Special to The Message
In honor of the Season of Creation, on Sept. 1, a Mass of Creation was celebrated at Sts. Mary and John Parish in Evansville.
The Season of Creation is celebrated annually from Sept. 1 through Oct. 4, beginning with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and concluding on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “This season gives Catholics the opportunity to give thanks to God for the creation of the world and of humanity, and to recall and strengthen our responsibility to care for God’s creation.”
Father Eugene Schmitt, pastor of Sts. Mary and John Parish, celebrated the Mass.
Deacon John McMullen, who is assigned to Sts. Mary and John Parish and serves as the Assistant Director of the Permanent Diaconate, served as homilist. During his homily, he said, in part, “There is something remarkable about the Scriptural understanding of creation. Creation is NOT silent. Read the Psalms. The heavens speak. The stars sing. The rivers clap their hands. The mountains rejoice. The trees of the forest sing for joy. The birds praise God. The sea roars. The whole earth gives thanks and praise. Creation itself becomes a great liturgy. And perhaps that is something we need to recover. Because we live in a world that has become very good at using creation, but not always very good at cherishing or respecting it.”
Deacon McMullen later noted that, “Creation Care is not a trivial, trendy slogan. Creation Care is a matter of faith.”
“Creation itself is the first revelation from God,” he said. “In the beauty of Creation, we see the glory of God, and in His creatures, we encounter traces of his wisdom, design, grace and love. And we are part of that creation. Each and every human person. As St. Irenaeus wrote: ‘The glory of God is a human being fully alive.’”