Finally! Masses for the Care of Creation, featuring their own specific liturgical texts, were celebrated for the first time in various locations across Korea on September 1st. When I first heard the news in 2025 that Pope Leo XIV had celebrated the "Mass for the Care of Creation" ('Missa pro custodia creationis' using these specific liturgical texts and readings, I felt quiet joy and even relief.
This was because it represented an official declaration by the Church—emphasizing that the consciousness of overcoming the climate crisis and preserving the order of creation was not merely the struggle of a few activists, but a matter for the liturgy of the People of God. Even though it was an optional Mass, the significance remained.
Never before have I participated in a Mass while waiting so anxiously to see if the specific liturgical texts corresponding to the day's theme would be used. I was even secretly disappointed that the specific prayers for the Mass for the Care of Creation were nowhere to be found in the September issue of the *Daily Mass* booklet.
Perhaps that is why the meaning embedded in the specific prayers of this Mass—organized by the Bishops' Conference Committee on Ecology and Environment and celebrated at the Familia Chapel in Myeong-dong, Seoul—felt so profound and earnest to me.
To care for all creation—the works fashioned by the Father’s hands—as expressed in these prayers, we must first feel the meaning of creation in our hearts. The encyclical 'Laudato Si' describes creation as a book written by God, a form of revelation and a place where God is present.
To grasp this, we need to set aside time to contemplate creation. In other words, for believers, contemplating creation means "hearing a message and listening to a paradoxical, silent voice."
I would like to share a brief experience. It happened during an ecological spirituality retreat. A first-year middle school boy, after contemplating the gravel scattered on the path, explained his reason: "It’s because God seems to be always by our side, just like these stones—the things we encounter most easily around us." In that moment, I saw how even a mischievous boy could instantly become a person of deep spirituality through contemplating nature.
Another adult retreatant remarked, "It seems that when God created human beings, He gave us eyes, ears, a nose, and a mouth so that we could see, hear, and smell all the creatures He had created beforehand." Once again, I found myself nodding in agreement.
Come to think of it, the God of the Bible also frequently appears alongside created things—such as clouds, fire, and the sea—to unfold His history with humanity. Did not Jesus, too, fulfill His mission by being nailed to the wood of the cross—a part of creation? It almost seems as though God intends not to carry out His work without the elements of creation.
I believe that our own humanity grows when we properly respect the value of creation. The Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation is not only a time to pray while caring for creation but also a day to give thanks for how creation has protected us, in accordance with God’s will.
With this mindset, I hope that Christians across the globe will unite in prayer and translate that spirit into action—at least during the "Season of Creation," the month-long observance spanning from the Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on September 1st to October 4th. Might this not be a way to respond, however slightly, to the groaning of creation as it awaits the revelation of the children of God (cf. Romans 8:19)?
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