Vatican publishes theme for 2025 World Day of Peace
Aug 10th, 2024 source ICN Teachers please note for January 2025
Source: Vatican Media
The theme chosen by the Holy Father for the World Day of Peace for 2025 is “Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace”, corresponding to “the biblical and ecclesial understanding of the Jubilee Year”.
“Only from a genuine conversion on all levels – personal, local and international – will true peace be able to flourish,” says the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in its statement on the theme for the Day.
The Dicastery adds that peace comes not only from an end to conflicts, “but also in a new reality in which wounds are healed and each person’s dignity is recognized”.
The World Day of Peace is observed each year on January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Since its establishment in 1967 by Pope St Paul VI, the Popes have taken the occasion to offer magisterial reflections in Messages for the day, dealing with topics such as the United Nations, human rights, diplomacy, and economic development.
In its statement, the Dicastery says the theme is inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical letters Laudato sí and Fratelli tutti, “and above all by the concepts of Hope and Forgiveness, which are at the heart of the Jubilee, a time for conversion that calls us not to condemn, but instead to bring about reconciliation and peace.”
The Dicastery goes on to note by “considering the reality of conflicts and social sins afflicting humanity today in light of the hope inherent in the Jubilee tradition of the forgiveness of sins and the cancellation of debts, together with the reflections of the Fathers of the Church in this regard, concrete principles emerge that can lead to a much needed spiritual, social, economic, ecological and cultural change.”
Season of Creation 2024: ‘To hope and act with Creation’
Ellen Teague In ICN Daily News
From 1 September (World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation) to 4 October (Feast of St Francis of Assisi), Christians around the world will celebrate the Season of Creation. The theme this year is: ‘To hope and act with Creation.’
Catholics are encouraged to organise prayer and practical initiatives to combat the environmental crisis facing our common home. This “time for creation” offers, in the words of Pope Francis, “individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation.”
The Season of Creation website has a wide variety of resources for individuals, groups and parishes which can be accessed for free. The materials available include a Celebration Guide that contains numerous ideas for activities such as prayer services, ecumenical pilgrimages and walks, or organising educational and sustainability activities. Other materials include liturgical resources for various denominations, including prayers and hymns.
This 2024 season, Christian voices are urged to support a joint advocacy initiative on 21 September promoting the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty which calls for a halt to new fossil fuel projects.
A live prayer service will be available on the website on 1 September.
‘Peace, Love and Climate Justice’
Green Christian
A new pack for churches from Green Christian. It is offered to help explore Christian responses to the global climate and environmental crisis. Focusing on the Great Commandments in Mark 12:30-31, it asks questions that connect peace, love and justice.
DVD – Stations of the Forests Columban JPIC An audio-visual lamenting the devastation of rainforests and tribal people. A Resource Booklet provides agendas and reflections for meetings.£7 inclusive of p&p from vocforjus@aol.com or download from: www.columbans.co.uk/resources/dvd-video/stations-of-therainforests/
‘On Care for our Common Home’ – 6th Form Syllabus from the Ecological Conversion Group. This can also be used as a study guide for Laudato Si’ for parishes. https://theecg.org/resources/6-form-syllabus/
Justice and Peace Scotland will host its inaugural Season of Creation Conference in September. The Conference will allow parishioners from across the country to come together and explore how we may hope and act for creation in our own dioceses and parishes. Workshops on the day will be held by Justice & Peace Scotland and SCIAF and there will be opportunities for networking and ideas-sharing among attendees. A key-note address will be delivered by Ben Wilson, Director of Public Engagement at SCIAF and a member of the Holy See delegation at COP 28.
9 September 7.30pm, Woking: Film screening of ‘X Trillion’ – About Plastic Pollution – organised by the Live Simply at St Dunstan’s Church, Shaftesbury Road, Woking, GU22 7DT. The film tells the story of an international crew of scientists, sailors, designers, engineers, and teachers who set sail on a transformative month-long voyage, 3,000 miles across the North Pacific Ocean, through the densest accumulation of ocean plastic on the planet. The producer will talk about the film and answer questions afterwards. Book free tickets at: www.tickettailor.com/events/livesimplywoking/1310232
The Season of Creation has a special significance for the Catholic Church, particularly since Pope Francis established 1 September as an annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. The Season of Creation is marked throughout the Christian world from 1 September to 4 October (Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi) and celebrates the joy of creation as well as encouraging awareness-raising initiatives to protect the natural environment.
This year’s theme is “To Hope and Act with Creation”. We hope that the following resources will help you and your parish community to celebrate the Season of Creation 2024. These resources are compiled by the Laudato Si’ Working Group of the Irish Bishop’s Conference & Trócaire. You can find further resources on the international Season of Creation website: www.seasonofcreation.org
“Christ is alive! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world, and everything he touches becomes young, new, full of life. The very first words, then, that I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive!” – Pope Francis, Christus Vivit, Section 1.
Reflecting on the theme, Catholic schools will explore what it means to be fully alive as a human being – living life to the full in Christ. Sensitive to the age appropriateness of the various classes and years, the theme will explore how we exist for one another in Christ, building from the wellbeing of the individual, extending the notion of true wellbeing to others, to our families and communities, and to The Other, in God. The theme will mediate on hope, the true purpose and meaning of human life, and, in the more senior years, on true freedom.
As is usual, the theme will be connected at primary level with Grandparents’ Day on the Wednesday of Catholic Schools Week, and with the Family in post-primary. There will be a November ‘turning to’ remembrance moment.
Catholic Schools Week 2025 will run from ~Sunday 19th January to Saturday 25th January, 2025.
Note: Sunday 26th January is not being included in Catholic Schools Week as it is the Sunday of the Word of God.
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