Reflection text
This week’s service was prepared by our brothers and sisters of the Community in Hautecombe, France.
Excerpt from the speech of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the Conference of Bishops of France in Lourdes, Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Regarding environmental protection, we must also invoke the memory of Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios, whose prophetic voice called upon our Church in 1989 to become the guardian of creation. Since then, all Orthodox Churches, as well as the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and numerous other Christian denominations, including the World Council of Churches, have responded to the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s call by dedicating September 1st to prayer for environmental protection.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa teaches us that divine grace “permeates all of creation.” Therefore, there is no boundary between the sacred and the profane, between the spiritual and the material: everything is imbued with the presence of God. When scientists observe the melting of glaciers and we meditate on the groanings of creation (Romans 8:22), we are reading the same book: the book of God’s wisdom inscribed in the world.
[…] We also know that our faith holds precious wisdom. It teaches us patience, moderation, and the joy of self-denial. (…) In a world obsessed with speed and consumption, we must rediscover the meaning of moderation and simplicity. Choosing quality over quantity, beauty over utility, communion over profit. This is not a step backward: it is a liberation. The freedom to live with gratitude, in simplicity and inner peace.
Intercessions
At Hautecombe Abbey, around forty young people from all over the world and from different Christian denominations will experience a week on ecumenism next week as part of the Hautecombe Discipleship School.
Lord, we pray for all the young people and families who give you their time, at Hautecombe or in the various formation centres around the world. Grant them a passion for unity, so that they may be witnesses of fraternity to those they meet.
From November 10 to 21, COP30 (Conference of the Parties) is taking place in Belém, Brazil, where negotiators, scientists, and civil society are meeting to discuss priority measures to combat climate change. One of the main themes being addressed concerns managing the socio-economic impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations.
Lord, we pray for all the participants and delegates of this conference. May this meeting be a source of inspiration for us to learn more about living in unity with all of your creation and to respond to “our ecclesial call to take care of our common home.”
To mark the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Pope Leo XIV will undertake his first apostolic journey from November 27 to December 2, first to Turkey, then to Lebanon. For the first leg of his journey, in Turkey, the motto chosen by Pope Leo XIV will be: “One God, one faith, one baptism.”
Lord, we entrust to you this apostolic journey of Pope Leo and the message he brings to these countries. May this papal visit strengthen the bonds of friendship between our Churches and contribute to peace and Christian unity throughout the world.