I just finished mowing the lawn. Turn after turn of trying to get the right cut, swatting sand flies that bite quick and fast, and getting pelted with a barrage of dirt, dust, grass, and pebbles as I weed wacked. I’m tired. But it was worth doing right. Worth it for my kids to play, for the garden to invite less critters, and for our little squad of ducks to thrive and produce.
And it got me thinking of something that happened recently.
On July 3, 2025, the Vatican quietly released a new liturgical text: the Mass for the Care of Creation. It didn’t make front-page news in most places, but in smaller Catholic corners, it caught attention fast. Some greeted the news with genuine joy. Others winced. “Another environmental thing?”
If you’re like me, you probably don’t get excited when Church news sounds like it could be ripped from a climate summit press release. I’m not trying to save the planet with a compost bin (though I do have one) or join a protest on the courthouse steps (you won’t find me there). I’m a father of seven, Catholic author, and a man trying to raise his kids in the Faith—not trying to be the next eco-influencer.
So when I first heard about a special Mass for “creation,” I had my guard up, or at least my eyebrows. But the more I sat with it, the more I realized: this wasn’t another political flashpoint. This was something deeper, older, even beautiful. And in typical Catholic fashion—it was about thanksgiving.
From the Dust of the Earth
In the second chapter of Genesis, God forms man out of the dust of the earth, breathes life into his nostrils, and places him in a garden—not just to enjoy, but to tend and keep (Gen. 2:15). That’s the first commission God gave us: stewardship. Even in the perfection of Eden, mankind is made for labor.
We weren’t placed in a city of concrete or in a data cloud—we were placed in a garden.
This wasn’t just about agriculture. It was about learning the difference between ownership and gift. From the very beginning, the created world was meant to reveal something about the Creator: His beauty, His order, His generosity.
And when creation was handed over to Adam, it was never meant to be used the way we use machines or tools. It was meant to be loved, tended, and offered back to God. That’s not liberal or conservative—it’s biblical.
Tradition, Not Trend
The Mass for the Care of Creation didn’t appear out of nowhere. It’s the fruit of decades—centuries, really—of the Church’s reflection on the goodness of the created world.
St. Francis of Assisi, often claimed (and misunderstood) by environmental activists, praised God for “Brother Sun” and “Sister Moon.” But his hymns weren’t sentimental—they were sacramental. They saw the world as radiating the glory of God.
St. John Paul II called environmental neglect a “moral issue,” and Pope Benedict XVI—called “the Green Pope” by some—taught that caring for the earth was part of a proper human ecology. The Catechism itself reminds us that animals, plants, and inanimate beings are all destined to serve the glory of God (par. 2415–2416).
So when Pope Leo XIV approved this new Mass text, he wasn’t launching a new campaign—he was handing us a liturgical tool to rediscover an ancient truth: that creation is part of salvation history, and that we honor the Creator when we reverence His creation.
The World Is Charged with God
Catholics, of all people, should understand this. We don’t believe the world is disposable. We believe it’s sacramental.
God entered this world in the flesh. He walked on soil, breathed our air, drank from wells, and multiplied loaves and fish. He touched water and made it holy. He transformed wine and wheat into His Body and Blood.
The created world is not a distraction from grace—it’s the medium of it. This is why our worship is not digital or abstract. It’s earthy. It smells like incense. It tastes like bread. It sounds like bells. We need trees for crucifixes and bees for candles. Creation isn’t extra—it’s essential.
The new Mass for the Care of Creation simply formalizes what the Church already believes: that our worship includes gratitude for all of God’s gifts—and that includes the world He made and sustains.
Not Political—Pastoral
Look, I get it. Some Catholics are wary—maybe even suspicious—of anything labeled “creation care.” They’ve seen too many movements that trade reverence for ideology.
But this Mass isn’t about pushing legislation or guilt-tripping you into buying an electric car. It’s about praise. It’s about taking a moment, in the most sacred prayer of the Church—the Mass—and saying: “Lord, thank You.”
Thank You for water. Thank You for sunlight. Thank You for vineyards and wheat fields and shade trees and mountains and seas. Help us not to misuse them. Help us to use them well, so they might glorify You.
That’s not environmentalism. That’s just Christianity.
A Mass for the Weary
The world today feels like it’s burning—sometimes literally. But it’s not just the environment. It’s our hearts. It’s our communities. It’s our imaginations.
In that context, the Church offers us this Mass as a moment of restoration. A reminder that we’re not in charge of the world, but we are responsible. That everything we have—our homes, our food, even our air—is a gift.
And when we give thanks, we change.
If you’ve heard about the Mass for the Care of Creation and felt suspicious—go anyway. Show up. Listen to the prayers. Watch the gestures. Let the Church, in her slow, wise way, remind you of what’s always been true.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about praise. It’s about remembering that creation began in a garden—and that it’s destined for glory.
It’s time we remembered that. And now, the Church is helping us pray it.
Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash
