Season 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 Oikos of God.
The Season “Celebration” began September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends October 4, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations.
The Ballarat Diocesan Social Justice Commission invited all members of our diocesan parishes and schools to the first Diocesan Season of Creation Mass held on Friday, September 19, 2025 at St James Parish School in Sebastopol. The Social Justice Commission thank staff and students from St James for their wonderful participation. The Commission looks forward to continuing this tradition next Season of Creation. This event was livestreamed for participation across the diocese.
Pope Leo has issued a message for the day titled “Seeds of Peace and Hope”. In it, he encourages us to take action to protect our damaged earth and all those who live on it, especially those who are poor and vulnerable.
The full text of Pope Leo’s Message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation may be found here.
The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation begins the Season of Creation which runs through to the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, October 4.
It is an ecumenical celebration of our Christian commitment to caring for earth and all who live on it. The official Season of Creation website offers many excellent resources for use by parishes, schools and individuals during this special time of the year. link below
As part of its commitment to the Season of Creation, Caritas Australia recently launched a new campaign for schools – Creation Changemakers. Caritas is encouraging schools to create a Garden of Peace (or revitalise an existing garden). They have provided a prayer for the school’s garden, a dove template for students to write their own prayer and then to place it in their garden and social media assets to inspire others.
For parishes, Caritas is encouraging them to hold a Relay of Hope and sign the Turn Debt into Hope petition.
They are also sharing a great prayer resource for parishes:
seasonofcreation_2025_eng – Final.pdf – Google Drive
The theme for the 2025 Season of Creation is, “Peace with Creation.” Resources to celebrate are available from the Season of Creation website
Reflection on the Season of Creation from Corrie van den Bosch MSS
Each day, between 4pm-5pm, a network of people from across Australia (and perhaps, beyond) spend time in contemplation. They are members of the Contemplative Evolution Network. This network was founded by Ballarat-based Mercy Sister, Madeleine Duckett, and Corrie van den Bosch MSS has been part of the network for several years. It is a daily commitment to spend that one hour in contemplation, ‘holding in love our broken, suffering world’. Corrie provided the following reflection for contemplation:
Read here:
Reflection:
The diversity of life on Earth can be seen as sacramental, as expressing and representing the abundance and dynamism of the divine communion.
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