Care for Creation

Pope Leo is observing the month of September as the Season of Care for Creation. This initiative, begun by Pope Francis, invites us as a Church to renew our commitment to creation through prayer, conversion, and concrete acts of care and stewardship. On September 1, the Holy Father celebrated a “Mass for the Care of Creation.” We, too, will celebrate this Mass throughout the month, on September 2, 19, 25, and 28 at the 8:00 AM Mass.

All creation is a gift from God, and every gift carries with it a responsibility. Our Christian faith helps us recognize our common home not simply as something to be used, but as a gift we receive with gratitude and are called to care for with love. Each time we celebrate the Mass, our thanksgiving to God also calls us to live out our commitment: caring for creation means caring for life, caring for our brothers and sisters—especially those who are most vulnerable—and thinking also of the generations who will come after us.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers us a beautiful promise: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” What a hopeful message! We do not have to face the challenges of our world alone. Christ is with us when we gather in faith, in prayer, solidarity, and service. Christ is present when neighbors come together to help families after a disaster. He is present when communities work to protect water sources and green spaces. He is present when young people courageously raise their voices for the world they will inherit. And He is present when each of us shares our gifts to protect the most vulnerable and work for the good of all.

Our patron saint, Saint Francis of Assisi, is also the patron saint of ecology and of our beautiful state of Colorado. As we approach the 800th anniversary of his death, let us remember his profound joy in the beauty of creation and his love for every creature as a gift from God. May his example awaken in us today a renewed sense of responsibility: to contemplate creation with gratitude, to care for it with tenderness, and to defend it with courage. Following in his footsteps, may we make our love for God a concrete love for our common home and for all those who share it with us. And may we, united as brothers and sisters, become true peacemakers, leaving future generations a world that is more beautiful, more just, and filled with greater hope.

Fr. Mark Zacker

Pastor