“Listen. Flow. Heal: A Listening Church for Our Common Home”

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you all!

As we celebrate the Season of Creation from September 1 to October 4, I invite every parish, BEC, family, school, religious community, organization, business, and person of goodwill throughout Cebu to renew our commitment to care for our common home.

Our theme, “Listen. Flow. Heal: A Listening Church for Our Common Home,” speaks deeply to our journey as a Listening Church.

The prophet Ezekiel saw water flowing from the Temple. Wherever it flowed, there was life: polluted waters became fresh, barren places became fruitful, and trees bore fruit for food and leaves for healing (cf. Ezekiel 47:1–12).

This is what the Church is called to be today: a life-giving river flowing into the wounded places of our world.

Listen to the cry

Before we can heal, we must first listen.

Our common home is speaking to us through stronger heat, destructive floods, polluted rivers and seas, disappearing forests, damaged mountains and watersheds, growing waste, and communities increasingly vulnerable to disasters.

We must also listen to the cry of the poor, who are often the first and hardest hit by environmental destruction. A polluted river, a denuded mountain, or a damaged coastline affects homes, livelihoods, health, food, water, and human dignity.

This is what integral ecology teaches us: everything is connected.

What happens to our mountains affects our rivers; what happens to our rivers affects our seas. The decisions of businesses affect communities. The way governments plan our cities affects future generations. What we consume and throw away at home affects the whole environment.

We cannot truly say that we love our neighbor while destroying the environment our neighbor needs in order to live.

Let life flow

The water in Ezekiel’s vision did not remain inside the Temple. It flowed outward.

Our faith must do the same. Prayer must flow into action. Worship must flow into stewardship. Love of God must flow into love for His creation.

Let us protect our forests, watersheds, rivers, mangroves, and coastlines. Let us reduce waste and unnecessary single-use plastics, conserve water and energy, keep our surroundings clean, and support responsible and sustainable development.

As one concrete response, the Archdiocese of Cebu aims to establish a Laudate Deum Pocket Forest in every parish. Inspired by the Miyawaki Pocket Forest model, this does not require a large piece of land or great expense. Even a small available space can be planted with native trees and plants and, with proper care, become a living pocket of biodiversity.

I ask every parish to identify a suitable space and involve parishioners, young people, schools, BECs, families, and communities in this effort. We do not simply want to plant trees; we want to grow forests. Planting takes a day; nurturing them requires commitment.

Imagine small Laudate Deum Pocket Forests growing throughout Cebu—living signs that the Church does not only preach about caring for creation, but gives creation space to live and flourish.

This responsibility belongs to all of us. Government must enforce environmental laws and plan responsibly. Businesses and developers must recognize that profit can never justify environmental destruction. Schools and parishes must form ecological consciences. Families must teach children by example.

But we should not wait for others before we begin. Small actions, when faithfully done by many, become a mighty river of change.

Allow God to heal us

The ecological crisis is also a crisis of the human heart. We have learned to consume more than we need, throw away what can still be used, and sometimes measure progress only by what we can build, buy, extract, or possess.

The Season of Creation therefore calls us not only to environmental projects but to ecological conversion—a change in our way of life. Creation is not merely a collection of resources for our use. It is God’s gift entrusted to our care. Let us live more simply, waste less, share more, consume responsibly, and learn to be grateful for what is enough.

True development cannot mean destroying today what our children will desperately need tomorrow.

My dear brothers and sisters, there is still time—but we must act while there is still time. Instead of simply asking what others should do, let each of us ask: What can I do? What can my family, parish, school, business, organization, or community do?

A river begins with drops of water. May each of us become one of those drops.

During this Season of Creation, let us listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. Let God’s love flow through us in concrete action. And together, let us help heal our wounded common home.

Like the river in Ezekiel’s vision, may the Church in Cebu bring life wherever she flows. Listen. Flow. Heal. And may we begin—not tomorrow, but today.

May Señor Santo Niño bless our beloved Cebu and make us faithful stewards of the beautiful home God has entrusted to us.

Mary, Mother of Creation’s Lord, pray for us.

St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology, pray for us.

Given this Season of Creation 2026, in the Archdiocese of Cebu.

+ MOST REV. ALBERTO S. UY, DD
Archbishop of Cebu