Message of the Holy Father for the tenth World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, 02.07.2025
The following is the Message of the Holy Father
Leo XIV for the tenth World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, to be
celebrated on Monday 1 September 2025, on the theme “Seeds of Peace and Hope”:
Message of the Holy
Father
Seeds of Peace and Hope
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
The theme of this World Day of Prayer for the
Care of Creation, chosen by our beloved Pope Francis, is “Seeds of Peace and
Hope”. On the tenth anniversary of the establishment of this Day of Prayer,
which coincided with the publication of the EncyclicalLaudato Si’, we
find ourselves celebrating the present Jubilee as“Pilgrims of Hope.”This
year’s theme thus appears most timely.
In proclaiming the Kingdom of God, Jesus often
used the image of the seed. As the time of his Passion drew near, he applied
that image to himself, comparing himself to the grain of wheat that must die in
order to bear fruit (cf.Jn12:24). Seeds are buried in the earth, and
there, to our wonder, life springs up, even in the most unexpected places,
pointing to the promise of new beginnings. We can think, for example, of
flowers springing up on our roadsides from seeds that landed up there almost by
chance. As those flowers grow, they brighten the gray tarmac and even manage to
break through its hard surface.
In Christ, we too are seeds, and indeed, “seeds
of peace and hope.” The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Spirit of God can make
an arid and parched desert into a garden, a place of rest and serenity. In his
words, “a spirit from on high will be poured out on us, and the wilderness will
become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field a forest. Then justice will
dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. The
work of righteousness will be peace, and the work of righteousness, quietness
and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure
dwellings, and in quiet resting places” (Is32:15-18).
These words of the prophet will accompany the
“Season of Creation,” an ecumenical initiative to be celebrated from 1
September to 4 October 2025. They remind us that, together with prayer,
determination and concrete actions are necessary if this “caress of God” is to
become visible to our world (cf.Laudato Si’, 84). The prophet contrasts
justice and law with the desolation of the desert. His message is extraordinarily
timely, given the evidence in various parts of the world that our earth is
being ravaged. On all sides, injustice, violations of international law and the
rights of peoples, grave inequalities and the greed that fuels them are
spawning deforestation, pollution and the loss of biodiversity. Extreme natural
phenomena caused by climate changes provoked by human activity are growing in
intensity and frequency (cf.Laudato Deum, 5), to say nothing of the
medium and long-term effects of the human and ecological devastation being
wrought by armed conflicts.
As yet, we seem incapable of recognizing that
the destruction of nature does not affect everyone in the same way. When
justice and peace are trampled underfoot, those who are most hurt are the poor,
the marginalized and the excluded. The suffering of indigenous communities is
emblematic in this regard.
That is not all. Nature itself is reduced at
times to a bargaining chip, a commodity to be bartered for economic or
political gain. As a result, God’s creation turns into a battleground for the
control of vital resources. We see this in agricultural areas and forests
peppered with landmines, “scorched earth” policies,[1]conflicts over
water sources, and the unequal distribution of raw materials, which penalizes
the poorer nations and undermines social stability itself.
These various wounds are the effect of sin. This
is surely not what God had in mind when he entrusted the earth to the men and
women whom he created in his image (cf.Gen1:24-29). The Bible provides
no justification for us to exercise “tyranny over creation” (Laudato Si’,
200). On the contrary, “the biblical texts are to be read in their context,
with an appropriate hermeneutic, recognizing that they tell us to ‘till and
keep’ the garden of the world [cf.Gen2:15]. ‘Tilling’ refers to
cultivating, ploughing or working, while ‘keeping’ means caring, protecting,
overseeing and preserving. This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility
between human beings and nature” (ibid., 67).
Environmental justice – implicitly proclaimed by
the prophets – can no longer be regarded as an abstract concept or a distant
goal. It is an urgent need that involves much more than simply protecting the
environment. For it is a matter of justice – social, economic and human. For
believers it is also a duty born of faith, since the universe reflects the face
of Jesus Christ, in whom all things were created and redeemed. In a world where
the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters are the first to suffer the
devastating effects of climate change, deforestation and pollution, care for
creation becomes an expression of our faith and humanity.
Now is the time to follow words with deeds.
“Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life
of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian
experience” (Laudato Si’, 217). By working with love and perseverance,
we can sow many seeds of justice and thus contribute to the growth of peace and
the renewal of hope. It may well take years for this plant to bear its first
fruits, years that, for their part, involve an entire ecosystem made up of
continuity, fidelity, cooperation and love, especially if that love mirrors the
Lord’s own self-sacrificing Love.
Among the Church’s initiatives that are like
seeds sown in this field, I would mention theBorgo Laudato Si’project
that Pope Francis bequeathed to us at Castel Gandolfo. It is a seed that
promises to bear fruits of justice and peace, and an educational project in
integral ecology that can serve as an example of how people can live, work and
build community by applying the principles of the EncyclicalLaudato Si’.
I pray that Almighty God will send us in
abundance his “Spirit from on high” (Is32:15), so that these seeds, and
others like them, may bring forth an abundant harvest of peace and hope.
The EncyclicalLaudato Si’has now guided
the Catholic Church and many people of good will for ten years. May it continue
to inspire us and may integral ecology be increasingly accepted as the right
path to follow. In this way, seeds of hope will multiply, to be “tilled and
kept” by the grace of our great and unfailing Hope, who is the risen Christ. In
his name, I offer all of you my blessing.
From the Vatican, 30 June 2025
Memorial of the First Martyrs of Holy Roman
Church
LEO PP. XIV
________________
[1] Cf. PONTIFICAL
COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE,Land and Food, Libreria Editrice Vaticana,
2015, 51-53.
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/07/02/250702e.html
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