(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has decided to set up a “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation” which will be celebrated on September 1st annually.
He made the announcement in a letter to the heads of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s report
Below in English is Pope Francis’ letter announcing the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation”
To my Venerable Brothers
Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah TURKSON, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Cardinal Kurt KOCH, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity
Sharing with my beloved brother the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew his concerns for the future of creation (cfr Encylical Letter. Laudato Si, 7-9) and taking up the suggestion by his representative, the Metropolitan Ioannis of Pergamum who took part in the presentation of the Encyclical Laudato Si on the care of our common home, I wish to inform you that I have decided to set up also in the Catholic Church, the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation” which, beginning this year, will be celebrated on the 1st of September, as the Orthodox Church has done for some time now.
As Christians we wish to offer our contribution towards overcoming the ecological crisis which humanity is living through. Therefore, first of all we must draw from our rich spiritual heritage the reasons which feed our passion for the care of creation, always remembering that for believers in Jesus Christ, the Word of God who became man for us, “the life of the spirit is not dissociated from the body or from nature or from worldly realities, but lived in and with them, in communion with all that surrounds us.” (ibid., 216). The ecological crisis therefore calls us to a profound spiritual conversion: Christians are called to “an ecological conversion whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them.” (ibid., 217). Thus, “living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.”(ibid).
The annual World Day of prayer for the Care of Creation offers to individual believers and to the community a precious opportunity to renew our personal participation in this vocation as custodians of creation, raising to God our thanks for the marvellous works that He has entrusted to our care, invoking his help for the protection of creation and his mercy for the sins committed against the world in which we live. The celebration of the Day on the same date as the Orthodox Church will be a valuable opportunity to bear witness to our growing communion with our orthodox brothers. We live in a time where all Christians are faced with identical and important challenges and we must give common replies to these in order to appear more credible and effective. Therefore it is my hope that this Day can involve, in some way, other Churches and ecclesial Communities and be celebrated in union with the initiatives that the World Council of Churches is promoting on this issue.
Cardinal Turkson, as President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, I asking you to inform the Justice and Peace Commissions of the Bishops’ Conferences, as well as the national and international Organizations involved in environmental issues about the establishment of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, so that in union with the needs and the local situation , this celebration can be rightly marked with the participation of the entire People of God: priests, men and women religious and the lay faithful. For this reason, it will be the task of this Dicastery, in collaboration with the Episcopal Conferences to set up relevant initiatives to promote and illustrate this Day, so that this annual celebration becomes a powerful moment of prayer, reflection, conversion and the adoption of appropriate life styles.
Cardinal Koch, as President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, I’m asking you to make the necessary contacts with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and with the other ecumenical organisations so that this World Day can become the sign of a path along all believers in Christ walk together. It will also be your Dicastery’s task to take care of the coordination with similar initiatives set up by the World Council of Churches.
Whilst I look forward to the widest possible cooperation for the best start and development of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, I invoke the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God and of St. Francis of Assisi, whose Canticle of the Creatures inspires so many men and women of goodwill to live in praise of the Creator and with respect for creation. I support this pledge along with my Apostolic Blessing which I impart with all my heart to you, my dear Cardinals, and to all those who collaborate in your ministry.
From the Vatican, 6th August 2015
Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Pope Francis) Pope Francis on Sunday recalled the 70th anniversary of the “terrible” atomic bomb attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, saying this tragic event “still arouses horror and repulsion” in us many years later. The Pope said these attacks have become the symbol of the enormous destructive power of humanity when it makes a distorted use of scientific and technical progress and serves as a lasting warning to us. Turning to the situation in El Salvador, Pope Francis spoke of his deep concern for the suffering of the population there as a result of the famine, the economic crisis and growing violence.
His remarks came in an appeal following the Angelus prayer addressed to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. In his earlier Angelus address, the Pope spoke of how faith only blooms if we allow our hearts to be opened by God’s love.
Please find below a translation in English of the Pope’s appeal and a summary of his earlier Angelus address:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
“Seventy years ago, on the 6th and the 9th of August 1945, the terrible atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place. Even after so many years, this tragic event still arouses horror and repulsion. This (event) has become the symbol of mankind’s enormous destructive power when it makes a distorted use of scientific and technical progress and serves as a lasting warning to humanity so that it rejects forever war and bans nuclear weapons and all arms of mass destruction. Above all, this sad anniversary urges us to pray and strive for peace, to spread brotherhood throughout the world and a climate of peaceful coexistence between peoples. May one cry rise up from every land, ‘No’ to war and violence and ‘Yes’ to dialogue and to peace. With war one always loses. The only way to win a war is never to wage it.
I am following with deep concern the news coming from El Salvador where recently the suffering of the population has worsened owing to the famine, the economic crisis, social clashes and growing violence. I encourage the beloved people of El Salvador to persevere united in hope and urge everybody to pray in order that justice and peace can flower ago in the land of the Blessed Oscar Romero.”
During his earlier Angelus address, Pope Francis said faith only blooms if we allow our hearts to be opened by God’s love. Taking his inspiration from the gospel reading of John where Jesus tells the crowd that “no one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me,” the Pope said Christ’s words introduce “the dynamics of faith.” He stressed that “it’s not enough to meet Jesus to believe in Him, it’s not enough to read the Bible, the Gospel, it’s not even enough to witness a miracle.”
The Pope said many people were in close contact with Jesus and “still did not believe in him and actually even despised and condemned him.” He explained that this occurred because “their hearts were closed to the work of the Holy Spirit. Instead, faith, which is like a seed in the depths of our heart, blooms when we allow ourselves to be drawn by God towards Jesus, and we go to Him with an open mind and with no prejudices.”
Pope Francis said with “this attitude of faith” we can also understand Jesus’s words when he describes himself as the “bread of life.” Whoever is drawn by this love of God goes towards Jesus with faith and receives from him eternal life. The Pope concluded by saying the person who lived through this experience “in an exemplary fashion was Mary, the virgin of Nazareth, the first human person who believed in God by welcoming the flesh of Jesus.” “Let us learn from her example.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) On Saturday morning, Pope Francis received Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., Prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in a private audience. In the course of the audience, the Holy Father authorized the Congregation to promulgate the decree regarding the martyrdom of the Servant of God Flavien-Michel Malké, of the Fraternity of St Ephrem, Eparch of Gazireh of the Syrians.
Bishop Flavien-Michel Malké was born in 1858 in Kalat’ül Mara, Turkey and was killed in odium fidei in Gazireh, Turkey, on 29 August 1915.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday morning met with more than 1500 young people from around the world, members of the Eucharistic Youth Movement. The meeting with the Holy Father was the culmination of an International Gathering of the Movement, which is celebrating its first centennial. The theme of the Gathering, taken from the Gospel of St John, is “So that my joy may be in you” (cf. Jn 15:9-17).
Listen to Christopher Wells’ report:
During Friday’s meeting, six of the participants – from Italy, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan, and France – had the opportunity to greet the Pope personally, and ask him questions about issues they face in daily life. Pope Francis responded to questions on tensions and conflicts within familiesand society; on discernment between true and false peace; on signs of hope in the world; and on deepening our relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist.
Pope Francis concluded his reflections with a hopeful message: “The world has many ugly things – we are at war. But there are also so many beautiful things, and so many good things, and so many hidden saints among the People of God. God is present. God is present, and there are so very many reasons to hope and to go forward. Be courageous, and go forward!”
The Eucharistic Youth Movement (EYM) is an international Church Movement for the Christian formation of children and young people. It seeks to teach them to live in Jesus’ way, by guiding them into a loving, ‘heart to heart’ relationship with Him, based on a Eucharistic spirituality. It prepares them to live as Christian adults, committed to serving their brothers and sisters in an unjust and secularized world.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Thanks to Carmel International Publishing House in Kerala, the weekly English Edition, now available online in Malayalam for our readers in India. Edition in Malayalam …