Special Observances

“God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.” Genesis 1: 31.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops encourages the faithful to pray and take action towards the preservation and protection of God's creation. 

“We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.”  

The following Prayers of Petition and additional materials can be found on the USSCB site: Care of Creation - Parish Resources

Sample Prayers of Petition:

O Lord, grant us the grace to respect and care for Your creation.
Lord, hear our prayer.

O Lord, bless all of your creatures as a sign of Your wondrous love.
Lord, hear our prayer.

O Lord, help us to end the suffering of the poor and bring healing to all of your creation.
Lord, hear our prayer.

O Lord, help us to use our technological inventiveness to undo the damage we have done to Your creation and to sustain Your gift of nature.
Lord, hear our prayer.

New Formulary: Mass For the Care of Creation

This year, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments presented the Latin text for a new Mass “For the Care of Creation.” 

The International Commission on English in the Liturgy is currently working on appropriate texts in Spanish & English. Once approved, the text for this celebration will be available under the “For Civil Needs” section of the Roman Missal’s Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions.

Once the translations are completed, the Committee on Divine Worship will determine when these will be submitted to the USCCB for approval. In the meantime, the Latin text is available for immediate use. The approved Latin text can be found on the DDWDS website: Missa pro custodia creationis.

“As individuals, as institutions, as a people, we need a change of heart to preserve and protect the planet for our children and for generations yet unborn. 
(Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good, US Catholic Bishops, 2001)

“Blessed are those who have not lost hope” (cf. Sir 14:2)

Prayer for the Fifth World Day for Grandparents and Elderly

How beautiful are these words of yours, Lord! 

Help us to continue our pilgrimage

through time, 

animated by the hope that comes from You! 

Help us in this divisive world, 

to bring the hope of communion.

Help us in this world, wounded by wars, 

to bring the hope of peace.

Help us in this world, which is dehumanizing, 

to bring the beauty of an ancient smile.

Help us to be, for our grandchildren,

for our loved ones 

and for everyone we meet, 

the memory of your tenderness.

Help us to bring,

in a world distracted from You, 

the Hope of a new life that only You can give!

For in You, Lord, nothing is lost 

For in You, Lord, everything begins again!

Amen

“Racism is a sin: a sin that divides the human family, blots out the image of God among specific members of that family, 
and violates the fundamental human dignity of those 
called to be children of the same Father.” 
(Brothers and Sisters to Us, 1979).

“Always be ready to give an explanation…for a reason for your hope”

1 Pet 3:15

"...I think in particular of the many refugees forced to abandon their native lands. May the voices of the poor be heard throughout this time of preparation for the Jubilee, which is meant to restore access to the fruits of the earth to everyone.”

Letter of the Holy Father Francis to Msgr. Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, for the Jubilee 2025. 11 February 2022.

During the final week of September, the Catholic Church celebrates National Migration Week. Since its first celebration in 1914, the Church has called to mind the sacrifice and courage exemplified by migrants who leave their home for a better life, with hope of a better day ahead. In a letter from Pope Frances for the 2025 Jubilee, he calls us to “a sense of universal fraternity and refuse to turn a blind eye to the tragedy of rampant poverty that prevents millions of men, women, young people and children from living in a manner worthy of our human dignity.”

"Violence against women, inside or outside the home, is never justified. Violence in any form-physical, sexual, psychological, or verbal is sinful; often, it is a crime as well." USCCB, When I Call for Help, 2002.

"We proclaim that human life is a precious gift from God; that each person who receives this gift has responsibilities toward God, self and others; and that society, through its laws and social institutions, must protect and nurture human life at every stage of its existence."

U.S. Catholic Bishops, Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities, November 2001

"In a world darkened by war and injustice, even when all seems lost, migrants and refugees stand as messengers of hope. Their courage and tenacity bear heroic testimony to a faith that sees beyond what our eyes can see and gives them the strength to defy death on the various contemporary migration routes. Here too we can find a clear analogy with the experience of the people of Israel wandering in the desert, who faced every danger while trusting in the Lord’s protection: 'he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday' 

(Ps 91:3-6)." 

Message from Pope Leo XIV
For the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2025, 

From the Vatican, 25 July 2025

The World Day of Migrants, typically celebrated on the last Sunday in September, has been transferred to October 4 & 5 this year, to coincide with the Jubilee of Migrants.

“Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure.

These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”

Pope Leo XIV
Message during the Holy Mass with the College of Cardinals on May 9, 2025 at the Sistine Chapel