The Dominican Sisters of Springfield and their Associates observed the global Season of Creation, a time of prayer, reflection, and action focused on caring for Earth, our common home.
The 2026 theme, “Living Water,” invited participants to reflect on “our need to respect the rights of water and use carefully and judiciously the gift that water is to life on this planet,” according to the congregation’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP) Committee.
The Season of Creation opened Sept. 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Sisters and Associates reflected on Pope Leo XIV’s message for the occasion, which called people to “cherish the Earth that sustains” life and to seek peace, healing, and care for creation.
The LSAP Committee shared resources from the international Season of Creation movement and invited Sisters and Associates to find practical ways to live out the theme in their daily lives.
A visible reminder of the season traveled throughout Sacred Heart Convent: several water-themed environments were placed throughout the motherhouse, encouraging reflection on the gift of water and its importance for all life. Sisters living outside the Motherhouse created similar reminders in their local houses.
One special gathering took place on Labor Day, when members of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception joined the Sisters for Mass and brunch. Water brought from the Franciscans’ grounds was mingled with water from the Springfield Dominicans’ grounds in a ritual symbolizing unity and shared commitment to caring for creation.
The season concluded on Oct. 4 with a prayer ritual in the Laudato Si’ Garden on the Motherhouse grounds. In inviting participation, the LSAP Committee noted that the theme Living Water had been especially meaningful in a year when “multiple states in our country and in so many countries around the world are besieged by too much water or the lack of it.”
Through prayer, ritual, learning, and simple daily practices, the Dominican Sisters of Springfield and their Associates joined people around the world in celebrating the Season of Creation and renewing their commitment to care for God’s gift of creation.
