Monthly Prayer Guide

Editorial page

What an extraordinary year we have lived together. From the profound spiritual energy of the Raising Hope Conference to the beautiful celebrations that have united our global family—and even beyond the commitments shared at COP30—we have witnessed how faith can spark real hope and real change. These moments have renewed our strength and reminded us of the deep joy that comes from walking this journey together.

As we continue to honor the 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si’, the 10th Anniversary of the Laudato Si’ Movement, and 800 years of the Canticle of the Creatures, we are invited to recommit ourselves to caring for creation, nurturing our common home, and deepening the bonds that unite us worldwide.

This year, our monthly intentions—beginning with prayers for Christians in areas of conflict and climate vulnerability—follow the Pope’s 2025 prayer intentions, each enriched with a Laudato Si’ dimension. May these intentions inspire us to act with courage, love with purpose, and bring hope to our common home—one step at a time.

Hear Creation’s Song

Monthly intention:

For Christians in areas of conflict and climate vulnerability

Quote of the month:

“The demands that rise up from below throughout the world, where activists from very different countries help and support one another, can end up pressuring the sources of power.” LD 38

A Prayer for when We Want to Give Up

God of hope,

You have placed us on this earth in a moment of

ecological crisis. We face a crisis of such proportions and

urgency, at times it feels like it could crush us.

At times we rebel. We did not ask to be born into this

moment, yet being alive now, we face the fate of humanity

and the planet. It places a weight on our shoulders and

We feel called forth to heal Your world.

At times we struggle. Sometimes, we wish it were not

like this, that we could just go about our business. We

are tempted to turn our heads away. Sometimes we feel

that the fight is futile – the science can seem to say that

hope is lost. We feel we do not have the strength to go on.

We feel burnt out.

When we feel like this, may we take time out and turn

our gaze to You. May we draw close to You, dear Lord,

and realise that You have been here too. You know what

it means to feel defeated, hopeless, and crushed. You

share our tears and weep with us for the future of our

children and all Your creatures.

On the cross You too cried out in abandonment: “my

God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” In Your cry,

the whole of creation cried out. You held all our tears

until they overflowed, transforming them into infinite

dew drops.

When all seems lost, may we experience Your divine

mercy. May we be gentle on ourselves and merciful to

others. May we find strength for the road ahead.

Amen

Hear Creation’s Cry

Monthly reflection to deepen our eco-conversion

The Person of the Soil

Sr. Mari Veronica Lee, Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help-
South Korea (LSM Korea Steering Committee member)

I joined the “With Peace” community in August 2022 and began my journey as a novice farmer. Located in Yeoncheon County, bordering North Korea, “With Peace” began with the purpose of praying and uniting for peace on the Korean Peninsula. The presence of numerous military bases creates a constant state of tension, hindering economic and cultural growth. Farmers make up the majority of the population. Furthermore, the recent climate crisis has further exacerbated the challenges of farming.

The core value of integral ecology—”everything is intimately connected by invisible threads”—which has been a lifelong motto, I feel has been deepening and becoming more internalized in the lives of the “With Peace” community in recent years. Here, the community encompasses not only the sisters who live together, but also our pets, Happy and Collie, and the animals, large and small, that inhabit the fields, rice paddies, and mountains, as well as the trees, grass, and flowers. Furthermore, it encompasses the earth and soil upon which we live, the wind and air that blow, the water that flows through the valleys, and the light of the sun. The moon that traverses the sky at night and the beautifully embroidered stars are also connected to us, forming a community. As Dante put it, we live by the “love that moves the stars.”

My ecological conversion deepened through my relationship with the soil. In “The Canticle of Creation”, Saint Francis of Assisi sings, “Praise be to you, my Lord, O sister and mother earth, who cares for us and sustains us, who gives rise to all kinds of fruits, flowers, and grasses.” He recognized the soil and the earth as beings that share life with us, transcending the biological concept of inanimate matter. However, the first thing I realized upon arriving here was that I didn’t know the soil. Not knowing means not living in relationships. Without knowing, we ignore and objectify interconnectedness, viewing nature only as a resource that yields fruit for us humans. Overly imbuing nature with the power of technology and its products  leads to exceeding its limits, squeezing it to the maximum (cf. LS 106). These developments, which have accelerated over the past two hundred years since industrialization, have led to the current climate crisis and ecosystem destruction. Pope Francis laments, “This sister (the earth) now cries out to us … The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. … The earth groans and travails (Romans 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Genesis 2:7)” (LS 2).

Realizing that farming begins with revitalizing the soil and establishing a personal relationship with it, the first step I took was to study agroecology with four farming team sisters. This time became a journey of synodalitas, sharing and empathizing with what we must do to ensure agricultural sustainability. We gradually shifted the direction of farming and began incorporating “permaculture design”, which connects ecology, farming, and the landscape, into our vegetable garden and field. The hard, barren soil, devoid of organic matter, is slowly transforming into a soil teeming with earthworms and beneficial insects. Revitalizing the hard, dying soil and restoring healthy, living soil isn’t simply about producing good agricultural products. It also contributes to mitigating climate change by creating soil that captures carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. It’s a creative response to the signs of the times.

Katherine Dochter (1896-1985), revered alongside Dorothy Day as a pioneer of American social justice and lay activism, operated St. Benedict’s Farm at the Madonna House community in Canada, which she founded. She was a pioneer in establishing the foundation of “Apostolic Farming”, a foundation for community spirituality, where farms go beyond simply producing food for the community and serve as apostolic institutions. The reason we attach the word “apostolate” to the word “farming” is because we want to enable those who witness our work to experience God and, through this, to proclaim the Good News.

However, farming is not romantic. A certain amount of labor is essential, and sometimes even arduous. This labor entails daily toil and the pain of small deaths, but it also represents a narrow gate to salvation (cf. Mt 7,13). I believe that labor is the process of becoming a true person, a genuine human being. The word “human” comes from the Latin word “humus,” which is also the root of the word “humble.” While humus is commonly understood as “soil,” in a more precise sense, it refers to “humus,” the soil formed by the decay of plants. Humus is the soil formed when plants and trees decompose (decay) through soil organisms. Humus soil is rich in nutrients, giving life to plants and enabling them to grow. Daily labor is the pain of life—a process of decomposition and decay—but it also gives birth to life. Through this process, we become truly human. This is where the meaning of Jesus’ passion and death lies.

Farming is love that permeates the earth, and at the same time, it is receiving the love of Mother Earth. Farming is a witness to this love. I call myself the “Green Sister.” “Green Sister” is concerned with social and ecological justice, striving to heal the Earth and creating a new religious culture. Green Sister is the “person of the soil.” We work with care for the soil, harvesting the fruits it provides without harming it, and farming with prayer and love poured into the soil. We awaken and respond to the “cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” (LS 49), living in deeper unity with the poor who receive God’s love, and with creation. Working with the soil is a sacred revolution that heals the Earth and a spiritual renewal experience.