In 2015, Pope Francis declared a World Day of Prayer for Creation. And this year, Pope Leo XIV chose the motto: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks" (Isaiah 2:4).
This day marks the beginning of the Season of Creation, which ends on October 4th, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology.
"We must examine our lives and acknowledge how, through our actions and inactions, we have harmed God's creation." (Pope Francis, Laudato si', 218)
The theme for the Season of Creation 2026 is "Living Water," and the biblical text for this year is Ezekiel 47:9-12, interpreted as a vision of hope and ecological healing. The image of living water flowing from God's sanctuary, set against the backdrop of exile and loss, suggests a restoration that renews the land, the waters, and biodiversity. It also reminds us of human responsibility towards all creation.
This year's symbol is "immersed in living water." It invites Christians to spiritual immersion – to pray and reflect on the water from rivers, springs, fountains, baptismal fonts, lakes, and seas, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and to work together to restore creation. The vision of Ezekiel entering the river reminds us of baptism. As believers, we are promised that if we receive the water from the temple – God's healing – then "rivers of living water" will flow from our hearts as well. Once healed and restored, living water will also flow from us to heal others and to heal creation.
Dagmar Větrovská
PRAYER for the Season of Creation 2026
Living Water
Holy God, your Spirit moved over the waters at the beginning.
We gather as part of your community of all creatures and, along with them, thirst for your grace. We give thanks for the gift of water, the lifeblood of our common home, which sustains cedars and whales, pastures and cities. We are grateful for the local waters that nourish our homes and our fellow creatures. We thank you for the fact that in your well-watered garden, every drop is a sacred testament to your love.
And yet, we confess that we have treated this gift as a commodity. We have polluted the seas with our waste and watched as rising temperatures bring judgment. We mourn the cracked earth of drought-stricken regions and the salty tears of climate refugees. Melt our frozen hearts, O God, so that waters of repentance may begin to flow.
God of all life, you promised that wherever the river flowing from your temple goes, all will live. Awaken in us a calling to care for the waters, protect watersheds, defend water rights, and honor the dignity of those who thirst. May your word become in us a spring from which healing flows to all nations.
May God the Father, who brought water from the rock, keep us alive in the wilderness.
May Christ, the water of life, refresh us for the work of restoration.
And may the Holy Spirit carry us on currents of grace until justice begins to flow like an endless stream of living water.
Amen.
