Be Our Guest / Fr. Clem Davis

Sept. 24 Mass at St. Bartholomew Church to mark annual Season of Creation

Pope Francis has invited the Church and the people of the world to celebrate and participate in a Season of Creation from Sept. 1-Oct. 4, when we celebrate the memorial, or feast day, of St. Francis of Assisi.

This is part of our Holy Father’s effort to raise the consciousness of Catholics and of all people of the world to the fact that we human beings are responsible for the care of God’s creation.

God has provided a rich variety of life forms, all of them interconnected in various ways, and all of them serving life-giving and life-protecting functions. As the life forms created in the divine image, we humans are most responsible for how we care for and treat the many and varied ecosystems on our earthly home.

Pope Francis has shared with all of us his thoughts and feelings about the ways in which our world and its creatures are being affected by human development.

While our progress in means of production, travel and communication have brought about greater connectivity around our globe, they have not developed without also causing harm to the natural world in all its beauty and complexity. This reality calls for reflection, re-evaluation and, in many instances, a re-thinking of our priorities. What do we gain if our increased speed of travel results in the disappearance of living species or the loss of livable habitats?

At St. Bartholomew Parish in Columbus, the Care for Our Common Home Ministry’s goal is to educate, advocate and support efforts that will encourage our parishioners and others to consider the impact they have on the environment and how they can make positive changes in that regard.

We know that we have only just begun to respond to Pope Francis’ calls for examination and change. We shall continue to pray for the wisdom and the courage it will take to be true stewards of creation. We gather regularly for prayer, sharing and learning more about our beautiful planet Earth, its many different and complex life systems, and its need for healing and repair of what has been damaged in the name of “human progress.”

While much of what we learn can be cause for alarm, we believe that we have access to the means of reparation and healthy growth for ourselves and for our fellow creatures as well.

That is where prayer comes in, and the Mass, our eucharistic assembly, is the highest form of our prayer.

We invite everyone to join us on Sept. 24 for a Season of Creation Mass with Archbishop Charles C. Thompson at St. Bartholomew Church, 1306 27th St., in Columbus. There will be a musical prelude at 5 p.m. in the church, with Mass beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Please know that all are welcome to join in this beautiful celebration in the church and to share in refreshments and fellowship in our parish hall immediately following the liturgy. We hope to welcome many of our archdiocesan brothers and sisters at this environmentally friendly and spiritually uplifting celebration!
 

(Father Clem Davis is senior associate pastor of St. Bartholomew Parish in Columbus.) †