From September 1st through the feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4th, Christians around the world have been observing the “Season of Creation.” What began as a day of prayer for Creation in the Orthodox Church in 1989, spread to a Lutheran Church in 2001, where they began this new season, and took roots with Catholics in the Philippines in 2003. While there were other steps in the progression of this season, Pope Francis brought greater awareness to it in 2015. The first time I had heard about this new “season” was this morning, when I came across a message from Pope Leo XIV for today in regard to it. In July, I became aware for the first time of the Mass for the Care of Creation, which was celebrated on July 9th, 2025.

I am most definitely an advocate for the care of Creation, but I will be totally honest with you in saying that I’m always a little wary when it comes to things that pertain to the environment. Not because I don’t care, but because it’s a divisive issue. I feel that there can be people at extreme ends of the spectrum. We have “dominion” over the Earth, therefore we can do whatever we want vs. Mother Earth is some sort of divine goddess and is worshipped. The reality, however is truly somewhere in between.

God did grant us dominion over the Earth, but not to destroy it. Dominion indicates kingship, and a good king is a servant or steward to that which he has dominion over. The king shouldn’t ravage his domain, because it destroys his domain, undermining his own kingship. Jesus died in order to build his kingdom. His love is self-sacrificing, not selfish. We see the kingship of mankind in regards to the Earth in the creation story. The best explanation I’ve heard of this comes from John Bergsma. (You can read about it in his book, Bible Basics for Catholics.) When God gave the care of the Earth to Adam, it applied to all of his descendants, which includes us. We do have a duty to care for what God has entrusted to us.

In regard to earth-worship, Creation contains the divine, because Creation was created by the Creator, but it is not the Divine. We cannot confuse the created for the Creator. While mankind may have dominion over the Earth, mankind also relies on the Earth and is totally dependent on it. In the relationship between mankind and the Earth, we find a relationship that is actually much like a marriage. We recall Adam and Eve. Eve was made from a rib from Adam’s side, as a support. (There’s a beautiful explanation of the significance of the use of the rib in the book Made in His Image.) Eve is described in many translations of Scripture as being Adam’s “help-meet.” (You can read about that here.) When we understand the significance of the roles of partners in a marriage, we see that they sustain each other. The relationship is reciprocal, not one of “domination” as we think of the word today. The earth was created by God, just as much as we were, and it deserves our care, love and respect. When we fail to care for it properly, it suffers, and so do we.

The truth is, that it’s complicated. Well-meaning people want to do good things for others, but often without knowing what the consequences will be. Especially the long-term ones. We look at a small problem and try to troubleshoot, without thinking through what ramifications there may be. Conversely, there are often people who try to help others because they care, but they say that the ends justify the means. A good example: pesticides. They may have their place, but from the small problem perspective, we’ve got people spraying for insects because insects are annoying and have the ability to hurt us or make us sick, or they just scare us. We don’t think about what happens when we take some part of this cycle of life away. What animals eat the flies we spray for? And what does that animal do for the environment? And so on down the line. On the other hand, we spray for insects because insects hurt crops, and if the crops do better, we can feed more people. But what happens from such large-scale usage? What about run-off into waterways? Or the overspray and how it affects the air quality? What about the neighbors who don’t want to use pesticides, but have their food sources affected?

Some of the more grievous transgressions are done for the sake of monetary gain, and for the manipulation of markets. Talk to dairy farmers and corn farmers who contend with government subsidies to understand just how frustrating market manipulation can be. There’s good reason for the uptick in homesteading and the appreciation of farmers markets where the farmers are actually getting paid well for the work that they do. There are many human activities done for the sake of profit, without concern for the impact of the activities.

But sometimes the defense of certain ecological concerns end up greatly harming humans. The number of wildfires in a certain western state could be prevented if the forests could be better maintained, but it’s not allowed because thinning the trees and removing deadwood could remove the habitats of certain animals. Many vegan arguments maintain that we should not “take” the products of animals. We shouldn’t drink milk, eat honey, or use wool, because we do not have the animal’s consent… Some of these arguments are made from a good place, but take a love for Creation to the point of worship or deification, and in some cases, even expose a hatred or fear of humanity.

There is good reason to have dialogue about Creation. We should challenge our attitudes and assumptions out of love of God. Recognizing the ways in which modern life is at odds with the way the world was created is good. It challenges our love of comfort, which is a distraction from growth in love and virtue. Comfort and conveniences aren’t all bad, but we should always be asking ourselves, “What’s the cost?” Sometimes the cost is emotional, relational, physical, or financial, and sometimes the cost is our time.

For the next 34 days, as we thank God for our home (this planet), we can also think about all of the ways in which we have control over our impact on the world around us. Maybe we research some environmental argument that we’ve questioned or doubted before, and take the time to understand both sides of the situation. Maybe we reconsider our use of single-use items. No matter what we do, we can all pray for better stewardship for the gift of the earth that God has given us, and ask God to open our hearts and minds to see where change needs to happen.

From Pope Leo’s homily on July 9th, “I would like to conclude these thoughts by leaving you with the words with which Saint Augustine, in the last pages of his Confessions, brought together creation and humanity in a cosmic hymn of praise: Lord, “your works praise you, that we may love you; may we love you, that your works may praise you” (XIII, 33, 48). May this be the harmony that we spread throughout the world.”

In Christ,
Danielle