Bishop Simião Calls to Protect God’s Creation at St. Francis Xavier’s Feast

Goa, Dec 3, 2025: Delivering his homily on the theme “Hope does not disappoint us, hence like St. Francis Xavier, let us be pilgrims of hope,” Bishop Simião Fernandes appealed to the faithful to safeguard and protect the creation entrusted to them by God.

Presiding over the solemn Eucharistic celebration for the feast of St. Francis Xavier, Bishop Simião Fernandes recalled that this year the Church has journeyed in hope with various groups—prisoners, families, the sick and elderly, migrants, the poor, persons with disabilities, and youth burdened by different forms of abuse—offering practical exhortations to become signs of hope to humanity and to God’s creation. Quoting St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, he noted that “the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers.”

The Bishop urged the congregation to respond to Pope Francis’ call to be “guardians of creation and witnesses of hope.” He expressed concern that “hope for creation is slowly weakening,” reminding the faithful that creation is God’s gift and that human beings are its stewards, not predators. As Chairman of the CCBI Western Region Commission for Ecology, he spoke with particular gravity about the ecological crisis and emphasized that care for creation is both a moral and spiritual duty.

Referring to Genesis 1, he reiterated that “after creating, God saw that it was good,” and asked the faithful whether the same could be said today. He pointed to the visible signs of environmental degradation—excavated mountains, deforestation, pollution of air and water, and the growing burden of waste—lamenting that the beauty of creation has been wounded by human greed.

Bishop Simião stressed that God now calls humanity to rediscover its sacred duty as stewards of the earth. The world, he said, is not merely a resource but “a marvelous gift to be cherished,” a common home entrusted to human care. To guide the faithful, he offered the acronym CARE.

C – Cherish: Cherish creation as God’s first revelation, where His beauty and goodness shine through mountains, rivers, forests, and every living being. To cherish is to look upon creation with gratitude.

A – Act: Act responsibly through concrete steps—reducing waste, saving water, planting trees, and adopting sustainable habits. Such actions help “heal the wounds of the earth” and secure a better future.

R – Respect: Respect all life, especially the poor and vulnerable. He recalled Pope Francis’ teaching in Laudato si’ that “everything is interconnected,” and said that respecting creation honors the Creator.

E – Educate and Encourage: Educate and encourage families, schools, institutions, and communities to protect the environment. When one heart awakens, he said, many others follow. “Creation is our treasure; we need to preserve and protect it,” he affirmed.

He concluded by recalling how St. Francis Xavier, who journeyed by ship to these shores, brought hope to the poor and marginalized. The saint, he observed, respected creation and remains a model for caring for and protecting the natural world today.

By Br. Malvino Alfonso OCD

Image credit: Joseph Fernandes