Creatorโ. On Tuesday it will be worthwhile remembering this invitation, even if only for a minute or two, to give thanks to God for all he has given us.
๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐.
