Sharing the joy of service
The celebration of the time of creation, which has its origin in the Orthodox tradition, was taken up by
the World Council of Churches and recommended to the Catholic Church by Pope Francis. In the fourth
week let us remember that we are not masters, but servants of our contemporaries and of creation.
LITURGICAL PRAYERS – THANKSGIVING
God our Father, we come before you, as your children. We are looking for your face and we know of
your paternal concern. We come to you to worship and praise you. We want to hear your word again
today.
Jesus Christ, we are before you in silence, thinking of the long hours you have spent alone in prayer.
Holy Spirit, we put ourselves in your presence, as we are, and we ask you to be with us always. May
your strength work in us and through us and so transform us and the world. AMEN
BIBLICAL TEXTS AND REFLECTIONS
Concerned about the well-being of all (Prov 31:10-31)
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth
far more than rubies. Her husband has full
confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. […]
She gets up while it is still night; she provides food
for her family and portions for her female servants.
She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings
she plants a vineyard. […]
She opens her arms to the poor and extends her
hands to the needy. […]
She makes linen garments and sells them, and
supplies the merchants with sashes.[…]
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is
on her tongue.[…]
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a
woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
What characterizes a woman? She is self-aware and autonomous, a successful trader. She feels
responsible, not only for her family but also for her employees. Her heart is open to the unfortunate.
The source of her strength and wisdom is her deep relationship with her God.
In the book of Proverbs, everyone is responsible for the good social climate and the healthy
environment, that of men and women, young and old. This also applies to the Church community
To be first means to become a servant (Mk 9:33-37 ; 10:35-45)
[…] When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they
kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.[…] John and James said
to Jesus, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”[…] When the ten
heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said,
“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high
officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great
among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son
of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. […]
The disciples express the same desire that we sometimes have in our hearts: to be number one, at the
top of the social ladder, first on the podium, full of joy, admired and loved. Or we compare
ourselves to others and would like to be the best, the richest, the smartest, the most successful.
How much time, money and energy do we invest in external appearance and reputation, in
career and social status? Jesus overturns this scale of the human values. For him, true greatness
lies in the service of the weak and the poor, and of creation. Jesus demonstrates this at the
farewell meal with his disciples: while they are still fighting for the first place, Jesus washes their
feet as the last of the slaves would do. Only when we understand and live our daily life as a
service, in our families, at work, in the community, can we communicate the Spirit of Jesus to
others.
INFO
● Sheet prepared by Fr. Wolfgang Schonecke/ Netzwerk Afrika Deutschland: www.netzwerkafrika.de
● Source and other texts in English : www.ecocongregationscotland.org/materials/creation-time/
● Drawing : Sr. Johanna Senn CPS
● Translation into French : Fr. Alois Schmid
● Other interesting sites :
o https://seasonofcreation.org/fr/guide-fr/
o https://eglisesvertes.ca/
● Translation to English: Webmaster with the help of DeepL
● Readings – If you want to go further in your commitments to the “Common House”, here are some
interesting books (in French):
o « Avec Laudato Si’ devenir acteurs de l’Ecologie intégrale », sous la direction de Fabien
Revol, Peuple Libre, 2017.
o « Nouveaux modes de vie ? L’appel de Laudato Si’ », Conférence des Evêques de France,
Conseil Famille et Société, Bayard, 2017.
o « Le défi écologique : vers de nouveaux chemins », Revue éthique et de théologie morale,
CERF, 2018.