The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has ordered every parish and ecclesial community in the country to celebrate Creation Day on Sept. 6.
The bishops warned that the worsening ecological crisis is inflicting deadly consequences on the nation’s most vulnerable communities.
In a pastoral letter dated Aug. 12, the CBCP reiterated its general instruction requiring the observance of Creation Day, also called the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, on the first Sunday of September each year.
“All parishes and ecclesial communities in the Philippines shall celebrate ‘Creation Day’ on the first Sunday of September each year,” the letter read.
The bishops also directed parishes and communities to use the formulary and biblical readings of the newly approved Missa pro custodia creationis instead of the usual Sunday in Ordinary Time liturgy.
The letter was signed by Archbishop David William V. Antonio of Nueva Segovia, chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy, and Bishop Gerardo A. Alminaza of San Carlos, bishop in charge of integral ecology under the Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace.
The bishops said the ecological crisis has become an increasingly urgent pastoral concern because of its impact on vulnerable communities.
“We are gravely distressed about the ever-deepening urgency of this issue and the deadly impacts it has on the most vulnerable people of our communities,” they said.
The letter recalled the CBCP’s 2003 warning that the desecration of God’s creation “is a matter of life and death.”
“We are greatly alarmed about both the destruction of our local ecosystems and the global climate emergency that keeps ravaging our islands through ever-intensifying typhoons,” the bishops said.
They also asked: “How is it possible that the appeals of Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum continue to be ignored?”
The bishops described the Creation Day liturgy as an opportunity for “repentance, lamentation, thanksgiving, and renewed ‘ecological conversion’” to be carried throughout the Season of Creation.
The CBCP said updated translations of the new Mass formulary and lectionary texts will be introduced this year. The language versions currently available are authorized for temporary use until the final procedural step of confirmatio is completed.
The bishops said Creation Day also highlights the Christian belief that all creation exists through Christ.
Citing St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, the pastoral letter said that “in Christ were created all things in heaven and on earth… all things were created through him and for him.”
The observance, also known as the “Feast of Creation in Christ,” has roots in the liturgical calendar of the Eastern Church, where Sept. 1 has long symbolized God’s creation of heaven and earth.
The bishops also said the celebration has an ecumenical dimension as other Christian churches around the world mark the feast in September.
“May our liturgical celebrations of this holy day bear abundant fruit in all parishes across the Philippines, praising God as Creator and embodying the prophetic vision of Laudato Si’,” the bishops said.
They expressed hope that Creation Day and the wider Season of Creation would help Catholics “rediscover the centrality of Creation in our Christian faith and everyday life.”
In 1989, Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I proclaimed September 1 as a day of prayer for creation for the Orthodox Church.
The World Council of Churches was instrumental in making the special time a season and extending the celebration until October 4.
In 2015, Pope Francis declared September 1 as the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation” and made the Catholic Church’s celebration of the “Season of Creation” official.
