Over 35 years ago, the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, known as Patriarch Dimitrios I of Constantinople, announced September 1st as the “Day of Prayer for Creation” for Orthodox Christians. This was later extended to include the whole month of September, ending on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi on October 4th and subsequently earning the title of “Season of Creation.” In 2015, with the release of his encyclical titled “Laudato Si,” Pope Francis endorsed “Season of Creation” as part of the Catholic Church’s liturgical year to help deepen faith in God, bring attention to the cry of Mother Earth and to help the poor who experience firsthand the impacts of environmental degradation.
September calls for the Church to pause and reflect upon the gifts of God’s creation and this year the theme focuses on Isaiah 32:14-18, where the Spirit of God is poured over creation, bringing life, abundance, blessings, and peace. The text tells us that God’s presence turns the desert to fertile fields which are so abundant that they seem like forests.
Fertile fields producing life sustaining nourishment for both humans and herbivores. Photo: pixabay.com
The presence of God is transformational and life giving. When we involve Christian teachings and invite the Holy Spirit to be part of the work being done, it impacts the purpose and gives deeper meaning for why the work needs to be done in the first place. Recently, a Non-Government Organisation was invited to present at a Catholic school in Fiji that is historically linked to the Columban Fathers, and while this organization’s data-use, method of facilitation, and all-round knowledge on recycling was good, there was a need to provide deeper purpose to the cause.
Linking recycling to Catholic Social Teachings, Season of Creation, and Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si,” set the spiritual foundations that give meaning to human actions like recycling. Thankfully, Columban lay-workers were on-hand to provide spiritual formation for the students at the beginning and end of the training session, linking the NGO’s facilitation with care for God’s creation as a Christian responsibility requiring us to be good stewards of the environment.
Isaiah 32:16-18 tells that when the Spirit of God is present, not only is it nourishing and life-giving, but from it flows justice, righteousness, and peace. These divine gifts reassure us that when we choose to involve God in the mission or work that we do, there is every possibility that goodness will flow.
God’s goodness flows when justice, righteousness, and peace is at hand. Photo: pixabay.com
At the Columban Mission Office, goodness has sure flowed this September as we received hundreds of artworks, poems, and essays for the Season of Creation Competition. Students from Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia, have alongside their teachers, sought God’s presence in their submissions about being at peace with creation. The peace or shalom of God requires a restoring of relationships and this is the call being made by some student submissions:
“To nurture and flourish so creation blooms, to protect the growth of a flower, so its seeds can flourish too”
“The more we grow with nature instead of against it is when we learn more about what God wants and what the world needs.”
“Peace with creation” is moving with the nature around us, to thank God when we are greeted by the sun and wake up, to see our wrinkles as skin we’re thankful to have, to treat everyone with equality, and to swim and run, and get dirty.”
To be greeted by the sun each morning and rejoice!. Photo: pixabay.com
As we continue to celebrate Season of Creation through the various activities and events happening in schools this month, let us hope that its influence grows each year and draws us closer to one another and to the great outdoors where we connect with nature to meditate upon God’s intricate patterns that form this world we are so blessed to call our home.
Adi Mariana Waqa is the Partnership Coordinator at the Columban Mission Centre in Essendon.