Earlier this August, Pope Francis instituted the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which will be on September 1 annually, beginning in 2015. It will coincide with a similar celebration previously established by Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. It is therefore also a day of ecumenical prayer. In his letter addressed to the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, the Holy Father wrote: “As Christians we wish to contribute to resolving the ecological crisis which humanity is presently experiencing. In doing so, we must first rediscover in our own rich spiritual patrimony the deepest motivations for our concern for the care of creation.” On the website of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, there are already some resources in connection with the Pope’s Encyclical, Laudato Si’ (Praise Be To You), on the care of our common home. At the end of the Encyclical is found the following prayer:

Link to the letter of the Holy Father
Link to the Encyclical

 A Christian prayer in union with creation

Father, we praise you with all your creatures.
They came forth from your all-powerful hand;
they are yours, filled with your presence and your tender love.
Praise be to you!

Son of God, Jesus,
through you all things were made.
You were formed in the womb of Mary our Mother,
you became part of this earth,
and you gazed upon this world with human eyes.
Today you are alive in every creature
in your risen glory.
Praise be to you!

Holy Spirit, by your light
you guide this world towards the Father’s love
and accompany creation as it groans in travail.
You also dwell in our hearts
and you inspire us to do what is good.
Praise be to you!

Triune Lord, wondrous community of infinite love,
teach us to contemplate you
in the beauty of the universe,
for all things speak of you.
Awaken our praise and thankfulness
for every being that you have made.
Give us the grace to feel profoundly joined
to everything that is.

God of love, show us our place in this world
as channels of your love
for all the creatures of this earth,
for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.
Enlighten those who possess power and money
that they may avoid the sin of indifference,
that they may love the common good, advance the weak,
and care for this world in which we live.
The poor and the earth are crying out.
O Lord, seize us with your power and light,
help us to protect all life,
to prepare for a better future,
for the coming of your Kingdom
of justice, peace, love and beauty.
Praise be to you!

Amen.