Tony Worner, our Leader of Formation, presents our Gospel Reflections this week and today reads from the Gospel of Matthew (11: 25-30), in which Jesus says, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls’. Afterwards, Tony shares a little about St Francis of Assisi whose memorial we celebrate today.

Tony says the memorial of St Francis of Assisi is a particularly significant day as, of course, Pope Francis took his name after this saint, and one of our Mass centres is named St Francis of Assisi Chapel. And today marks the end of the Season of Creation which begins each year on September 1.

This season came about in 1989, when the Ecumenical Patriarch, Dimitrios I, proclaimed September 1 as the Orthodox Day of Prayer for Creation. Subsequently, the World Council of Churches (WCC), extended the celebration until October 4, the feast day of St Francis of Assisi. In turn, in 2015, Pope Francis made the Season of Creation official for the Roman Catholic Church.

Each year, with a specific theme, the Pope encourages all the world, but particularly Catholic Christians to not only pray for the earth, our common home, but to actively renew our relationship with the Creator and with creation, through celebration, conversion, and commitment.

We can learn a lot from our Aboriginal brothers and sisters who have an innate sense of this relationship with creation and the creator. In particular in their spirituality, they focus on what they call Dadirri – Deep Listening.

And so, as we try and listen deeply to the stirrings and promptings of creation, Tony invites us to pray …

God of all ages, you call us to keep watch in the world and to discern the signs of our times. Grant us wisdom so that with courage we may proclaim your prophetic word in our world and carry forward the urgent work you have set before us. Amen.

St Francis of Assisi … pray for us!