From 1 September – 4 October (the Feast of St Francis of Assisi) the Christian family unites for a worldwide celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home, known as ‘the Season of Creation’. We each share a common call to care for creation and this year, the theme for the season is “Listen to the Voice of Creation”.
During this season we are encouraged to pray and engage in community events in order to deepen our relationship with our God, our neighbour and the earth we share, being ever more attentive to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
Brentwood’s Caritas coordinator, Siân Thomas, has sent out resources via a weblink to all parishes, including a novena to St Francis for the nine days from 26 September to 4 October, a PowerPoint and a PDF printable version of daily reflections throughout the Season of Creation and a printable poster about changing habits in our lives. (These can also be found on the Laudato Si’ page here: https://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/laudatosi/ )
She says: “To help with preserving the environment, we are not simply posting swathes of these to schools and parishes, but we do have a colour A3 copier, and can print small quantities for any parish that would like us to do that – simply email [email protected].”
Siân continues: “Given the heatwaves of our summer in England, as well as the devastation currently being felt in Pakistan, and flooding and fires in many parts of the world, it may be that your parish or school is giving renewed attention to Climate Change. The Diocesan Laudato Si’ document produced last year, and all the associated images and links, are a perfect discussion starter for a group in a parish, rooting our response to climate change in our faith. Please contact me if you would like a copy sent out to your Parish. The electronic version of both the 2021 and 2022 resources are at https://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/laudatosi/.”
She concludes “We would love to hear your stories about helping wildlife or saving energy so please share on the Caritas and Diocesan website and social media. It may inspire others! Please send any stories and photos to [email protected].”