Welcome to the Season of Creation, which began on September 1 and ends on the
feast of St. Francis, October 4. This is a special season, celebrated annually since
2015, to renew our relationship with our Creator and with all of creation. I am so glad
that our fraternity will celebrate in a special way with our September 17 film viewing and
retreat, and I hope you are looking forward to the event as much as I am.
This year’s theme for the Season of Creation, explained in Pope Francis’ annual
message, is “let justice and peace flow,” inspired by the words of the prophet Amos:
“Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (5:24). As
Pope Francis explains, “When we ‘seek first the kingdom of God’ (Mt 6:33), maintaining
a right relationship with God, humanity and nature, then justice and peace can flow like
a never-failing stream of pure water, nourishing humanity and all creatures.”
When I think of God’s incredible, life-giving love and how it is manifested all around us, I
am reminded of the words of Jesus, when he explained that we must be life-giving and
life-preserving to all, including those we see as enemies, “that you may be children of
your heavenly Father, for He makes His sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes
rain to fall on the just and the unjust” (Mt 5:45). That is such a beautiful image: God
embracing all of us with His love in such tangible ways—sunshine, moonlight, rain,
wind. And it is good for me to remember that God’s love is given freely to all people and
to all of creation.
The Season of Creation is a good time to stop and savor that tangible love of God, and
to ask myself what kind of return I make for that love. Do I live as gently as I can on this
beautiful planet created by God, or do I run roughshod over it? As Pope Francis
concludes his message, “In this Season of Creation, as followers of Christ on our
shared synodal journey, let us live, work and pray that our common home will teem with
life once again. May the Holy Spirit once more hover over the waters and guide our
efforts to ‘renew the face of the earth’” (cf. Ps 104:30)