On Tuesday, September 1, the Church will celebrate the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation. Although you may have commemorated this day last year with the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi, we now have official texts from the Discastory for Worship with prayers and readings in the Roman Missal and lectionary. This new Mass may be used any time between September 1 and October 4 when a bigger feast is not in place. (Until new lectionaries and Roman Missals are published, we will need the internet for these readings and prayers for its first use on September 1. When the Season of Creation ends on October 4, the new Mass cannot be used because the Sunday supersedes it. Wait until October 4, 2027.)
There are choices for the readings. Here is my favorite from the Old Testament. “For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen.”
Here’s a psalm: “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:2).
From the New Testament: “In Christ everything in heaven and on earth was created….He is before all else that is (Col. 1:15-20).
One choice for the Gospel: Mt. 6:24-34 “Learn a lesson from the way the wild flowers grow.”
Whatever you choose, may the readings and prayers deepen your knowledge that all comes from God, exists though Christ, and all will return to God.
