The five week Season of Creation starts on 1 September. To prepare for this in parishes and families check https://www.seasonofcreation.org. Its theme is LIVING WATER. Here is a short prayer adapted from the longer version.

DAILY FAMILY PRAYER for the Season of Creation 2026.  May God our Father, who brought water from a rock, sustain us in the desert. May Christ our Lord, who is Living Water, refresh us for the work of restoration.  May the Holy Spirit carry us on currents of grace until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amen

August 29. SEE.  “I’m sure everyone and every family will recognize the story of the talents.   Why is it that each human being is given different talents or attributes and some have more than others? Some men are handsome and clever, some only gorgeous, but quite stupid.  Girls may have beauty but poor health.   One may have a business brain but poor relationship skills.  What are the special gifts that attract James and Beauty to one another and not James and Antonette?   Some of us have talents for ecological sensitivity, maybe even one man for hunting and another for conservation.  Then there are degrees or differences in the distribution of talents too. Consider any sport you care to name.  That also highlights the fact that we are called to responsibility for our talent and to develop the talents that we have been given, without being jealous of others.     

JUDGE. Reflect, share, act. Scripture:   Jesus told his disciples, “it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property , to one he gave five talents,  to another two and to another one, to each according to his ability.  Matt 25:14. Pope Francis:  Ecological education can take place in a variety of settings; at home, at school, in the media, in catechesis and elsewhere.   Good education plants seeds when we are young and these can continue to bear fruit throughout life.  LS 213. Pope Leo: 233. For this reason, as a believer among believers, I invite everyone to contemplate, in the face of the Son of God, the grandeur of humanity that shines a light also on the era of AI. In Christ, we are called to cooperate in the work of creation, rather than be disinterested observers of technological processes that limit our freedom and responsibility.  The dignity inscribed in each of us by the Holy Spirit can also be seen in our capacity to reflect critically, choose and love freely, and form authentic relationships. No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil.  MH 233        

ACT AND PRAY.   For a growing and deepening understanding about responsibility for our abilities and talents. Pray St Francis Peace Prayer and pray: Mary, Queen Assumed into Heaven, Patroness of South Africa, pray for us.