Celebrating a Mass for the Care of Creation

                                         Spring Dawn at Pointe au Baril, Georgian Bay -- Ian Taylor 

 On Thursday the Vatican released the outline for a new Mass, what Protestants would describe as a communion service. This is a big deal because Pope Francis was very much the environmental pope in many aspects and this Mass signals that caring for Creation matters to Pope Leo as well. Here are a few paragraphs from the New York Times that this up well: 

The Vatican on Thursday released a new rite for Mass that can “be used to ask God for the ability to care for creation,” a Vatican official said, a sign of the church’s commitment to environmental protection, especially climate action.

The new Mass, titled “Mass for the Care of Creation,” is inspired, in part, by Pope Francis’ landmark 2015 encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si’,” or “Praise Be To You.” It was approved by Pope Leo XIV, who appears determined to carry forward his predecessor’s engagement on the issue.

“With this Mass, the Church is offering liturgical, spiritual and communal support for the care we all need to exercise of nature, our common home,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny, presenting the rite at a Vatican news conference on Thursday.

Even before the Mass was made public there were Roman Catholic "theo bros" criticizing its existence because caring for planetary home is socialist or some other god-awful thing. These guys need to get a life. I'm confident that Pope Leo will continue to uphold the integrity of Creation, celebrated in the two books, the scriptures and the natural world.

I am pleased that it was Cardinal Michael Czerny who introduced the new Mass on behalf of the Vatican. Czerny is a Canadian and a Jesuit, as was Pope Francis. He is a remarkable person of faith with a passion for migrants and refugees. He commissioned Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz  to create Angels Unawares for St. Peter's Square. This  sculpture that depicts a boat carrying migrants and refugees wearing clothes that identify them with a variety of cultures and time periods. 

Here are some samples from the Mass. I wish that "Father" was "Creator" but I appreciate what I see here, nonetheless.

Collect:

Father, who in Christ, the firstborn of all creation, have called all things into existence, grant, we beseech you, that, docile to the breath of your Spirit of life, we may guard the works of your hands in charity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. Prayer over the Gifts: Receive, Father, these fruits of the earth and of our hands: perfect in them the work of your creation so that, transformed by the Holy Spirit, they may become for us food and drink of eternal life. Through Christ our Lord. Prayer after Communion: May the sacrament of unity we have received, O Father, increase communion with you and with our brothers and sisters, so that, while we await the new heavens and the new earth, we may learn to live in harmony with all creatures. We ask this through Christ our Lord. The Readings (explanations from the Vatican): The Book of Wisdom invites us to recognise the beauty of the Creator in that of creatures. This passage is echoed by the Responsorial Psalm that unites the assembly with creation that sings the glory of God." The hymn from the letter of St Paul the Apostle to the Colossians offers a Christological reading of creation. The Responsorial Psalm is a song of blessing for God's creative work. Two Gospel passages are proposed (Mt 6: 24-34: Look at the birds of the air ... Seek, first of all, the kingdom of God and his righteousness; Mt 8: 23-27: He arose and threatened the winds and the sea and there was a great calm).