Bishop Alberto Rojas will continue his call to local Catholics to care for God’s creation when he celebrates a diocesan Earth Day Mass on April 22 at 4:30 p.m. at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church in Beaumont.
Many parishes in the Diocese mark Earth Day with liturgies or other celebrations but this is believed to be the first diocesan Earth Day Mass.
“We have learned from Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si that our actions and our habits impact the entire web of life,” Bishop Rojas said in a video message inviting viewers to attend the Earth Day Mass. “We can take better care of the planet and each other if we work together and open ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”
St. Kateri Tekakwitha parish has a strong Care for Creation ministry and a history of celebrating Earth Day in the Native American Catholic spirit of its patroness. Prior to the opening procession of the April 22 Mass the Native American Catholic Prayer of the Four Directions will be presented in the church.
Diocesan leadership has in recent years signaled a priority for local Catholics to reflect on the importance of environmental stewardship as articulated by Pope Francis in Laudato Si. In 2019 Bishop Gerald Barnes authorized the installation of two solar arrays in Grand Terrace to provide electrical power to St. Junipero House of Formation, Christ the Redeemer parish and two other facilities in the area known as “Holy Hill.” The arrays, which generate 220,000 kilowatt hours of electricity and have the environmental impact of removing 147 tons of carbon from the atmosphere annually, were blessed during a prayer service on October 28, 2021. Bishop Rojas released his own message on the importance of caring for the planet the following month.
“It is true that in the book of Genesis, God granted humans dominion over the earth, but we have often interpreted this passage to abuse and exploit nature with little or no consideration of the consequences, and that’s not the correct understanding of the Bible,” Bishop Rojas wrote. “We need to understand it within its context, recognizing that we are to ‘till and keep’ the beautiful garden of the world.”
At the conclusion of the Earth Day Mass, attending families will be given a small biodegradable cup with a seedling to take home and plant, signaling the start of a new commitment to caring for creation.