Two days ago, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a woman graduate of Academia Merici, an Ursuline School in Caracas, Venezuela.
From
our JPIC Committee
October
4th, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, marks the formal closing of the 2025
Season of Creation. St. Francis’s great love of God’s Creation, commitment to
peace, global popularity, and ecumenical and interfaith importance all combine
to make him an important inspiration for the Season of Creation, one capable of
keeping its focus and energy dynamic through the rest of the year. In the
spirit of his feast, we share here the famous Canticle of St. Francis
celebrating the wonders of God’s Creation.
Canticle
of Brother Sun and Sister Moon of St. Francis of Assisi
Most
High, all-powerful, all-good Lord, All praise is Yours, all glory, all honor
and all blessings. To you alone, Most
High, do they belong, and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.
Praised
be You my Lord with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, Who
is the day through whom You give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with
great splendor, Of You Most High, he bears the likeness.
Praised
be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars, In the heavens you have
made them bright, precious and fair. Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers
Wind and Air, And fair and stormy, all weather's moods, by which You cherish
all that You have made.
Praised
be You my Lord through Sister Water, So useful, humble, precious and pure. Praised
be You my Lord through Brother Fire, through whom You light the and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You my Lord through our Sister, Mother Earth who sustains and governs us, producing varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs. Praise be You my Lord through those who grant pardon for love of You and bear sickness and trial. Blessed are those who endure in peace, By You Most High, they will be crowned.
Praised
be You, my Lord through Sister Death, from whom no-one living can escape Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Blessed are they She finds doing
Your will. No second death can do them harm.
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From our JPIC Committee As this year’s Season of Creation draws to its end,
the warnings from the scriptures grow stronger and more dire. They reflect
and support again the sense of urgency about climate change that Popes Leo
XIV and Francis, climate scientists, the young, and so many around the world
have been declaring. Amos focuses
attention on those who remain indifferent to the suffering of their sisters
and brothers and promises them punishment. The psalmist again insists that
God loves and will lift up the poor. Jesus tells
the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, warning that the time can come when
it will be too late for our conversion. We need instead to listen to Moses,
the prophets of our time, and Jesus himself, the one who has indeed risen
from the dead. Paul urges Timothy and us to remain faithful, living and preaching
our faith through all that lies ahead. As we
celebrate the Feast of St. Francis let us reignite our love and care for
creation. May we always be instruments of God’s peace for all.  |
From the Ursuline JPIC Team
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The liturgy
today focuses attention first on the dishonesty and unscrupulous attitudes
and practices of those caught up in the idolatry of wealth and consumption.
They value their unjust financial pursuits more than their religious
practices or beliefs. In the
context of the Season of Creation, these include the people today who will
subordinate the sacred mission of care for Creation to the economy” and the
advance of their personal financial interests. It includes
those who have no concern or scruples about what their economic activities
are doing to the poor and to the whole web of life. And it certainly includes
those who use their power and resources to spread false information and lies,
to hide the truth about climate change and ecological crisis from people who
will suffer most and those who could help bring about salvific change. The prophet
Amos and the psalmist warn that God will not forget their actions. God has
special care for the poor and power to raise them up and “seat them with
princes.” In the
gospel, Jesus reminds us through the parable of the unjust steward what is
most important in life and what constitutes the true “good life.” Let us pray for peace and justice on the International Day of Peace.  |
The 1st Sunday of this Season of Creation called us to humility before the vast and intricate web of Creation and laid out before us some of the costs of discipleship to Christ in this time of urgent global crisis.
The complex,
integral ecological crisis confronting us in these times bears witness to
humanity’s lack of humility in relating to the rest of Creation, our attitude
of domination toward nature and the lack of attention to the challenging
dimensions of discipleship to Christ.
The punishing
natural consequences of those failures – the more frequent and severe fires,
floods, and many other impacts of the warming of the planet – threaten the
future of life on Earth in all its dimensions.
Today’s
liturgy assures us of God’s readiness to forgive us and to welcome our
conversion while warning us of the punishing natural consequences of sinful
values and actions so visible in the sufferings of the crucified Christ. In
these times we need to see them as well in the crucifying suffering of Earth
and of the poor.
From the Ursuline JPIC Team
In recent years, under the leadership of Pope Francis, the Season of Creation has taken its place in the Catholic liturgical calendar, uniting Catholics worldwide with the more than 35-year Ecumenical/Orthodox history of its celebration. The Season of Creation extends from September 1st, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, to October 4th, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
The Season
focuses on God as Creator of the vast, cosmic Universe, God’s revelation in
Creation, and our response to our calling to care for Creation and address the
urgent need to protect its rich diversity and its capacity to sustain life as
we know it.
The
celebration of the Season of Creation, since its foundation, has come amid a
complex environmental, social, political, and cultural crisis. The impacts of
this crisis make it hard to ignore the urgency of its message and the
importance of our prayer and work to address it: record-setting heat waves
killing people by the thousands around the planet, severe and long-term
droughts, famines, massive wild fires and a never-ending fire “season,” serious
water shortages facing major cities, more violent storms and destructive flash
floods, rising sea levels, millions of people driven from their homes as
climate-change refugees, and so much more….
The theme
serving as a focus for this year’s Season of Creation is “Peace with
Creation.” This theme reminds us that many human activities amount to a
“war against Creation.” Unsustainable
lifestyles, exploitive business models, excessive consumption and throw-away
cultures, thoughtless destruction of habitats, disregard for biodiversity loss,
and the devastation of literal wars are just a few of the human dynamics
threatening the web of life around planet Earth.
The mission
before us as people of faith and members of the human community is to work for
the justice and global solidarity that are essential to establishing “Peace
with Creation.” Coming to understand and
enter into this process is one of the most important challenges of the Season
of Creation.
The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation is observed annually on September 1 to encourage believers to pray for the planet and take action to protect it. Established by Pope Francis for the Catholic Church in 2015, the day marks the beginning of the Season of Creation, a month-long period of prayer and advocacy for environmental stewardship that extends to October 4. Pope Francis adopted the day for the Roman Catholic Church, coinciding with the release of his encyclical letter Laudato Si': Care for Our Common Home.
Communities
are encouraged to engage in various forms of prayer, such as meditative nature
walks, liturgical celebrations, and reading scripture.
The day
promotes practical steps, including advocating for rapid decarbonization,
supporting a just energy transition to renewable sources, and preserving
natural resources.
It serves as a
time to reflect on the connection between social justice and environmental
protection, and the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation on
vulnerable communities.
There are many
resources available for this Season focusing on care for the planet and to
advocate for it. Resources can be found online at: https://seasonofcreation.org/.
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