Dear Friends
Br Peter Carroll FMS
The COVID-19 Pandemic has brought about enormous suffering and distress for countless people across the globe. Ironically, one notable part of our world has benefitted from the pandemic – the environment. It seems that pollution and carbon emissions are at their lowest in decades. People are seeing colours in the sky they haven’t for a long time. Similarly, birds have been noticed in places where they wouldn’t have survived last year. The closure of factories, the grounding of airlines, the reduction in motor travel have all helped the ecological balance.
This will probably be short lived. However, it makes the very clear statement that human activity affects the environment for better or worse. Tragically, it’s most often for the worse. It’s beyond dispute that we must consider the needs of the environment and work to improve our common home. The Season of Creation is an opportunity to focus on these priorities.
The Season of Creation began on Sunday, 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and continues until 4 October, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi. It’s not a specifically Catholic venture; it’s shared by the Christian family. The Orthodox first set aside 1 September as a day of prayer for creation in 1989. The World Council of Churches extended it into a full season, and Pope Francis gave his support to it in 2015, after the release of his Encyclical “Laudato Si”.
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day, and in recognition the 2020 theme is Jubilee for the Earth. This draws on the Hebrew Scripture’s presentation and meaning of Jubilee. Pope Francis takes this up in his message, issued for 1 September. He writes that Jubilee is:
1. A Time to Remember: A Jubilee is indeed a time of grace to remember creation’s original vocation to exist and flourish as a community of love…Jubilee is a time of remembrance in which we cherish the memory of our inter-relational existence.
2. A Time to Return: A Jubilee is a time to turn back in repentance. We have broken the bonds of our relationship(s)… We need to heal the damaged relationships that are essential to supporting us and the entire fabric of life.
3. A Time to Rest: During the Jubilee, God’s people were invited to rest from their usual labour and to let the land heal…as individuals consumed less... Today we need to find just and sustainable ways of living that can give the Earth the rest it requires…
4. A Time to Restore: A Jubilee is a time to restore the original harmony of creation and to heal strained human relationships. It invites us to re-establish equitable societal relationships, restoring freedom and goods to all and forgiving one another’s debts.
5. A Time to Rejoice: We witness how the Holy Spirit is inspiring individuals and communities around the world to come together to rebuild our common home and defend the most vulnerable in our midst…and we rejoice…
So, this Season of Creation is an opportunity to contemplate the beauty of creation, to pray in thanksgiving for it and to take concrete action to protect and restore our environment. For this earth is our common home and we are all diminished if it is harmed. We can pray with Pope Francis “Send forth your spirt, O Lord, and renew the face of the Earth’ (Psalm 104:30).
Br Peter Carroll FMS,
President, Catholic Religious Australia
A Link to the Pope’s message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation:
A Link to the Columban’s Catholic Season of Creation Sundays
A Link to the Season of Creation Website
A Link to Catholic Earth Care
https://www.catholicearthcare.org.au