On this day when we are called to pray for the care of creation, we must also pray for forgiveness—for the many ways in which we ourselves have failed to care for the world God has entrusted to us. It is all too easy to think only of governments, large industries, power companies, and other major actors when considering the neglect of creation. Yet each of us, in smaller but still real ways, contributes to this harm.
Simple habits reveal our carelessness: leaving lights and fans running in empty rooms; neglecting to recycle the waste we generate; choosing to drive short distances that could easily be walked. Even closer to home is our stewardship of one of God’s greatest marvels—our own bodies—and the many ways we fail to care for them through healthy eating, adequate rest, and regular exercise.
And deeper still is our constant failure to care for our souls, which we continue to mar and disfigure through sins against God, ourselves, and one another. If creation suffers from our negligence, our hearts suffer even more from our refusal to love as we ought.
May the One who drove the disfiguring unclean spirit from the man in the synagogue drive from our hearts everything that defaces their original beauty. And by liberating us from sin, may He enable us to care faithfully for all that He has made—our world, our bodies, and our souls—so that creation may flourish and glorify its wondrous Creator.