Pope Leo XIV's Message for the 11th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
'The wounds of war extend beyond the battlefield'
In his Message for the 11th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Leo warns that war has consequences that destroy far beyond the battlefield and says that we are to imitate the Lord's offering of peace to work toward peace in the world.
The Church observes the World Day on September 1st with this year's theme being, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4).
In this way, the Holy Father insisted, we are called to safeguard the many “ecosystems” entrusted to us: the ecosystems of creation, of human relationships and of the human heart itself.
"The true tools for building peace," Pope Leo underscored, "are not weapons of destruction; instead, they are truth, dialogue, patience, goodness, justice, mercy, understanding, care and love," which he said flow from hearts shaped by the Gospel and sustained by God’s grace.
In the message, the Holy Father observed that if we take up this task with humility and faith, we will become collaborators in God’s work of renewal.
He lamented that today we are witnessing many crises and much human suffering. At the same time, he noted that it seems the disruption to the harmonious balance of creation is accelerating.
"These phenomena," he went on to point out, "are not unrelated; they are a single plea for healing and peace arising from a wounded world."
"War," he lamented, "leaves wounds that extend far beyond the battlefield," "claims lives, tears families apart and forces millions to flee their homes, thereby deepening fear, injustice and division," and "leaves behind social and ecological destruction that endures for generations."
Moreover, the interaction between armed conflicts and environmental degradation, the Pope said, often creates a vicious cycle, which destroys ecosystems, contaminates essential resources, such as air and water, and undermines food security.
He acknowledged how this reality fuels poverty, inequality, and new social tensions that can contribute to the emergence of further conflicts.
Despite the "enormous" challenges, Pope Leo reassured that God does not leave us without the means of healing and transformation.
Finally, he prayed, "May the Lord grant us the courage to walk along this path, so that in our time, swords may indeed be beaten into plowshares, and the promise of the Gospel may take deeper root in our world, and the peace of Christ may reign over all of creation." (Source: Vatican News)
Resources for World Day of Creation are available on www.dioceseofmeath.ie/laudato-si
