Pope Benedict XVI on Creation Day 2007

To follow Christ, dear young people, also involves a constant effort to contribute to building a society that is more just and fraternal, in which everyone can enjoy the goods of the earth. I know that many of you have dedicated yourselves generously to testifying to your faith in various social fields, working as volunteers, for the promotion of the common good, peace and justice in every community.

One of the fields in which it is urgent to work is most definitely that of safeguarding creation. The new generations are responsible for the future of the planet, which shows evident signs of a development that has not always known to preserve the delicate balances of nature. Before it is too late, we must make courageous choices with a view to a strong alliance between man and the earth.

We need a decisive Yes to safeguarding creation and a strong commitment to reverse those tendencies which risk bringing us to a situation of irreversible (environmental) degradation. That is why I appreciate the initiative of the Italian Church to promote greater sensitivity to the problems of protecting the environment by designating a national day for this purpose on September the first.

This year, attention is directed towards water, a most precious asset which, unless it is shared in a just and peaceful way, will become a cause for tensions and bitter conflicts.

My dear young friends, after listening to your reflections yesterday evening and later in the night, and allowing myself to be guided by the Word of God, I wanted to entrust to you these considerations, which are meant to be fatherly encouragement to follow Christ in order to be witneses of his hope and his love.

—Pope Benedict XVI, Loreto, September 2, 2007

The organizers of the Loreto youth festival backed up these words with environmental stewardship. Participants received backpacks made of recycled materials, hand-crank flashlights, recycling bags, and prayer books printed on recycled paper. Trees will also be planted to offset the carbon released by the 300,000 young travellers. Now if we can get the other 1.1 billion Catholics on board we'll really be making some progress!

Comments

[Margaret Watts]

Greetings, As the environmental teachings of Pope John Paul 11 and Pope Benedict xv1 have not yet reached the pulpit of Sunday Mass, and given the urgency to call our 1 billion catholics to ecological conversion and take up their ecological vocation could an Ecological Eucharistic Prayer be prayed at Mass. We have 4 Eucharistic Prayers already and when our grandchildren do their catholic history, this would tell them that we knew about the environmental crisis and we did something about it. We prayed every Mass!Thankyou for the opportunity to make a suggestion.

[Sylvia]

Hello Margaret. That is an excellent idea. I have seen prefaces to the Eucharistic Prayer at the Season of Creation website. Here's an example:

It is right to give you thanks, loving Creator. Your Word is the impulse for all things to be, for space, stars, and stardust to appear, for Earth to emerge from the deep, for life to be born of Earth and for humans to be born of Earth and the Spirit. You chose to be born a human being, to become a part of Earth, to suffer, die, and rise from death to redeem humankind, renew creation, and affirm all born of Earth and the Spirit. Your presence is the living impulse in all things, the Christ deep among us, filling Earth—land, sea, and air; filling every element and place; filling the grain and the grape we share with you this day. Therefore with angels and archangels, ancient voices in the forest, high voices from the sky, deep voices from the sea, and the whole company of creation, we proclaim your presence among us