Brother Jaazeal Jakosalem, OAR, president of ARCORES International and General Prior’s counselor, reflects on the meaning of the new Feast of Creation in Christ, celebrated on September 1 within the Season of Creation. In light of Sacred Scripture, Laudato si’, and Pope Leo XIV’s message for the XI World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the author shows how the contemplation of Christ as Creator leads to a spirituality that unites creation, redemption, integral ecology, and commitment to peace.

What is the Feast of Creation in Christ? Why does the Church celebrate the care of creation on September 1? This article explains the origin, meaning, and theological dimension of this celebration, relating creation, redemption, integral ecology, and the Christian commitment to peace and the care of our common home.

September 1 marks a significant evolution in ecumenical tradition: the transition from a day of prayer for Creation to a Feast of Creation in Christ. This shift reflects a growing consensus among Christian denominations to integrate ecological responsibility directly into the liturgical life of the Church. Rooted in ecumenical dialogue, the feast highlights the Christological dimension of creation. As Pope Francis observes in Laudato si’, all material reality discovers its true purpose through the Incarnate Word, who took physical form and planted in the material universe

“a seed of definitive transformation” (LS 235).

Linking Creation with Redemption

The Western liturgical year—structured by the General Roman Calendar and the Revised Common Lectionary—seeks to guide believers through the fullness of the Christian faith. However, a crucial aspect of theology remains notably absent from its annual cycle: a feast specifically dedicated to Christ’s direct role in the creation of the universe.

Scripture explicitly affirms that “all things were created through him” (Colossians 1:16; John 1:3), placing the divine Logos at the very origin of existence. By omitting a celebration dedicated to Christ as Creator, modern liturgical calendars overlook a vital prelude to the Paschal Mystery and miss a valuable opportunity to invite the faithful to intentional contemplation of the cosmic Word.

This Christ-centered approach offers a compelling educational and spiritual solution for contemporary churches. This celebration would serve as a powerful catechetical tool, helping believers understand the relationship between Creation and Redemption.

As early Church Fathers, such as Saint Irenaeus, recognized, God’s acts of creating the world and saving humanity are deeply intertwined: the same eternal Word who created the universe is the one who intervenes in human history to restore it. Instituting a specific celebration would anchor the doctrine of salvation within the grand scope of God’s original creative work, reminding the faithful that Redemption is the culmination, not the substitution, of Creation.

This theological vision highlights the profound mystery of Jesus Christ as eternal Creator and finite creature. By celebrating Christ’s dual identity, Christian communities can cultivate a broader understanding of the Incarnation and the Resurrection. In the approved document Mass for the Care of Creation, the collect prayer states:

“God our Father, who in Christ, the firstborn of creation, created all things…”

Honoring Christ as the source of all life grounds Christian worship in the material reality of the world and offers a comprehensive vision of the Triune God’s constant relationship with all creation.

Pope Leo XIV and the Ecological Challenge of Our Time

Reflections on Pope Leo XIV’s Ecological Challenge

Pope Leo XIV’s message for the XI World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation 2026 offers a timely contribution to ecotheology and social justice by directly linking environmental protection with demilitarization.

Drawing on Isaiah 2:4—“They shall turn their swords into plowshares”—the Pontiff expands the Catholic framework of integral ecology, illustrating how armed conflict and environmental destruction arise from the same moral flaw. War is presented not only as a geopolitical tragedy but also as an ecological catastrophe that poisons the soil, contaminates water, and destabilizes ecosystems.

By connecting environmental degradation directly with human suffering and military aggression, the message affirms that genuine care for our common home is fundamentally incompatible with global militarization.

At the heart of this vision is an urgent call to reorient global resources, moving them away from weapons of war and dedicating them to integral human development. Pope Leo XIV urges the international community to transform the machinery of destruction into tools for cultivation, nourishment, and ecological recovery. Achieving this requires replacing aggressive geopolitics with dialogue, patience, justice, and mercy. Reallocating military budgets to environmental restoration and the fight against poverty breaks the vicious cycle in which resource scarcity drives conflict, which in turn further devastates the biosphere.

Thus, the Pontiff points out that external ecological crises reflect an inner spiritual drought. Drawing inspiration from Pope Benedict XVI’s observation on the world’s growing desertification, the text underscores that lasting peace requires an interior conversion of the heart. Faithful stewardship must protect three interconnected spheres: the natural world, human relationships, and individual spiritual life. By transitioning “from desert to garden” through personal decisions and systemic reforms, believers collaborate with God and demonstrate that planetary flourishing and world peace are inseparable.

Celebrating Creation with Life and Christian Commitment

The theme adopted for the Season of Creation is: Living Water. Our biblical text for this year is based on Ezekiel 47:1-12, which describes God’s life-giving water flowing from the temple of God. The river grows deeper and deeper, restoring arid lands, revitalizing waters, and sustaining flourishing ecosystems. This vision invites human responsibility: recognizing ecological damage, embracing interconnectedness, we are called to immerse ourselves in the water and to actively safeguard and work for the renewal of creation so that environmental healing and human well-being can flourish together. (www.seasonofcreation.org) The theme connects the call to the creative role of water in all creation with the call to ecological protection. Water is a blessing that sustains us all. On the other hand, water becomes a vehicle of destruction when we destroy nature by disrespecting its natural course and rejecting the very notion of humanity’s role in environmental destruction. We invoke this prayer: “May God our Father, who brought forth water from the rock, sustain us in the wilderness. May Christ our Lord, Living Water, revitalize us for the work of restoration. And may the Holy Spirit carry us in currents of grace until justice flows like waters and righteousness like an unfailing stream.” So that we do not forget the victims of the catastrophic floods in Nepal and Tibet, we offer them our prayers and solidarity.

We connect the World Day of Prayer for Creation with the Feast of Creation in Christ, as part of the Season of Creation. For this feast to be meaningful, we recommend the use of liturgically adapted homilies and specific prayers, such as introductory rites and intercessions that address local environmental issues, followed by ecological community activities after Mass.