World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

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Monday, 1 September 2025 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and reflecting upon the event that we celebrate today, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, we are all reminded of the need for each and every one of us to be faithful stewards of the Lord’s creation, in everything that we say and do, in our every interactions in life, with all those whom we encounter, in our every responsibilities in this life. At the time of reckoning of our lives, we have to give an account of what we have done and also account for what we have not done or failed to do. All these things are expected of us all, and we have been reminded of them by the Lord Himself Who wants us all to be reconciled and reunited with Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the continuation of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Thessalonica. In that passage we heard, the Apostle spoke to the faithful reminding them of what they would experience at the time of reckoning in the end of days and end of time. Contextually, the faithful Christians of Thessalonica had been quite exemplary and good in their way of life and in their attitudes and actions. That was why St. Paul wanted to encourage them all to continue to live in the way of their Christian faith so that they would continue to be worthy of the Lord and His salvation, for all that He has promised to each and every one of them, even amidst all the challenges and trials that they might be facing in their lives as Christians.

The reality at that time was such that many were opposed to the Christian teachings and the manner in which the people of God lived their way of life. The Christians across the various parts of the Roman Empire encountered difficulties and challenges firstly from the Jewish authorities and the communities of the Jewish diaspora where the Apostles and missionaries initially also worked amongst to spread the Good News of God’s salvation, because not all of them were convinced that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, with some siding with the Jewish High Council, the Sanhedrin, who sought to silence and stop the works of the Christian missionaries and disciples. Then, in addition, they also encountered opposition from the local pagan who often opposed the evangelisation efforts, and also the Roman state and slavemasters that were opposed to the egalitarian message of the Christian faith, of equality between everyone.

That is why St. Paul reminded the faithful in Thessalonica to continue to be faithful to what they had believed and to continue living in the manner that is worthy and expected of them all as Christians. He reminded them that in the end, all that they have done in faith would be vindicated and rewarded by the Lord when He is to come again into the world, at the end of time and the time of reckoning of all things, just as He has promised. And in the end, everyone who has been faithful to God shall be raised again in body and soul, united in perfection and made perfect and glorious once again, when God will restore all things to perfection and wonder, ridding all sorts of wickedness and evil, darkness and sins that have been all around us. And all of us shall share in the eternity of true joy and happiness with God.

In our Gospel passage today then we heard of the account from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, in which the Lord Jesus went back to His hometown of Nazareth in Galilee. In that occasion, the Lord was preaching in their local synagogue, speaking about the fulfilment of all that God had promised to them all through His coming into this world, as He read to them the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah. But as the Lord told them everything that He Himself had done, and no doubt the people of Nazareth had heard from the people of their surrounding regions, they were still gripped by that disbelief and lack of faith in Him, refusing to admit that one of their own townspeople could have been the Messiah or the Saviour that would be sent by God.

And if we compare what we heard in the treatment of the Lord’s own townspeople and neighbours against Him, with how the people of Thessalonica welcomed warmly St. Paul the Apostle and the other disciples and missionaries, we are reminded of the Lord’s words, as He spoke of how prophets and messengers of God were often reviled and hated in their own lands. Of course this does not mean that all the foreigners and pagans, the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people were more welcoming and kind towards the Lord and His disciples and missionaries, and even among the Jewish people there were those who strongly believed in the Lord and in His truth and Good News, as the Apostles themselves were mostly Jewish in origin. However, what lies at the crux of the matter and issue is the tendency that all of us as humans have in having preconceived judgments and bias against others.

In this case, for the townspeople of Nazareth, they had seen the Lord Jesus growing up in their midst, seeing Him from His childhood days. As such, many among them must have had prejudice and bias being built into their minds, thinking that it was impossible for this Son of a mere town carpenter, namely that of the Lord’s foster-father, St. Joseph, to be the One that the prophets had been proclaiming and speaking about. At that time, carpentry, while it was being a noble and important field of work, doing job that not many would want to do, was often looked down upon, and many carpenters were considered as inferior, uneducated and therefore did not belong to the religious and societal elite at the time, dominated by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.

It was likely all these attitudes, biases and all the other factors that we had mentioned which resulted in how they treated the Lord badly, refusing to believe in Him or listen to Him, and instead preferring to believe in their own prejudices and biases, and because they thought that they were also superior and better than the Lord because He was merely the Son of a carpenter. This attitude is what likely prevented them from seeing reason and believing in the Lord as they should have done. And yes, this is despite them having definitely heard all the wonders that the Lord had done in the whole of Galilee, in the nearby Capernaum and Bethsaida among other places, because their pride, ego and stubbornness had gotten the better of them, and this is what we ourselves should not be doing, brothers and sisters in Christ.

As mentioned earlier, today we also commemorate the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. On this day, all of us are reminded that The late Pope Francis, our previous Pope instituted this important occasion to remind all of us of the role which each and every one of us as Christians are called to take up in our way of living each and every moments of this life we have. In his Papal Encyclical Laudato Si, released in conjunction with this renewed emphasis for the care of the environment and the world all around us, we are reminded that we must be responsible and careful in how we live in this world that God has created and made for all of us to dwell in. Yes, God created this world for us to enjoy living in and to prosper, but also to teach us all to be responsible and to be good in our way of caring for what God had kindly created for us to share in this common world we have.

In the same manner, all of us are also called to be good and faithful stewards for our fellow brothers and sisters around us, in each and every actions and interactions that we carry out each day and at every moments. We have been entrusted not just with this world but also with the care of our fellow brothers and sisters around us. Unfortunately, the same attitude which the people of Nazareth had shown to the Lord Jesus, stemming from their pride and prejudices, their ego and sense of superiority, all these are attitudes that we should avoid and not have in our own lives. As Christians we should indeed do our best to show love, care and concern for one another, and realise that all of us are truly equal before the Lord, all equally sons and daughters of His, having been entrusted with this world to care together.

Let us all therefore strive to do our best to glorify the Lord by our exemplary lives, to do our part as faithful disciples and followers of the Lord in all things. May the Lord continue to help and strengthen us always so that by our every contributions and efforts, we will always show what it truly means to be good and worthy disciples of the Lord, and to be good and responsible stewards of His Creation. Amen.

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Monday, 1 September 2025 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 4 : 16-30

At that time, when Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as He usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed Him the book of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written : “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He has anointed Me, to bring good news to the poor; to proclaim liberty to captives; and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed; and to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”

Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Then He said to them, “Today, these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.” All agreed with Him, and were lost in wonder, while He spoke of the grace of God. Nevertheless they asked, “Who is this but Joseph’s Son?”

So He said, “Doubtless you will quote Me the saying : Doctor, heal yourself! Do here, in Your town, what they say You did in Capernaum.” Jesus added, “No prophet is honoured in his own country.” Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land.”

“Yet, Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet; and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian.”

On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought Him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw Him down the cliff. But He passed through their midst and went His way.

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Monday, 1 September 2025 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 95 : 1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12a, 12b-13

Sing to YHVH a new song, sing to YHVH, all the earth! Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

How great is YHVH and worthy of praise! Above all gods, He is to be feared. For all other gods are worthless idols, but YHVH is the One Who made the heavens.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.

Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before YHVH Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice, and the peoples, with fairness.

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Monday, 1 September 2025 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Thessalonians 4 : 13-18

Brothers and sisters, we want you not to be mistaken about those who are already asleep, lest you grieve as do those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose; it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus. God will bring them together, with Jesus, and for His sake.

By the same word of the Lord, we assert this : those of us who are to be alive at the Lord’s coming, will not go ahead of those who are already asleep. When the command by the Archangel’s voice is given, the Lord, Himself, will come down from heaven, while the divine trumpet call is sounding.

Then, those who have died in the Lord, will rise first; as for us who are still alive, we will be brought along with them, in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the celestial world. And we will be with the Lord forever. So then, comfort one another with these words.

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Sunday, 1 September 2024 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all gather together to listen to the Word of God and reflect on what we have heard earlier on, we are all reminded first of all that as God’s holy and beloved people, we are all bound by His Law and commandments, and we have to not only know and understand them, but we also have to apply them consistently and thoroughly in each and every moments of our lives. Otherwise we cannot truly call ourselves as Christians if we do not truly embody and practice what we believe in, or if we do not walk in the path that the Lord has shown and taught us. Each and every one of us must always strive to do our part in embracing God and His path, so that we can be good examples and role models for each other in how we live our lives with faith.

In our first reading, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses, the leader of the people of Israel during the time of the Exodus and journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, reminded the Israelites that the Lord has given them all His Law and commandments, and they ought to abide by the precepts and details of that Law. They should heed whatever they had been told to do, to do what God has commanded them and shown them, and neither to take away or add anything to the Law, as changing those laws and commandments would mean that they would no longer truly obey the Lord in the right manner, and they would no longer be truly faithful to Him in their ways, actions, words and deeds. The Lord wants each and every one of His people to follow Him wholeheartedly and not be divided and swayed by false paths in life.

Moses also mentioned that the Israelites were truly blessed that God had chosen and called them to be His people, to be graced by His Law and Commandments, through which He showed them how to be truly be faithful to God at all times, and how they can be the shining beacons and examples of their faith and obedience to Him, so that everyone who witnessed their lives, works and actions, and interact with them would truly know that they all belong to the Lord, as God’s holy and beloved people, the shining beacons of God’s light, truth and love, bearing His salvation and righteousness into the world. On the other hand, if they did not do as the Lord had taught them to do, living their lives in a wicked and evil manner, then they would scandalise the good and Holy Name of God, and therefore, they would be judged and condemned by their lack of faith and virtue.

Then in the second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle, we heard of the words of St. James, exhorting and reminding the faithful people of God that they all have received from the Lord Himself the gift of life, truth and also all the wonderful things that He has given and granted us, and which He had sowed and planted in us, entrusting to us many things which can help us to direct our attention towards the right path. But in that same passage taken as today’s second reading, we have also heard that St. James mentioned that we as the faithful people of God must be the ‘doers of the word’ and ‘not just hearers’, which complements nicely what he also mentioned in another part of his Epistle, that ‘faith without good works is dead’.

Essentially, this is a reminder to all of us that we have to be genuine followers and disciples of the Lord, not just as a formality and merely doing things for appearances. We have to be fundamentally faithful in all things, at all occasions and opportunities, doing our best to be the good and worthy in everything that we do throughout our whole lives. Otherwise then we are no better than hypocrites and unbelievers who do not have true and genuine faith in the Lord. There are many people who profess to be Christians and yet, they did not truly behave as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own people. We cannot be like those who only outwardly showed obedience to God and observance of His Law and commandments, and yet inside, they were without true love and desire to serve the Lord.

In our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard exactly about this matter when the Lord told His disciples and rebuked the Pharisees who were there with Him, criticising His disciples on how they did not follow the prescribed manner of the Law in how they ought to wash their hands before they ate. The Lord criticised and rebuked those Pharisees precisely because they did not truly show genuine faith in the Lord, His Law and commandments, and were only making outward signs of obedience and fulfilment of the Law. Yet, their interior disposition and orientation in life were flawed and incorrect. They were more focused on worldly matters and all their preoccupations and obsessions with the rituals and details of the Law instead of truly obeying and following God in all things.

We heard the description of how the Pharisees were the group of religious and intellectual elites in the Jewish community at that time, who interpreted the Law of God and preserved it in a particularly strict and excessive manner, putting a lot of heavy burden on the people of God because they demanded a very rigorous and harsh observance of the Law of God, being overly obsessed with the details and the rituals associated with the Law of God, spending a lot of time and emphasis on those many rules and rituals, focusing on how much and how many times one washed one’s hands for example, which had to be done in a certain prescribed manner, and if the others do not follow as they had been told to do, then they would be criticised by the Pharisees.

This preoccupation and obsession with the rites and details of the Law is what the Lord criticised and rebuked the Pharisees for, as this led them to be empty in their hearts and minds, failing to truly appreciate and understand what the Lord had intended for us all through His Law and commandments. The Law of God has been given to us not to burden and make our lives difficult, and definitely not for a certain group of people to make themselves famous and glorious over others by gloating and thinking that they were superior and more worthy simply because they were obeying the Law and commandments in a more pious way. Instead, the Law of God was meant to help the people of God, all of us to love God and to follow His path, so that we may truly be able to embrace the righteousness of God.

Today, the Church also celebrates the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the day when we are all reminded that the Lord has entrusted to us this world to be under our care and stewardship. Therefore, each and every one of us should always remember that we must be active in truly living our lives in the manner that God has told and shown us, and not to glorify ourselves or seek personal glory and ambition through this life. We certainly should not be like the Pharisees that twisted the Law of God for their own personal desires and ambitions. Instead, we must strive to do the things which the Lord has called us to do, to be true and genuine in our obedience and commitment to God, focusing our attention as always towards the Lord, our Master and Creator. We should take good care of this world, and responsibly play our roles as its steward that we do not end up ruining more of this world through our selfish actions and behaviours.

May the Lord continue to help us all to be ever more genuinely faithful and committed to Him. May He empower each and every one of us so that we will continue to do what is right and just which He has taught and shown us to do, and resist the temptations to disobey Him and to sin against Him. May God bless each and every one of us, bless our every good efforts, works and action, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 September 2024 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 7 : 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

At that time, one day, the Pharisees gathered around Jesus, and with them were some teachers of the Law who had just come from Jerusalem. They noticed that some of His disciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is, without washing them.

Now the Pharisees, and in fact all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands, for they follow the tradition received from their ancestors. Nor do they eat anything, when they come from the market, without first washing themselves. And there are many other traditions they observe; for example, the ritual washing of cups, pots and plates.

So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?” Jesus answered, “You shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote : This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. The worship they offer Me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules. You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition.”

Jesus then called the people to Him again and said to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and try to understand. Nothing that enters a person from the outside can make that person unclean. It is what comes from within that makes a person unclean, for evil designs come out of the heart : theft, murder, adultery, jealousy, greed, maliciousness, deceit, indecency, slander, pride and folly. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean.”

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Sunday, 1 September 2024 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

James 1 : 17-18, 21b-22, 27

Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of Light, in Whom there is no change, or shadow of a change. By His own will, He gave us life, through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of offering to Him, among His creatures.

And welcome the word that has been planted in you, and has the power to save you. Be doers of the word, and not just hearers, lest you deceive yourselves. In the sight of God, our Father, pure and blameless religion lies in helping the orphans, and widows in their need, and keeping oneself from the world’s corruption.

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Sunday, 1 September 2024 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 14 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4ab, 5

Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, who speak truth from their heart and control their words.

Those who do no harm to their neighbours and cast no discredit on their companions, who look down on evildoers but highly esteem God’s servants.

Those who do not lend money at interest and refuse a bribe against the innocent. Do this, and you will soon be shaken.

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Sunday, 1 September 2024 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Deuteronomy 4 : 1-2, 6b-8

And now, Israel, listen to the norms and laws which I teach that you may put them into practice. And you will live and enter and take possession of the land which YHVH, the God of your fathers, gives you. Do not add anything to what I command you nor take anything away from it. But keep the commandments of YHVH, your God, as I command you.

When they come to know of all these laws, they will say, “There is no people as wise and as intelligent as this great nation.” For in truth, is there a nation as great as ours, whose gods are as near to it as YHVH, our God, is to us whenever we call upon Him? And is there a nation as great as ours whose norms and laws are as just as this Law which I give you today.

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Friday, 1 September 2023 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded that we are all called to be good and faithful Christians in all things and at all times, always doing what is according to that which we have been taught and shown by the Lord through His Church, all of His Law and commandments, in the manner that we have been guided and helped by the Church and its laws. All of us as Christians are part of this same Body, this same Church, and hence it is only right for us to do what we have been expected to do, in following faithfully and closely the path that God has shown us, so that each and every one of us may inspire and help one another in our path of following God in all circumstances and at all occasions. Otherwise, if we have not been faithful and obedient to God and His Law and commandments, how can we call ourselves as Christians?

In our first reading today, we are all reminded by what St. Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Thessalonica, on the matter of righteous living and justice, and all that the people of God there had to do in their relationship and married living. Each and every one of us are reminded of the same kind of life that we are all expected to have, in our exemplary living and actions, so that all of us may indeed be truly faithful and committed to God, not just in name and appearances only, but also in all the things that we say and do, in our every moments in life, in every part of our existence and our works. In every single step we take, on each and every days, we all should be the role models and examples for one another. All of us should be the shining beacons of God’s light, His love and Good News, to all others around us. That is how we can be truly dedicated and holy people of God.

Then, in our Gospel passage, we heard from the famous parable of the Lord, the parable of the wise and foolish handmaidens, in which we heard how there were five wise handmaidens and five foolish and lazy handmaidens, each of whom were supposed to welcome the bridegroom to a wedding celebration and be part of the celebrations and parties. However, they differed in that the wise handmaidens brought extra oil with them and were prepared in case they had to wait for the bridegroom, while the foolish handmaidens did not bring any extra oil for their lamps, and hence, when the bridegroom did come late, they were caught off-guard and had to go and seek for the oil, during which time, as we heard, the bridegroom came and the doors to the celebration were closed. The foolish handmaidens returned only to find them excluded from the celebrations because they were late.

The message from that Gospel passage is that, just as the bridegroom actually represented the Lord, Whose return, Second Coming, is expected by all of us, and therefore, the handmaidens represent all of us, God’s faithful people, but how we are to welcome Him, in our lives and actions, are very important. We also must realise that the Lord will come again at the time of His own choosing, and which no one in this world has any idea of, and therefore, we must always be ever ready and vigilant, in doing God’s will at every possible opportunities. We must not be ignorant of those warnings and reminders from the Lord, calling on all of us to be prepared and to be worthy of Him when the time of reckoning comes in the end. All of us are reminded that we should live righteously and in accordance of the path that the Lord has shown us, as we have discussed earlier.

Being Christians require us to make such commitments and works, and we cannot think that just because we have received the grace of baptism and become part of the Church, then we are already saved and have no more need to commit ourselves to the Lord’s cause and efforts. Instead, a truly faithful and worthy Christian should always be filled with the willingness and the courage to do God’s will, and to carry out His works at every possible opportunities given to us. All of us should always do our best to live our every moments with the focus on the Lord and the desire to serve Him ever more faithfully, and thus, even in the smallest and least of the things that we do in life, we must always do them with the strong desire and commitment to walk ever more gracefully in God’s presence. Our every words, actions and works, all of them must truly embody who we are, the holy people of God, the ones to whom the Lord had entrusted this world to.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are truly the stewards of the Lord’s creation, the ones entrusted with the care of this world, and all that He has created for us. Today, this resonates well with the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, in which we all turn our attention towards the care of this world, and what we all can do, in our own various ways, so that we may indeed be the worthy caretakers and stewards of this world, the creation of God. All of us should be inspired by the good examples set by our holy and dedicated predecessors, who have themselves lived worthily of the Lord and did what they could in order to glorify the Lord at all times, like those of the Thessalonians in the early Church and like those of the wise and prepared handmaidens in our Lord’s parable. Each one of us can also therefore be these faithful servants of the Lord, doing wonderful works for the Lord’s sake, and in all the things we do.

All of us should take good care of this world, and all that had been entrusted to us, this world, our environment and everyone else who live in them. Pope Francis, our Holy Father and Leader has instituted this World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in highlighting how the irresponsible actions of man, and the neglect and the ignorance with many of us have shown in living our lives had caused great destruction not only that of our world and the nature, which God had created for us, but it also caused the hardships and destructions for various people whose livelihood and well-being depends on the state of the nature and this world. Many people were driven by greed, ambition and worldly desires in seeking more wealth, glory and power for themselves, and thus in their works and actions, they manipulated, exploited and brought hardships upon others, for their own self benefits. These are things that we should not be doing ourselves, and instead, we should do our best to care for what the Lord has entrusted to us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore do our best to follow the Lord and to commit ourselves anew in His path, doing whatever we can, so that we may always live our lives doing what the Lord has shown and taught us to do, in loving one another and in being responsible with our actions and works, so that in all things we will always be mindful of our roles as the stewards and caretakers of all that God had created for us, in our world today. Let us all inspire one another to live ever more faithfully, and so that more and more may be called to live lives that are truly worthy of God, now and always. Plant in us, Lord, a heart full of love for others, and a heart that is filled with the courage and the desire to love You, and all that You have created. Amen.