The Universal Church marks on the 1st of September every year the “World day of prayer for the care of creation”. The day is celebrated to remind the Church community and believers of their role as stewards of creation. The day serves as a reminder to affirm our care and protection to His creation and to ask pardon for the sins committed against his creation.
The joint message of Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on this occasion reminds us that nature is a shared gift and the attitude prevailing today where we regard it as a private possession and exploiting it for our selfish purposes and greed is a sin. We are exhorted to dedicate time to pray for the environment and to give thanks for his creation. Let us reflect on His creation and pray for a change in the way in which we perceive the world to bring about a change in our attitude. The letter appeals leaders and people in positions of power to take concerted and collective action to heal the wounded creation.
Let us today re-affirm our commitment to the creation and pledge to undertake more initiatives like the Carbon Fast. As stewards of the Almighty’s creation, let us make non-selfish and sustainable choices. Collective action to resolve the ecological crisis like organizing tree plantation drives, environment cleaning initiatives can be organized on the Church community level.
