Rome (Italy). From 1 September, Day of Prayer for Creation, to 4 October 2024, feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology loved by all Christian confessions, the Season of Creation is celebrated, a privileged time to renew one’s relationship with the Creator and with all creation through celebration, conversion, and common action.
“Hope and act with creation” is the theme of this year, inspired by St Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Rom 8:19-25). In the Message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation 2024, Pope Francis invites us “to live an incarnated faith, which knows how to enter into the suffering and hopeful flesh of people; to join forces to help rethink the question of human power; also, to extend to creation the harmony between humans in their responsibility for a human and integral ecology, the way to salvation of our common home.”
In the light of the commitment on integral ecology assumed by the Resolution of General Chapter XXIV, on the occasion of this years’ time of creation, Sister Runita Borja, Counselor for Youth Ministry, offers a video-message in which she talks about the beauty of the FMA’s journey together with young people and the Educating Communities from all over the world towards conversion to integral ecology that is continuing and strengthening. “It is very moving to see how little by little awareness is growing in our educative works. The Platform of Laudato Si’ Initiatives has stimulated us in our charismatic choice towards the poorest, concretizing listening in the answers of integral education that we offer at different levels, according to the contexts.”
Sister Runita also invites us to continue as Educating Communities the journey towards conversion to integral ecology, moving from convictions to attitudes, from attitudes to concrete actions. “Let us strengthen the awareness that integral ecology is an integral vision. Let us not be content with actions that only focus on the care and protection of the environment. Integral ecology also focuses on caring for relationships, listening to the poor, choosing a simple and sustainable lifestyle, and an ecological spirituality. This is our contribution as the world’s Educating Communities, to form the critical mass that will allow the overthrow of an unsustainable and life-threatening lifestyle.”
As communicated to all the Provinces of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians by Sister Ruth del Pilar Mora, the General Councilor in charge of the International Commission for Integral Ecology, on 14 September 2024, a webinar will be held on the annual theme of the Season of Creation with a Salesian focus, aimed at the FMA, young people, and Educating Communities, organized by the Youth Ministry Sector, in collaboration with the International Commission for Integral Ecology and the Communication Sector.
The webinar will include a formative session by Sister Linda Pocher, FMA, Professor at the Pontifical Faculty of Education Science “Auxilium” in Rome. It will be broadcast on the Zoom platform and on the FMA Institute’s YouTube channel in Italian, with simultaneous translations into French, Portuguese, and English (on the Zoom platform). The link to participate in the webinar will be sent to the Provinces in due time.
The invitation is to value the Season of Creation as a strong time that each year recalls the path of the FMA Institute towards conversion to integral ecology.
“To hope and act with creation means first of all to join forces and, walking together with all men and women of good will, to contribute to rethinking the question of human power, its meaning, and its limits”. (Pope Francis)
Message of Pope Francis for the World Day of Prayer for the Season of Creation
Resources for the Season of Creation
Resources of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development
