February 2026
Monthly Prayer Guide
We pray this month as a global Laudato Si’ family, asking for the grace of contemplation that sustains us in times of ecological and social crisis.
Editorial page
Lent invites us into a sacred journey of return — a return to the heart of God, to the heart of our faith, and to the heart of our common home. In this season of prayer, fasting, and conversion, we are called to slow down, to listen more deeply, and to rediscover what truly sustains life.
As a global Laudato Si’ family, we pray this month with hearts open to contemplation. In a world marked by ecological degradation and social injustice, contemplation becomes an act of resistance and hope. It allows us to see reality with God’s eyes, to recognize the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, and to respond not with despair, but with compassionate action.
May this time of Lent help us return to what matters most — nurturing an inner silence that renews our commitment to care for our common home and for one another. We ask for the grace of contemplation that sustains us in moments of uncertainty, strengthens us amid crisis, and transforms our prayer into faithful action.
Share your prayer, story, or action with our global community on the LSM Collective Mural — a shared space where our global Laudato Si’ family walks together: padlet.com/comms95/LSM2026
Monthly intention
We pray this month as a global Laudato Si’ family, asking for the grace of contemplation that sustains us in times of ecological and social crisis.
Quote of the month
“The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God. ” LS 84
An Evening Prayer for the Earth
By Erin Lothes, USA.
God, come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.
You are the God of the poor,
You heal all who exist.
May my prayer in the calm of the evening
unite me with every creature,
as all living families of the earth journey
towards your infinite light.
Loving God, I thank you for being with me this day.
Encourage us all, we pray, in our struggle for justice.
Through the night I lift up to you my hopes
for your reign of peace on earth.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
Hear Creation’s Song
Monthly reflection to deepen our eco-conversion
How to Value a Small Gathering’s Power
Laudato Si’ Action Platform
Small community actions play a vital role in fostering a connection with creation and promoting eco-spirituality. In Gresswiller, France, Christian and Marie-Cécile Friedrich have embraced this idea by organizing gatherings to pray the Laudato Si’ Chaplet, a prayer that spurs ecological reflection. Through this initiative, the Friedrichs demonstrate how intimate gatherings can inspire environmental action while nurturing spiritual growth.
A Prayer for Creation
The idea for the Laudato Si’ Chaplet emerged during Christian’s training as a Laudato Si’ Animator with the Laudato Si’ Movement. He learned the importance of incorporating prayer into ecological action and sought to integrate this into his community. “We were encouraged to pray the Laudato Si’ Chaplet as often as possible to develop our contemplative relationship with creation,” Christian explains. Together with his wife, Marie-Cécile, they aimed to establish a regular practice that would be independent of time and season, allowing them to consistently come together in prayer.
Since its inception, the Laudato Si’ Chaplet has taken place on the second Thursday of every month at 6:00 PM in the Verger Laudato Si’, a space dedicated to nurturing the connection between faith and creation. For the Season of Creation this year, the Friedrichs adapted the chaplet format to focus on passage 233 from Laudato Si’:
“The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. There is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain path, in the dew, in the face of the poor.”
Blending Prayer and Action
The gathering begins with songs and moments of silence and reflection, allowing attendees to meditate on how the words of Laudato Si’ resonate in their hearts. Christian emphasizes the importance of this practice: “These periods of silence and reflection allow us to experience how Pope Francis’ words touch us deeply, particularly as we contemplate creation and the faces of the poor.”
For the Friedrichs, prayer is not just an add-on to ecological action—it is the driving force behind it. “Prayer is the fuel of all actions; it connects us to God’s love. Without prayer, we are like clanging cymbals,” Christian says, referring to 1 Corinthians 13:1. He believes that prayer enables individuals to act with purpose and direction, ensuring that their efforts are rooted in love and spiritual connection.
This idea is at the heart of what Christian calls “contempl-action”, the balance between contemplation and action. “It’s the paradox of acting swiftly but also stopping to be nourished by prayer, so we don’t lose touch with the Source,” he explains. In this way, the Laudato Si’ Chaplet serves as a regular moment of spiritual recharge for those committed to protecting creation.
The Power of Small Gatherings
While the Laudato Si’ Chaplet might be a small gathering, its impact is far-reaching. “Even if we are only two people, praying together by torchlight on a winter’s night, it has meaning because others see us and wonder,” Christian notes. Small, intimate gatherings like this foster deep relationships and provide an environment where hearts can open and faith can grow.
Christian and Marie-Cécile see these small-scale actions as an essential part of the broader movement to care for creation. “The size of the gathering isn’t as important as the consistency and the testimony it provides,” Christian says. In their eyes, even a small group has the power to inspire others and bear witness to the need for ecological and spiritual transformation.
Hear Creation’s Cry
Forests are burning in the Southern Hemisphere. In Australia, extreme heat and prolonged drought have fueled wildfires that devastated communities, landscapes, and forced mass evacuations. In Argentina and Chile, large forest fires continue to spread across native forests and rural land, displacing families and demanding tireless efforts from firefighters and local communities. These fires are signs of the climate crisis, marked by more frequent heatwaves, droughts, and extreme winds, showing the vulnerability of ecosystems and human lives.
Photo: Mike Lewelling / National Park Service
Questions for reflection
In challenging times, contemplation becomes a flame of hope we can kindle together. The questions below invite us to examine how contemplation fuels our ecological actions.
When ecological or social crises feel overwhelming, where do I seek strength — and how might contemplation become a source of hope?
How might choosing slowness, silence, or repetition be a countercultural and prophetic response to today’s crises?
Where do we already see the “contempl-action” paradox in our collective ecological work, and where do we need to let prayer become its true source?
End each day this month by praying An Evening Prayer for the Earth, found at the beginning of this prayer guide, allowing contemplation to ground your hope and commitment.
Hearing Creation’s Call
Responding to Creation’s Call in Our Region
This month’s call to action: Returning to the Heart through Lent
This month, we are invited to live Lent as a shared journey of conversion and commitment. Join the Laudato Si’ Lenten Campaign and walk together as a global family through prayer, reflection, and concrete action. Rooted in contemplation, our simple actions help us respond with hope to the ecological and social crises of our time.
The LSM Monthly Prayer Guide invites our global family into shared prayer and ecological conversion. Each month, one region offers a prayer intention rooted in its local reality and opened to a shared global hope, in the spirit of Laudato Si’. Reflections, images, and testimonies from our members help us listen together to the Holly Spirit’s call in creation.
This prayer guide was developed with the support of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, and the strategic work by Susana Salguero from El Salvador, design work by Marco Vargas from Ecuador, as well as work from others of the Communications team spread across the Americas and translators spread across the world.