Celebrate the Creation of the Cosmos

Note: The following information was provided to our Climate Change Task Force.

In the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans proclaimed in today’s liturgy, Saint Paul proclaims, “None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”

Recognizing the intersection of creation and redemption, Pope Francis calls us to reflect on the mystery of God’s “loving decision to create the cosmos:”

“Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the urgent need to recognize that creation and redemption are inseparably linked: ‘The Redeemer is the Creator and if we do not proclaim God in his full grandeur — as Creator and as Redeemer — we also diminish the value of the redemption.’ Creation refers both to God’s mysterious, magnificent act of creating this majestic, beautiful planet and universe out of nothing and to the continuing result of that act, which we experience as an inexhaustible gift. During the liturgy and personal prayer in ‘the great cathedral of creation,’ let us recall the great Artist who creates such beauty, and reflect on the mystery of that loving decision to create the cosmos.” (Message of Pope Francis for Creation Day 2023).