Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
– Season of Creation 4 September 28th 2025 – Luke 16
By Jane Mellett, Trócaire Church Manager
In Luke’s Gospel there is a particular emphasis on really seeing the poor and those who are oppressed. In the parable we hear today, the rich man does not see Lazarus at all. Even in the afterlife, he is still blinded and unwilling to change as he wants Lazarus sent, ordered, to go to his brothers to warn them of the fate that awaits them. Their vision has been blinded by wealth; they do not see the reality of the poor who are at their gates. The parable is a reminder that an ‘economics according to God’ involves striving for a world where the poor man Lazarus can sit down at the same table as the rich man; where we listen to the cry of the poor, where resources are shared. Today, listening and responding to this cry involves hearing, seeing and responding to the cry of the earth, for as we read in Laudato Si’, ‘everything is interconnected’.
In July, Pope Leo XIV celebrated the first Mass for the Care of Creation at the ‘Laudato Si’ Village’ in Castel Gandolfo. He urged Christians to embrace our mission to bring peace and reconciliation to our world and all of creation. Reiterating the messages of Laudato Si’, he noted how the ecological crisis cannot be separated from the social crises of our world. As the mass for creation began, Pope Leo noted the beautiful surroundings in a “kind of ‘natural’ cathedral”. He lamented the many disasters around our world which are affecting the most vulnerable and which are caused by human activity, excess and a way of life which must change. He said, “We must also pray for the conversion of many people, both inside and outside the Church, who still do not recognize the urgency of caring for our common home.” Pope Leo has stated that this mission to care for creation was “entrusted to us by the Lord, so that we might bring peace and reconciliation to our troubled world… Our work is His Work.”
The Jubilee Year of Hope is another call to restoration and renewal. This restoration is three-fold and involves restoring our relationship with God, with our neighbour Lazarus and with the Earth itself. Pope Leo continued this plea in his message for the Season of Creation noting, “Environmental justice – implicitly proclaimed by the prophets – can no longer be regarded as an abstract concept or a distant goal. It is an urgent need that involves much more than simply protecting the environment. For it is a matter of justice – social, economic and human.” Like the rich man in the parable today, who should have brought his relationship with Lazarus to a place of healing, peace and reconciliation, the ecological crises demand more of all of us; we are called to remember the first commandment, “to till and to keep the garden of the Lord” (Gen 2:15).
While these crises leave us feeling overwhelmed, this Season of Creation calls us to ‘Peace with Creation’. It is an opportunity to rekindle our sense of awe and wonder for the natural world, to protect this Cathedral of Nature which has been entrusted to us. To really see that, “Soil, mountains, water, everything is, as it were, a caress of God” (LS, 84). As we rekindle our contemplative gaze on creation, we should never underestimate the power of small actions. They create a ripple affect across our communities and across the world. They are, as St. Therese of Lisieux says, “the little ways of love”. (LS, 232). Everything we do matters. Lifestyle changes lead to cultural change and cultural change leads to policy change (Laudate Deum, 70). There are so many things we can do, in our own lifestyles, as parish communities, but also in encouraging our governments to make the urgent changes necessary to safeguard our world for future generations. We are at a crossroads as a global community where we have the solutions to move forward into a more sustainable future for all, everyone’s gifts and talents are needed to restore our common home.
So, how might I make peace with Creation today? How might I encourage others to do the same. Laudato Si’ offers us much hope and encouragement. Perhaps one step is to read this beautiful letter from Pope Francis and invite two or three others to join you and see what emerges. Where am I being called at this moment in history to act?
May today’s Gospel remind us to really see the realities of this ecological crisis, to really see the most vulnerable people affected by it, all living creatures in our earth community, so that we can work together to bring peace and healing to Creation, for all life on this beautiful planet. “For we know that things can change” (LS, 13).
Jane Mellett, Trócaire Church Manager
