Opening Prayer Of The Season Of Creation: “Looking At Our Common Home”
Pope Francis wrote: “We are particularly happy that the Season of Creation is becoming a truly ecumenical initiative. Let us continue to grow in the awareness that we all live in a common home as members of a single family.”
In tune with the entire universal Church entering Season of Creation, which is celebrated annually from September 1 to October 4, 2021, at 20:00 on Wednesday, September 1, 2021, Caritas Da Lat celebrated the opening prayer time to open the Season of Creation with the theme: “Looking at our common home”. The program was consisted of three parts: Introduction to the Season of Creation, Prayer, and Introduction to the universal church Laudato Sí action forum. Prayer hours were streamed online via YouTube and Fan Page Caritas Da Lat.
Before entering the prayer time, Ms. Maria Goretti Dinh Thi Hong Phuc, Deputy Director of Caritas Da Lat introduced the Creation Season with its history, meaning, and theme in 2021. As Pope Francis said: “Creation Season celebrated annually is an ecumenical initiative of the global Christian Family. During this period, Christians worldwide renew their faith in the God of creation and join in prayer and work for the care of our common home”. The theme Home for all creation - renews Oikos the family of God, with the symbol of Abraham's Hut- the house for all creation. Oikos, the common home for all species is now in danger of greed, exploitation, disrespect, disconnection and systematic degradation, the whole of creation is crying out. From those sentiments, Ms. Hong Phuc invited the community to join Caritas Da Lat in practicing and living the Season of Creation with specific actions: choosing ecological food with more plants, being clean production and employees are respected for their dignity, living friendly with the natural environment, using domestic goods, limiting plastic bags, single-using plastic water bottles, etc…
Going to the heart of the prayer time, Father John Bosco Hoang Van Chinh - General Representative - Director of Caritas Da Lat Diocese directed the community to the work of creation in the book of Genesis (Gen 2.8-9.15): “The story of Creation gives us a panoramic view of the world. The Bible says that, "from the beginning", God wanted man to cooperate in preserving and protecting the natural environment… The earth was entrusted to us as a grace and wonderful heritage, which each of us shares in the responsibility to preserve and protect, until, as Saint Paul wrote in Ephesians 1,10 "as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth". (common message 2017)
Six years ago, on August 6, 2015, Pope Francis decided to establish a "World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation". This date was set to be celebrated on September 1 every year. This will be an opportunity to reaffirm the Christian vocation as stewards of creation that God created, to show gratitude for the gifts God bestowed and entrusted to our care. Pray for the protection of the environment and ask God’s forgiveness for the sins of destroying the environment.
Our common home is plagued by the suffering of the poor and the destruction of the environment. Global warming trend has continued, contributed by human activity in part. In recent years, the Earth’s climate has warmest on record; this phenomenon has been aggravated, causing droughts, floods, and forest fires along with extreme weather events. Climate change events also contribute to the state of the global crisis. The poor in the world are the ones who most affected by this situation.
In response to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor and in the context of the Covid 19 pandemic, Father John Bosco invited the community to live the season of creation together with the diocese, with a few practical suggestions: Praying for the epidemic to stop, healthy people, healthy planet; Renewing our relationships with God and with all “creation”; Living the spirit of Laudato Si “Take care of the common home and listen to both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” (LS 49); Attending 2 online prayer sessions conducted by Caritas Da Lat Office at 8pm on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 and at 8:00pm on Monday, October 4, 2021.
Concluding his sharing, Father John Bosco borrowed the pope's words during his Wednesday General Audience, September 16, 2020 when he meditated on the passage from the book of Genesis: "contemplating and caring: these are two attitudes that show the way to correct and re-balance our relationship as human beings with creation”. Each one of us can and must be a “guardian of the common home”, capable of praising God for his creatures, and of contemplating creatures, and protecting them.
The prayer hour ended with the prayers and blessings of Fr John Bosco.
After the prayer, the community was shown a video clip of Pope Francis' invitation to join the Laudato Si action forum. The above contents were implemented stronger by Ms. Hong Phuc “All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.”(LS) 14).
The Holy Father initiated the Laudato Si action forum with the goal of responding to the cry of the earth, the cry of the poor, the cry of children and future generations. With the wish to initiate a “bottom-up movement” that brings about radical change urgently needed in the face of the crisis of our common home… Hopefully the forum will make an important impact so that it can be create social change. Urgently we need to act, so that the earth's temperature does not rise more than 1.5 Celcius degree.
Laudato Si Action Forum is an action-oriented ecological conversion in the spirit of holistic ecology to support and promote internal forces in families, communities, and organizations to achieve total sustainability. This is the fruit of a unique collaboration of men and women of good will.
Laudato Si's 7-year journey invites 7 members to participate: Individuals/family, Parish/diocesan, Education, Health, Economy/agriculture, organizations/groups/communities, Religious Orders; Together towards 7 goals: Responding to the cry of the earth, Responding to the cry of the poor, Eco-economy, Simple living, Eco-education, Eco-spiritualism, Community engagement.
And on October 4, 2021, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development began launching the Laudato Si' Plans.
Organizations, communities or families are invited to sign up to participate in planning at: https://laudatosiactionplatform.org
Season of Creation will be a critical time for everyone to speak up for the most vulnerable. May we be agents for renewal of life, servant leaders of all life in the Beloved Community, Oikos of God. Because God is present in the whole universe and in the smallest of creatures, God embraces all that exists with tenderness, God invites us to protect life and beauty, to live as brothers and sisters, do no harm to others. God of Divine Mercy, pour out upon us the power of your love and awaken in us the desire to live in justice, love and peace.
Sister Anna Tran Hang