LSM’s Monthly Prayer Guide
This resource is a guide for our movement members to use collectively or individually every month. Each month this prayer guide brings reflections and testimonies from different members of our global movement to inspire you to pray, contemplate, reflect, and act for creation. This month’s edition was prepared by Anna Johnson, Luke Henkel, and Margaret Scissom in the United States, with the support of Suzana Moreira, from Brazil, and the strategic work by Guada García Corigliano from Argentina, 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.
If you prefer, you can download this resource in PDF format by clicking here.
How to use this prayer guide for an encounter
This year we are making some changes to this guide so it can better support you and your community. Here are a few tips for you to use this guide as the structure of an encounter:
- Read the full guide to familiarize yourself with the content and plan how you will use it in the encounter.
- Hold the encounter through the three steps: Hear Creation’s Song, Creation’s Cry, and Creation’s Call, making sure to prioritize time for common prayer, contemplative silence, and personal and shared reflection.
- After the encounter, remember to thank the participants and start planning for the next one, as well as continue to pray throughout the month with the month’s intention and prayer.
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Hear Creation’s Song
Monthly intention: For human beings to humbly recognize that we are not autonomous and limitless
“Let us stop thinking, then, of human beings as autonomous, omnipotent and limitless, and begin to think of ourselves differently, in a humbler but more fruitful way” (LD 68).
The heights of a towering old growth forest in Washington state, USA. OR A person standing inside of a redwood tree in Redwoods National Park, USA.
We cry out to You
Caring God, the earth and we cry out to You
Along with the earth, we ask You to free us from
greed, selfishness, and indifference
Along with the air, the water, the land, and the wind,
we ask You to help us get rid of all the pollution
Along with the forest, birds and animals, give
us the strength not to destroy ourselves and the
delicate webs that connect our ecosystems
and all life together.
Along with those on the edges of society, the
unheard, the powerless, the struggling, and the
suffering, we ask You for the strength to be just,
merciful and compassionate
Along with those in power and positions of
authority, we ask for wisdom to be good stewards
of our common home
And finally, along with the whole of creation and peoples,
we give You thanks for all the efforts to
restore our sister mother earth.
Amen.
Bishop Allwyn D’Silva, Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay. Mumbai, India.
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Hear Creation’s Cry
Monthly reflection to deepen our eco-conversion
It’s Never Too Late
Margaret Scissom, Laudato Si Animator in Gary, Indiana, USA
Having grown up on a farm in the 50’s and 60’s, I was always close to nature. I remember Rogation Days with processions and prayers for a bountiful harvest and an appreciation for what God has given us. I always felt a deep connection to the gift of nature given to us by our Creator. Following graduation from college in 1975, I moved to Northwest Indiana working in Gary and thus experienced my first encounter with air pollution. I soon learned that Gary is a mill town with lots of industry nearby so I should get used to it. Everyone appeared complacent and accepting as these industries provided a livelihood for so many families. Yet even though this was upsetting to me, I was not yet motivated to take action especially as other things in my life were taking precedence. Eventually, I began to increase my awareness of how we humans were assaulting our earth, especially where I lived. I felt that this desecration of our earth was sacrilegious; an offense against God.
When I retired towards the end of 2022, I began to connect with others who were fighting for environmental justice such as Just Transition Northwest Indiana and Gary Advocates for Responsible Development. I remembered the controversy Pope Francis caused when he issued his encyclical letter Laudato Si’, as many believed the Church should not be involved in matters such as climate change. In 2023 I learned about the Laudato Si’ Movement when I read the Common Prayer for the 8th Anniversary of Laudato Si’. After reading and reflecting on the encyclical, I felt now was the time to start taking some action, but I didn’t have a clear idea of what that looked like. I began contemplating and praying about how I could be more involved in the healing of our planet, although it seemed an overwhelming task. One of my prayers was answered when I received a call from Luke Henkel with the Laudato Si Movement. The next thing I knew, I was planning an event in October 2023 at my parish, St. Mary of the Lake, hosting a showing of “The Letter” to introduce our community to Laudato Si’. People of all faiths came to see this moving documentary and talk about it. The Letter stayed with me as I continued to contemplate and pray about how I can not only be a part of this myself but also to bring others to the beauty of this movement. Having been an advocate for others who were marginalized and unheard, I find I now want to advocate for our earth and for environmental justice. It’s never too late. I’m still finding my way and I lean on others to help guide me, but I am certain that I will be a part of this Movement as I believe I have been called to be a good steward to help heal our Earth.
Questions for reflection
- What parts of Margaret’s story resonate with you? What were the moments or people that inspired your journey toward care of creation?
- When we talk about ecological conversion, as much as individual commitment is needed, we might forget the community dimension which is also a fundamental part of it. To be humble and fruitful along the journey of eco-conversion, we must learn to live a paradigm shift of collective thinking, recognize the importance of community belonging, hear from others’ experiences, and share our own experiences as well. When was the last time that community discernment was what led you to take a further step to care for creation? Do you feel like you belong to a community? What can you do to strengthen your sense of community with creation as well?
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Hearing Creation’s Call
This month’s call to action
Participate in an online community encounter
This month is a unique opportunity to join the Laudato Si’ Animators and members of the movement in your city, region or country, and celebrate together a community encounter on the synodal road to our 2025 Jubilee.
Check out our Chapters website to see if there is one available in your country or region and, if you haven’t already done so, get in touch with them! Perhaps they are already in the process of organizing an encounter.
Stay tuned about these encounters
Coming up: Prepare for Season of Creation
This June 5, World Environment Day, we will launch the official Celebration Guide for the Season of Creation 2024. Ecumenical faith leaders from around the globe will lead this time of presentation and reflection as we celebrate the ongoing preparation for the Season of Creation, on this year’s theme, “To hope and act with Creation”.
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