Listen to the Voice of Creation
The Season of Creation is the annual Christian celebration to listen and respond together to the cry of Creation: the ecumenical family around the world unites to pray and protect our common home. The Season “Celebration” begins on September 1st – the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation – and ends on October 4th – the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations.
This year we will unite around the theme, “Listen to the Voice of Creation.”
The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge…their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the Earth, and their words to the end of the world.
Psalms 19: 1-4
During the Season of Creation, our common prayer and action can help us listen for the voices of those who are silenced. In prayer we lament the individuals, communities, species, and ecosystems who are lost, and those whose livelihoods are threatened by habitat loss and climate change. In prayer we center the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.
May this 2022 Season of Creation renew our ecumenical unity, renewing and uniting us by our bond of Peace in one Spirit, in our call to care for our common home. And may this season of prayer and action be a time to Listen to the Voice of Creation, so that our lives in words and deeds proclaim good news for all the Earth.
source: Season of Creation 2022 Celebration Guide
Season of Creation Begins With Prayer Service
On Thursday, September 1, 2022, the Wheaton Franciscans, in collaboration with the Diocese of Joliet Laudato Si’ Ministry, opened the Season of Creation with a prayer service at Our Lady of the Angels Chapel. More than 50 people joined us in the Chapel while many more viewed the service on livestream.
The prayer service was planned and led by the young adults participating in the Diocese of Joliet Laudato Si’ Ministry led by Kayla Jacobs. The Wheaton Franciscan community served as hosts for this special event. Sr. Barb Nelson, IBVM, offered an engaging reflection reminding all of us that we are called to discipleship and, therefore, we are called to care for all of God’s creation.
This collaborative, intergenerational event is one small example of how “All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.” (Laudato Si’ #14)
Season of Creation Prayer Cards
Each week we will celebrate Season of Creation by sharing a prayer card featuring one section of the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World. In week two, we encourage you to reflect on the waters and fish, listen to the voice of creation, and express gratitude for their gifts. For the next seven weeks we invite you to take the time to reflect on each of elements, listen to the voice of creation, express gratitude for the gift of creation, and join in the recognition that “now our minds are one.”
