September
1, 2018,
Quezon
City.
The
Global Catholic Climate Movement-Pilipinas (GCCM-Pilipinas) together with
various Catholic organizations, institutions, NGO’s and people’s organizations celebrated
the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation today. The event dubbed as “Walk
for Creation” gathered thousands of people at the Shrine of Jesus the Divine
Word (Christ the King Mission Seminary) in E. Rodriguez, Quezon City.
GCCM-Pilipinas
together with its partner organizations and institutions, organized the first Walk
for Creation and held it at Luneta Park last year. It was highlighted with the
celebration of the Holy Eucharist followed by a symbolic walk reflecting on the
Moments of Creation based on science.
This
year’s celebration started with a symbolic walk reflecting on the different issues
that are threatening our common home, drawing hope from the creation story of
the book of Genesis. The walk culminated with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist
to inspire all those who were gathered to embrace and to celebrate the beauty
and pain and the interconnectedness of all life in creation.
“World
Day of Prayer for Creation is a contribution of the Catholic Church to the
awakening of humanity to the reality that we are destroying God 's creation and
that we need to move together if there is to be a future for our children and
grandchildren,” pointed out Fr. John Leydon, Chairperson of GCCM-Pilipinas.
In
2003 the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines issued the call to
celebrate Creation Day and Creation time. In the letter, the bishops urge that
our different liturgies celebrate the beauty and pain of our world, our
connectedness to the natural world and the ongoing struggle for social justice.
In 2015, Pope Francis, following the lead of the Orthodox church establish September
1st as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation”.
In
his address to the International Conference Marking the 3rd Anniversary of the
Encyclical Laudato Si2, Pope Francis said:
“All
these actions presuppose a transformation on a deeper level, namely a change of
hearts and minds. In the words of Saint John Paul II: “We must encourage and
support an ‘ecological conversion’ (Catechesis, 17 January 2001). Here the
religions, and the Christian Churches in particular, have a key role to play.
The Day of Prayer for Creation and its associated initiatives, begun in the
Orthodox Church, are beginning to spread among Christian communities throughout
the world.”
The
event also marked the opening of the Season of Creation.
“September
1 is the start of the Season of Creation which extends until Oct 4, the Feast
of St Francis of Assisi,” explained Fr. Leydon. “During this time Catholics are
invited to deepen our relationship with our Creator through deepening our
relationship with one another and all of God 's creation,” he added.
“We
hope that this event will inspire and forge in us new consciousness that will
bear attitudes of care for each other and all of creation,” sounded off John
Din, National Coordinator of GCCM-Pilipinas.
GCCM-Pilipinas
is the official Philippine Chapter of the Global Catholic Climate Movement. It
was established during the Laudato Si Week on June 2016 with AMRSP, CBCP-NASSA,
PMPI, Columban Missionaries and Franciscans as the lead convenors. Since then,
GCCM-Pilipinas has been involved in various activities promoting Pope Francis’
encyclical letter Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home.
No comments:
Post a Comment