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September 1, 2022
Dear Parishioners and Supporters of Immaculate Conception Church,
As you enter our worship space this Sunday, you will see a large new banner hanging on the wall at the side of the altar. The main image on it includes a diverse group of people, some animals, an artistic representation of the burning bush. Imprinted on the image are the words: Listen to the Voice of Creation. We will have this banner displayed in our church from September 1 to October 4. The period marks what has come to be called: Season of Creation – a special time devoted to helping Christian faith communities re-connect with the earth, to retrieve the ancient teachings of the Church focused on the spiritual connection between us and the rest of God’s creation.
We begin Season of Creation this Thursday, September 1 with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. For that occasion, Pope Francis has issued a special, short message. I encourage you to read it. You can find it at: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2022/07/21/220721c.html
Here is a short quote with the Holy Father’s call to a deeper ecological conversion:
“…During this Season of Creation, let us pray that COP27 and COP15 can serve to unite the human family in effectively confronting the double crisis of climate change and the reduction of biodiversity. Mindful of the exhortation of Saint Paul to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep (cf. Rom 12:15), let us weep with the anguished plea of creation. Let us hear that plea and respond to it with deeds, so that we and future generations can continue to rejoice in creation’s sweet song of life and hope.”
During the month of September and through October 4, I would like to ask you to use the following prayer at least once a week as an individual or as a family gathered around a dinner table:
In this Season of Creation, we pray that you would call to us, as from the burning bush, with the sustaining fire of your Spirit. Breathe upon us. Open our ears and move our hearts. Turn us from our inward gaze. Teach us to contemplate your creation, and listen for the voice of each creature declaring your glory. For “faith comes from hearing.” Give us hearts to listen for the good news of your promise to renew the face of the Earth. Enlighten us with the grace to follow the Way of Christ as we learn to walk lightly upon this holy ground. Fill us with the hope to quench the fires of injustice with the light of your healing love that sustains our common home. In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Peace and all good,
Fr. Jacek Orzechowski, OFM
Dear Parishioners and Supporters of Immaculate Conception Church,
As you enter our worship space this Sunday, you will see a large new banner hanging on the wall at the side of the altar. The main image on it includes a diverse group of people, some animals, an artistic representation of the burning bush. Imprinted on the image are the words: Listen to the Voice of Creation. We will have this banner displayed in our church from September 1 to October 4. The period marks what has come to be called: Season of Creation – a special time devoted to helping Christian faith communities re-connect with the earth, to retrieve the ancient teachings of the Church focused on the spiritual connection between us and the rest of God’s creation.
We begin Season of Creation this Thursday, September 1 with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. For that occasion, Pope Francis has issued a special, short message. I encourage you to read it. You can find it at: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2022/07/21/220721c.html
Here is a short quote with the Holy Father’s call to a deeper ecological conversion:
“…During this Season of Creation, let us pray that COP27 and COP15 can serve to unite the human family in effectively confronting the double crisis of climate change and the reduction of biodiversity. Mindful of the exhortation of Saint Paul to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep (cf. Rom 12:15), let us weep with the anguished plea of creation. Let us hear that plea and respond to it with deeds, so that we and future generations can continue to rejoice in creation’s sweet song of life and hope.”
During the month of September and through October 4, I would like to ask you to use the following prayer at least once a week as an individual or as a family gathered around a dinner table:
In this Season of Creation, we pray that you would call to us, as from the burning bush, with the sustaining fire of your Spirit. Breathe upon us. Open our ears and move our hearts. Turn us from our inward gaze. Teach us to contemplate your creation, and listen for the voice of each creature declaring your glory. For “faith comes from hearing.” Give us hearts to listen for the good news of your promise to renew the face of the Earth. Enlighten us with the grace to follow the Way of Christ as we learn to walk lightly upon this holy ground. Fill us with the hope to quench the fires of injustice with the light of your healing love that sustains our common home. In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Peace and all good,
Fr. Jacek Orzechowski, OFM
More Resources for Season of Creation
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August 16, 2022
Dear parishioners and supporters of Immaculate Conception Church, The Season of Creation is the annual celebration in which Christians around the world listen and respond together to the cry of Creation. Faced with the climate and biodiversity crises, the ecumenical family around the world unites to pray and protect our common home. The Season “Celebration” begins on September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations. This year, Immaculate Conception parish will join millions of other Christians around the globe as we focus on the theme: “Listen to the Voice of Creation.” Over the next week, you will hear about the different ways in which the members of our parish and school can participate in the Season of Creation. Today, however, as a member of the JPIC Animation of the Franciscan Order, I would like to bring to you a special invitation to the upcoming virtual presentation and conversation offered via Zoom by our Rome Office of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation: "Shemá: Biodiversity, Franciscans, and the Season of Creation” For a Present That Has a Future. The webinar will take place on Saturday, September 3 from 9 AM to 10:30 AM, EST. Join in a conversation with: Rosa Maria Ruiz, a prominent environmentalist and defender of Madidi National Park in Bolivia; Br. Erlison Campos, OFM, a Franciscan friar of the Custody of Saint Benedict of the Amazon, Brazil; and Paula J. Ehrlich, President & CET of E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation/Co-Founder of Half-Earth Project. Since last year, our Immaculata School and parish have been collaborating with Half-Earth Project, which is headquartered at the American Tobacco Campus in downtown Durham. Peace and all good, Fr. Jacek Orzechowski, OFM |
"Shemá: Biodiversity, Franciscans, and the Season of Creation”. For a Present That Has a Future, the webinar will take place on Saturday, September 3 from 9 AM to 10:30 AM, EST.
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