Peace with Creation at the FCJ Centre

This year’s Season of Creation invited us to reflect on the theme “Peace with Creation.” At the FCJ Centre, we entered into this spirit through three programs that helped us pray, learn, and share hope together.

Raising Hope: Post-Conference Conversation

We closed our Season of Creation with Raising Hope: Post-Conference Conversation. We welcomed Agnes Richards via Zoom, who had just returned from the three-day international conference in Castel Gandolfo. She shared her personal experience of meeting Pope Leo XIV, and of her conversations with environmental leaders, climate advocates, and the Laudato Si’ Movement. Listening to her reflections gave us a sense of the wider Church walking together in care for our common home, and of the hope that comes when people across the world unite for creation. She also shared her work at the Faith and the Common Good, a national, interfaith charitable network dedicated to assisting and inspiring religious congregations and spiritual groups of all backgrounds to take collective action in creating more sustainable communities.

During the Raising Hope conversation, it wasn’t just Agnes who inspired us. Twelve other guests from various organizations and individuals in the community also shared their own pieces of hope. They spoke about the small and big steps they have been taking, and their dreams of building a world that truly cares for our common home. Hearing these voices reminded us that every action matters, and together we can make a difference for the Earth.

Then, on September 19 at 6 PM, nine participants gathered at the FCJ Centre for the first Via Creationis. Modeled after the Via Crucis, this prayerful walk reflected on the mystery of Creation by reading side by side the Book of Scripture and the Book of the Cosmos, as taught by St. Augustine and other saints. To read more, click here:

https://www.fcjcentre.ca/post/via-creationis-a-new-prayer-to-contemplate-creation

Lastly, on September 29, the eve of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we hosted Evening in the Amazon. Seventeen participants heard from Carol Hollywood, who shared stories from her journey to Peru with Development and Peace–Caritas Canada, highlighting both the struggles and resilience of Amazonian communities, and from Rev. Tony Snow, who reflected on Indigenous wisdom, resilience, and the sacredness of water and land from his visit to Guatemala. Their messages emphasized the interconnectedness of creation, reconciliation, and care for our Common Home, leaving participants with a renewed sense of hope and commitment to healing with creation. To read more, click here:

https://www.fcjcentre.ca/post/evening-in-the-amazon-and-the-stories-of-interconnection

These programs are moments of hope, reminding us that peace with creation is not just an idea, it’s something we live out in daily choices, in prayer, and in the way we care for one another and the Earth. At the FCJ Centre, we are grateful to have shared this season with all who joined us, and we continue to walk together in hope.

To learn more about Laudato Si, visit https://laudatosimovement.org/ or to get involved, please contact Whitney Nagasan-Calo at director@fcjcentre.ca