The United States Church is very blessed to receive the approval of the USCCB Mass for Creation for English and Spanish from the Holy See. Last year, Pope Leo XIV himself celebrated the First Mass for Creation on July 9, 2025. The newly approved Mass for Creation for United States church is now available for use given the formulary and the lectionary which can be found in the USCCB website. We thank all the Arch/Bishops and the faithful for supporting the cause to advocate for the mass that is available for the church in this part of the world.
Why is it important to celebrate the Feast of Creation? We are creatures and we are not God. All of the things on heaven and on earth belongs to our Creator. As people of God, we are people of rituals. We move in habits. We wake up in the morning according to what help us to move from one phase to another. Some start their day in prayer, some start their day making coffee, some people start their day taking a bath and sing! When we move in phases, our body gets prepared for what is to come or what state of the day are we in. When someone is born, we gather and bless the baby and after a few weeks for Catholics, we baptize the baby to formally welcome him or her into our society of Christian faith that we believe exist in both heaven and earth. We are people of ritual. Through rituals, we function as one. We unite ourselves towards a common awareness, function, and mission. We feel, we move, we belong to each other by a common ritual. What a blessing to be united with our Creator through the Eucharistic celebration with the awareness of our Creator as the center of our being.
In this day and age, where there is a challenge not to be overwhelmed by the demands of our responsibilities, the desires of the world, the false needs of having more of the materials than having less but depth of meaning and relationships, we are called to go back to our roots. We are called to connect to our Creator. God created everything and he was pleased with everything which includes the evening and the morning (Gen 1:31). Indeed, there is a time for everything. God created the world in phases. Every time God created and finished, God pause at the Creation and was please with it,
We are created in the image and likeness of God. There is a time for everything. We do not do everything all at once. There is a power in reflecting, moving from one phase to another.
This is an invitation to all the Arch/Bishops, pastors and priests to pause and honor our Creator through the Mass for Caring for Creation.
This year's Season of Creation that starts from September 1 and ends on October 4 is an opportunity to celebrate this liturgy to be mindful that we depend on God's Creation and more importantly we depend on our Creator who entrusted to us the care of our brothers and sisters. We pause to contemplate that we are creatures and human being is not the Creator. The Word of God care for all that are visible and invisible, and we are united as one through prayers, contemplation and actions. We build relationships through time and through this Season of Creation, we are intentionally offering our prayers for the heaven and earth that holds us. This year's season of creation is inspired by Ezekiel 47: 1- 12 which is for the whole church to contemplate having water as the literal source of life. Given the ecological crisis where drought is the reality in a lot of cities of our world, we are called to be mindful of our practices that deplete our water source. How is God calling us to ecological conversion?
In this Jubilee Year of Saint Francis, we are especially called to feel for our brother Earth, Sister Moon, Brother Trees, Brother Fire, Sister Water and all that we can see bearing in mind that God was pleased with them. This year is another good example of using the Mass for Creation, knowing that Saint Francis is a man of peace who treated everything as his sister and brother. Our World needs to be connected to a man of peace, Saint Francis and Christ, the Prince of our Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
How do we take care of our brother or sister? How do you take care of your loved one? We are bridges and we are peacemakers through the heart formed by our Creator as the center of our being. We are called to love. We are called to be nothing but to be made for love, the love of Christ who has given everything.
Reference:
Catholic Climate Covenant - Mass for Creation Explanation
When to use of the Mass for Creation
Mass for Creation on July 9, 2025 by Pope Leo XIV
Feast of Creation in Christ - World Christians
800th Anniversary of Canticle of the Creature
