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A View from the Towers: Season of Creation returns to St. Gertrude’s Monastery
The Center for Benedictine Life invites the public to a month of events centered on this year’s theme, “Living Water.”
By Julie A. Ferraro | FāVS News Columnist
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News.
The old saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” is all too true, as evidenced by how quickly this year of 2026 has passed so far!
Come Sept. 1, the Season of Creation will again be observed. It’s a reminder of how precious our common home is and how we must consciously care for this gift that gives life to all living beings.
At the Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of St. Gertrude, the weeks between Sept. 1 and Oct. 4 will be chock-full of events to raise awareness about the beauty of creation and even get our hands dirty. The Benedictine community in Cottonwood, Idaho, welcomes all to participate in these explorations of how creation impacts humanity and humanity impacts creation in very tangible ways.
The Season of Creation is an ecumenical celebration of our world, augmented by the wisdom of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. This year’s theme is “Living Water,” based on the Scripture passage from Ezekiel 47: 9, 12:
“Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
Perhaps the reports of excessive heat events this year — in the United States and Europe — are another reminder of the need to take time to heed the cry of our common home and its inhabitants, since those most impacted by climate change are the poor and those without shelter. Animals, too, deal with climate change, as do the plants which grow in the fields to produce much of the food we eat.
Stewardship as a way of life
Nearly 1,500 years ago, St. Benedict wrote his Rule, which advises the monks and nuns who joined the monasteries to “welcome all as Christ.” That includes caring for the land on which they lived as stewards, mindful not only of the changing seasons and the natural cycle of life, but of how changing times mean adjusting how the land is best used and conserved.
The Monastery of St. Gertrude is blessed with many acres of trees where animals thrive and people can enjoy the peace of nature. Part of the property is dedicated to vegetable gardens, as well as orchards of apples and pears — supplying food for the tables — and delicious raspberries for jam!
Flowers in abundance supply sustenance for bees, without which they could not grow. Even the blue porphyry stone, which forms the walls of the church, was quarried on that same land, reducing the amount of energy required to transport materials. And that was in the early 1900s.
Benedictine spirituality is about living consciously, always open to the gifts God showers upon humanity on a daily basis. Like anyone who receives a gift — at Christmas, for instance — caring for that gift is expected. No child would unwrap a much-anticipated doll or train beneath the holiday tree, then immediately toss it in the trash!
The gift of creation, and having the annual Season of Creation dedicated to a more intense focus on how we prayerfully and tangibly use that gift and share it with others, is something Benedictines take to heart, and invite all to do likewise.
That invitation extends to joining the Center for Benedictine Life community for the book discussion, retreats, presentations and pilgrimage walk that will be part of this year’s celebration, in the spirit of St. Benedict, needed in our world more than ever.
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