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Care for Creation

Our mission is to spread the Catholic teaching of creation care concerning our duty to be good stewards of our common home, to include the just use of our environmental resources and the protection of all life. We raise awareness to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, encourage individual and community resilience and empowerment, and advocate for the adoption of sustainable lifestyles, all with the urgency the times require.

Pope Francis’ Season of Creation Message
Upcoming Events
Season of Creation 2024

Celebrate Season of Creation (SOC) 2024 with Us! Sept 1st - Oct 4th, the Feast of Saint Francis

The Season of Creation Mass, celebrated by Cardinal McElroy, will be held September 14th at the 5PM Vigil Mass at St. Gregory the Great! Register at https://bit.ly/SOC24MassRegistration. 

SOC24 Electronic Resource Folder including bulletin inserts, flyers, and materials

The SOC24 theme echoes Pope’s Francis’ Laudate Deum exhortation, demanding our faith in action. Accordingly, our local celebration focuses on our Creation Care Pathway to Action, which starts with watching the Vatican’s film, The Letter.

This film invites us to SEE what is happening to Our Common Home from the perspective of Four Voices: The Poor, The Indigenous, Biodiversity, and The Youth. Our events and activities highlight each of these, invite us to DISCERN what our faith teaches us about what we SEE, and lead us to ACTION!

Week ONE – THE LETTER: Watch for free on YouTube as a household or register your parish/school for a free screening at theletterfilm.org/screenings/. The first 10 parishes/schools/groups to notify us of a scheduled screening win $50 for movie snacks!

Week TWO – THE POOR: Celebrate the Season of Creation Mass and Respond to the Cry of The Poor, bringing non-perishable foods in support of St. Gregory the Great’s weekly collection.

Weeks TWO & THREE – LEARNING OPPORTUNITY: “The Pathway to Ecological Citizenship and Spirituality,” a 2-part, expert-led ZOOM workshop, Sept. 11, 3:30PM, & Sept. 18, 3:30PM

Week THREE – THE INDIGENOUS: Learn from our local communities with a visit to St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish and the Barona Cultural Center & Museum

Week FOUR – BIODIVERSITY: Wildlife photographer Ly Dang presents “The Fragility of Wildlife.” Event info posted soon.

Week FIVE – THE YOUTH:   Two excellent opportunities!

Winners and Selectees will be announced September 29th!

Our Feast of Saint Francis Trees, Peace and All Goodness Festival will conclude SOC24 on October 6th, 1-3PM, with a Creation Care Fair, exhibition of Art Contest works and recognition of winners, induction of Creation Care Teens, and tree give-away!

Word cloud based on the Pope’s 2024 Message for the World Day of Prayer for Creation.

SD Catholic Creation Care Pathway to Action

1. SEE:  Watch The Letter, a free film produced by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Integral Human Development and the Laudato Si’ Movement to get an overview of today’s environmental crisis and develop understanding of how the poor and vulnerable experience the greatest impact.

Families can watch at home on YouTube here, or parishes/schools/groups can register for a link here.

2. DISCERN: Participate in one of our diocesan introductory workshops to learn about the science that explains today’s environmental degradation, the spiritual nature of these dynamics, and how you can get involved with our Creation Care programs.

We hold two workshops at the Pastoral Center, just before Lent and during the Season of Creation in September, AND/OR we will gladly come to your parish—English and Spanish presentations are available!

3. ACT: Attend a Laudato Si’ Action Planning Hands-On Workshop, at which we will guide you—parishes, schools, families, businesses, and universities—through the Vatican’s online platform for taking action to lessen your impact on our sister, Mother Earth!

Diocesan Action Planning
Laudato Si’ Encyclical Explained
Laudato Si’ Goals
Click on the thumbnail to view the Laudato Si’ Goals.

A Prayer for Our Earth, from Laudato Si’

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.

Office of Life, Peace & Justice

Contacts

Robert Ehnow, PhD
Director
Phone: (858) 490-8375
rehnowEmail at symbolsdcatholic.org

 

Maria de Lourdes Valencia
Associate Director, Culture of Life
Phone: (858) 490-8323
mvalenciaEmail at symbolsdcatholic.org

 

Christina Slentz, PhD
Associate Director, Creation Care
Phone: (858) 490-8327
cslentzEmail at symbolsdcatholic.org

 

Carolina Diaz-Romero
Administrative Assistant
Phone: (858) 490-8324
cdiaz-romeroEmail at symbolsdcatholic.org

 

Rev. Emmet Farrell
Spiritual Advisor, Creation Care
efarrellEmail at symbolsdcatholic.org

Creation Care Monthly Articles

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Triune Lord, wondrous community of infinite love,
teach us to contemplate you
in the beauty of the universe,
for all things speak of you.
Awaken our praise and thankfulness
for every being that you have made.
Give us the grace to feel profoundly joined
to everything that is.

(Pope Francis, A Christian Prayer in Union with Creation, Laudato Si’)

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