Prayer

The Season of Creation is here, an annual Christian celebration of prayer and action for our common home, which begins with the arrival of Spring, and lasts to the Feast of St Francis of Assisi on 4 October.

In this third week of the Season of Creation, the theme is that of sacramentality. As the ACBC 2021 Social Justice statement says:

The more we recognise this divine presence
the more we uncover the sacramentality of creation.
The universe is infused with the love of God,
and we are immersed in a world
that continues to reveal the presence of the divine Word…

Christ is the centre of all goodness.
Within the realm of created things, we
humans carry a sacramental trace of Christ.
Jesus teaches that to care for one of the least is to care for him (Mt 25:40).

…our outlook and actions need to be transformed
in accord with the loving presence of God at the heart of all reality,
to be attentive to the beauty in all things,
to recognise Christ in the stranger,
and to hear and respond to the cry of the earth.

The third prayer comes from the prayer card titled Sacramentality, and goes as follows:

God of all creation,
the heavens tell of your glory
and the earth is full of wonders
that sing of your goodness.

Sun, moon, stars and sky,
rain, snow, wind and water,
animals, birds, trees and flowers:
all are shaped by your loving hand.

Open in us an attentiveness
that recognises and welcomes the holy
that enfolds us and calls our name.

Form us to be people who delight
in life as your gift
to be revered, savoured, and nourished.

AMEN.

DOWNLOAD THE PRAYER CARD

During this Season of Creation, I would invite you to download and read the Social Justice Statement, and to download and share the resources and prayers with your family and your community, which can be accessed by clicking down below:

READ THE SOCIAL JUSTICE STATEMENTLEARN MORE & DOWNLOAD RESOURCES

I also encourage you to learn more about the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, a great initiative the Vatican launched this year.

I look forward to writing to you next week to share another prayer from the ACBC for this Season of Creation, which will conclude on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi.

Blessings,

Sr Monica Barlow RSJ
Sacramental and Liturgy Consultant
Catholic Diocese of Wollongong