More than 300 participants from across the world gathered online on March 14 for the Lenten Prayer Service: “Returning to the Heart of God and Creation.” The prayerful encounter brought together members of the global family of the Laudato Si’ Movement to reflect, lament, and renew their commitment to care for our common home.
Held during the sacred season of Lent, the two-hour gathering invited participants into a contemplative space rooted in prayer, ecological conversion, and to explore forgiveness in Lent. The service is part of the global Lenten journey organized by the movement, which encourages communities to slow down, pray deeply, and rediscover the spiritual roots of care for creation.
A Global Community in Prayer
Participants joined from multiple continents, forming a virtual circle of prayer that reflected the truly global nature of the movement. Through Scripture, silence, music, and reflection, the service created a sacred moment of communion across cultures and languages.
At the center of the prayer was a powerful symbolic moment known as the “Bowl of Tears.” This contemplative ritual invited participants to bring before God the grief of our world — from environmental destruction to the suffering of vulnerable communities — transforming lament into prayer and hope.
Prayer as the Beginning of Ecological Conversion
The gathering echoed a central message of the Lenten journey: authentic action for our common home begins in the heart. The season of Lent invites Christians to return to God through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, allowing this spiritual renewal to shape our response to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.
For many participants, the prayer service was a reminder that the ecological crisis is not only a scientific or political issue — it is also a deeply spiritual call.
Through moments of contemplation, participants were invited to listen more deeply to God’s presence in creation and discern how they are being called to act in their communities.
A Journey That Continues
The Lenten Prayer Service is one step in a broader journey offered by the Laudato Si’ Movement throughout the season of Lent. The movement provides weekly reflections, prayer resources, and opportunities for formation to help individuals and communities deepen their ecological spirituality and commitment to justice.
As the global community continues this Lenten path, the message remains clear: ecological conversion begins with prayer, grows through community, and bears fruit in action for our common home.
More opportunities for prayer and formation will continue throughout the season as the Laudato Si’ Movement invites people everywhere to return to the heart — and from there, renew the world.
Taking the Next Step: Contemplation & Advocacy
For those inspired to deepen this connection between prayer and action, the Movement invites you to a specialized training: “Contemplation & Advocacy.” This 90-minute session is designed to help you ground your advocacy in contemplation. Through guided exercises, you will explore how contemplation integrates awareness, body, and choice, connecting prayer directly to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.
Join us to learn simple contemplative tools that will support your advocacy work. The training will be conducted in multiple languages to accommodate our global family:
- English:
- March 21, 9:30 AM (ET) / 3:30 PM (CET) Click here to register
- March 26, 5:00 PM (Manila Time) Click here to register
- Portuguese: March 21, 2:00 PM (Brasilia Time) Click here to register
- Spanish: March 24, 7:00 PM (Ecuador Time) Click here to register