Sept. 1 brings us “Creation Day,” also known as “Feast of Creation” or “World Day of Prayer for Creation.” This moment returns, like the seasons, timely, routine, but not taken for granted. It invites us to reflect on creation, a mystery that marks us deeply. It is the wonder in which everything is born. It is the wonder of the flowers and the glaciers, of the sparrows and the cetaceans.

“Look at the birds in the sky; look at the lilies of the field” (Matthew 6:26-34). This invitation from Jesus to observe what is around us with an amazed and grateful eye stimulates us to study the musical score of the universe and listen to the great concert of the world — to try not to be, as unfortunately we are, the note out of tune.

Experiencing this in Assisi means letting ourselves be given the “la” by our singer par excellence, the Poverello. Eight hundred years ago — next year is the eighth centenary of “The Canticle of Brother Sun” — Francis of Assisi became a “maestro” even of our troubled era, an educator never followed enough by our gaze, so that it becomes a contemplative gaze, capable of inspiring the logic of prayerful gratitude and thoughtful care. We will ponder all of this, the heart of the ecological challenge — as Pope Francis proposed in Laudato Si — during the “Season of Creation,” which experiences its beginning on Sept. 1.

This date has a very ancient history in the Judeo-Christian tradition. For a long time, it has symbolized the creation of the world. In the Eastern Church, Sept. 1 was considered the moment in which God began the creation of the universe, a reason why it is the beginning of their liturgical year. It parallels the feast of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which also falls in September, albeit on a mobile date. On this feast, some Jewish liturgies proclaim: “Today is the day of the creation of the world.”

In the wake of this tradition and reading the signs of the times of concern for the environment, in 1989, Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios made Sept. 1 a day of prayer for creation.

The original invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the entire Christian family was to offer “prayers and supplications to the Maker of all, both as thanksgiving for the great gift of Creation and as petitions for its protection and salvation.” This is what we have been doing on Sept. 1 for a long time, with an ecumenical spirit. The Italian Church embraced the day of prayer back in 2006, and Pope Francis then established it as the World Day of Prayer for Creation for the universal Church in 2015. The fruits are there, but the commitment is far from the finish line. We need to renew our faith in God the Creator and commit to taking care of creation.

“The Canticle of the Creatures,” as “The Canticle of the Sun” is also known, offers ample inspiration to celebrate this day. Two key elements characterize it: the gaze turned to the Creator and the contemplation of creatures. Francis not only gives thanks for all creatures, but contemplates them. He enumerates their qualities. He ponders them calmly, inviting us to avoid the temptation of haste and the superficiality with which we treat things. Everything is elevated to the height of fraternity: “Brother Sun,” “Sister Moon,” “Sister Water” and beyond. Creator and creature are intimately connected. We cannot understand one without the other.

Creation Day is an opportunity to celebrate the Creator, an encouragement to welcome creation as an ever-new gift.

The Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino, together with that of Foligno and the Laudato Si' Movement, is organizing the traditional inter-diocesan ecumenical prayer service on Sept. 1, which this year has as its theme: “To Hope and Act with Creation.” In the morning, the Assisi-Gubbio pilgrimage will start from the Sanctuary of the Spoliation, following the path taken by Francis after his renunciation of earthly goods in 1206. In the afternoon, we will be in Gualdo Tadino, where the blessed Angelo, a hermit, lived his life of prayerful silence in the beauty of nature. The diocesan Season of Creation then continues with numerous events until Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis, with initiatives planned with other partners.

Therefore, we feel united with the many Christians around the world who will also celebrate Creation Day this Sunday. Let the musical notes of the “Canticle” rise again to heaven: Laudato si’, mi’ Signore, cum tucte le tue creature! — “Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures!”

Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino is the bishop of the Dioceses of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino and Foligno, Italy. This essay, first published in Italian on Avvenire, the website of the Italian bishops’ conference, has been translated from the original Italian and is republished with the archbishop’s permission.