The U.S. bishops have remarked that the “beauty of the autumn season” is a wonderful opportunity to increase your spiritual awareness and to join Pope Francis in prayer for God’s Creation.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said on September 1 that “our thanks for abundant harvests and the beauty of colourful leaves, early sunsets, and colder air calls us to create some internal space to listen more intently to creation, to one another, and to God.”
The chairman of the American bishops’ Committee on Justice and Human Development, Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, and the chairman of the bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, Bishop David Malloy of Rockford, delivered the bishops’ message for the World Day of Prayer for Creation.
The day of prayer was instituted by Pope Francis in 2015. It is observed on September 1. It starts a “Season of Creation” that lasts for a month and finishes on October 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi.
The day of prayer is in line with the pope’s 2015 encyclical Laudato si, which has as its subject the preservation of our shared habitat. This year’s Day of Prayer will focus on “Listening to the Voice of Creation.”
In his personal message for the observance, Pope Francis said that if we learn to listen, we might hear a type of discord in the voice of creation. On the one hand, we might hear a lovely song praising our loving Creator; on the other, we can hear an agonised cry bemoaning the way we treat this place we all call home.
The statements of Pope Francis were discussed by the US bishops. Catholics today must “learn the skill of listening to safeguard the environment,” much as the Old Testament prophets admonished people who “had ears, but hear not.”
The Holy Father correctly notes a discord in the globe, which is also resoundingly true in the United States, they stated. “The harmony that results from the integrity of creation and the beauty of the natural world communicate to us.
The “little ones” are being hurt by a disposable society driven by greed, overconsumption, technocratic power, and apathy. However, we also hear the “call of the land and cry of the poor.” Natural catastrophes, such as floods, fires, and heat waves, which cause misery in humans, animals, and ecosystems, continue to occur.
“We may also detect the song of hope arising from our collective activities to safeguard creation, perhaps unexpectedly, from our national politics and inside our pilgrim Church,” the bishops said.
The synodal proceedings in several Catholic dioceses in the United States produced some “hopeful reactions.” Young people in particular spoke out on the “need for the Church to care for creation.”
The bishops noted that many American Catholic organisations, religious orders, dioceses, parishes, communities, families, and individuals were responding to Laudato Si’s call.
They welcomed the Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s backing of neighbourhood groups that tackle environmental challenges in their statement. Catholic Charities helps individuals impacted by natural catastrophes, Catholic Relief Services promotes climate change adaptation work among the world’s poor, and the Catholic Rural Life Conference collaborates with farmers and agricultural professionals.
The USCCB recently amended its standards for socially responsible investing, giving environmental issues the highest consideration. Climate change, biodiversity, water and natural resources, technology, and environmental impact are currently the five areas for responsible investing.
The American bishops referred to the approaching Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi and the second anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli tutti, which focused on social friendship and brotherhood. The pope’s demand for “a better sort of politics,” in the opinion of the bishops, is a call for a better “eco-politics” that “protects, rather than exploits the environment and green ideals for political benefit.”
Despite differences in ideology, parliamentarians from a wide range of political perspectives are concerned about the welfare of their country and the environment.
According to the bishops, “they are working hard to examine bipartisan initiatives that may protect the environment, advance energy security, and expand the economy.” “We hope that both parties will continue to advance their best environmental policies and cooperate to safeguard our “shared habitat which God has bequeathed to us” in the present and the future.”
The environmental exhortations of Benedict XVI were also referenced by the American bishops.
In statements to the German parliament in September 2011, Benedict XVI declared, “We must listen to the language of nature and respond appropriately. He complimented the environmental movement for realising that “the planet has a dignity of its own and that we must obey its commands,” and that “matter is not merely raw material for us to mould at whim.”
The phrase “faith comes through hearing” from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans caught the bishops’ attention.
Hearing highlights the mysterious, individualised presence of God and the call to discipleship. God’s voice speaks to us, either directly or through creation and other people, to remind us of his love, presence, and mercy even in times of darkness when sight fails or the body is unable to feel, they said. The most passive of the faith senses, listening serves as a reminder of the Lord’s initiative and activity while our bodies can direct our gaze and reach.
Faith, according to them, is not a creation of our Promethean ingenuity, but rather our reaction to God’s action.
Pope Francis himself requested prayers in his message for the day of prayer so that global leaders at the COP15 summit on biodiversity and the COP27 conference on climate change may work together to confront “the combined tragedy of climate change and the destruction of biodiversity.”
The pope stated, “Let us grieve with the agonising plea of creation, mindful of the teaching of Saint Paul to rejoice with those who joy and to weep with those who weep.” So that we and future generations might continue to revel in creation’s wonderful song of life and hope, let us hear that appeal and react to it with actions.