September 1, 2026
“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4).
This day is the beginning of the ecumenical Season of Creation. Pope Leo XIV’s message for the occasion said the path before us is clear, though it is not easy. We are called to allow our hearts to be renewed, so that we might seek peace and care for creation. Scripture tells us to guard our hearts, for everything we do flows from them (cf. Prov 4:23).
If we take up this task with humility and faith, we will become collaborators in God’s work of renewal. We will move, slowly but surely, from desert to garden, from division to communion, and from violence to peace.
May the Lord grant us the courage to walk along this path, so that in our time, swords may indeed be beaten into plowshares, and the promise of the Gospel may take deeper root in our world, and the peace of Christ may reign over all of creation.