Region of the Month: North America
June 2026
Monthly
Prayer
Guide
We pray this month that we may open our eyes to the interconnectedness of all life. Inspired by a deep awe for creation, may we learn to live in harmony and solidarity with the earth, sharing deeply in the cries and joys of all beings.
Editorial page
Monthly Prayer Guide
June invites us into a deeper awareness of the sacred interconnectedness of all life. Across North America and around the world, communities are witnessing both the beauty of creation and the urgent cries of our common home: from forests and oceans under pressure, to communities experiencing displacement, pollution, inequality, and climate disasters. Yet amid these realities, hope continues to emerge through people of faith who choose solidarity, compassion, and action.
This year also marks an important moment for the Church with the publication of Magnifica Humanitas by Pope Leo XIV. The encyclical calls humanity to protect human dignity in a rapidly changing technological age, especially in the context of artificial intelligence. Its message reminds us that technology must always serve life, human dignity, justice, and the common good.
Together with the vision of Integral Ecology first articulated in Laudato Si’, this new teaching encourages us to recognize that the future of humanity and the future of creation are inseparably connected.
As a global movement rooted in faith and action, the Laudato Si’ Movement continues to accompany Catholics and people of goodwill in responding to this call. Through local communities, Laudato Si’ Animators, advocacy initiatives, ecological spirituality, and grassroots action, we seek to build a world where all creation can flourish in harmony.
May this month become an opportunity to slow down, listen deeply, and rediscover our relationship with God, with one another, and with creation. May our prayers inspire courageous action, and may our shared journey lead us closer to reconciliation with our common home.
Prayer Inspire in us a spirit of awe
Divine Creator, God,
We thank You for the wonder of the universe
and its eons of time and life that has sustained us.
We thank You for our sister mother earth, her beauty and giftedness,
the bounty of her days and her sacred ground.
Sadly, we have abused earth’s sacred space
and have misread its sacred story, claiming it as our own,
opposing Your divine plan.
Its gift of sustainability has been snatched away,
diminishing its sustenance for the good of all.
Yes, we can hear its anguished cries of pain and distress;
its resources stripped bare, its climate distorted,
its water and soil poisoned, its landscape unable to cope.
Creator God, Help us to care for sister mother earth
with loving attention to its sacred journey.
As it gives of itself without measure.
Inspire in us a spirit of awe for its beauty and many life forms.
And may we be thankful knowing that it waits unceasingly
to refurbish itself for our sake. Amen.
Written by Sr. Maura Fitzsimons, PBVM. Laudato Si’ Animator. Shaw, Mississippi, USA. LSM Prayer Book.
Hear Creation’s Song
Monthly reflection to deepen our eco-conversion
Putting on my Laudato Si’ Glasses: A journey from individual tree to interconnected forest
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve put on my “Laudato Si’ glasses.” They help me see the sacredness and interconnectedness of this whole wide, wonderful world. I first discovered them after reading Laudato Si’. I don’t remember exactly where I was when I read it, but I can still clearly picture the classroom and the seat I was in during our group discussion soon after it was published in 2015.
We sat at desks in the shape of a rectangle along the perimeter of the small room with one window looking out to the forest. Even though we each had read the encyclical privately, it was the shared realization of its message, that all life is deeply connected, that opened our eyes. For me, it was also the moment my science background and my faith finally clicked together. I remember looking up from the page and thinking, “This changes everything.” This wasn’t a document to read and put back on the shelf. We knew it was a call to action, even if we had no idea where the road would lead.
I’ve always appreciated the people who came before us and had the foresight to preserve land for everyone. Whenever I walk a new trail, I think about those who planned and built it so that I could enjoy it. Now it’s my turn to pay it forward by doing what I can to protect the air, soil, and water for the generations coming after me.
My prayer life has deepened from “Can you help me, God?” to “How can I help you, God?” My relationships have changed from “I hope you’re doing well” to “I’m OK only if you’re OK.” And my connection to creation has shifted from “I am in nature” to “I am part of nature.”
Taking Laudato Si’ seriously meant my lifestyle had to change too. I can trace my conversion of heart through God’s gentle nudges to move from head to heart to hands. I’ve been drawn to simpler living and creating less waste. I’m more aware of the bigger picture and how my choices affect the world around me. These glasses go on often, because ecological conversion isn’t one-and-done. Learning about consumerism, fast fashion, food choices, food waste, and end-of-life decisions has led me to make real changes in my home and habits. There’s so much to learn and relearn as we try to live in better balance with the planet that sustains us.
What keeps me grounded are my daily walks in the woods and my daily Centering Prayer practice. That’s where I learn to trust a loving God who promises to stay with us. Being part of a “forest” of learners and seekers gives me the same steadiness as the interconnected roots beneath the trees.
I am a happy, loved tree, awed by creation and deeply connected to a web of people, creatures, and the life-giving elements of this world. I’ll keep my Laudato Si’ glasses handy!
Hear Creation’s Cry
This is my neighbor’s home. Heavier rainfall and wind events are increasing and the tree’s root systems are overwhelmed.
Questions for reflection
- Janet describes a shift from “I am in nature” to “I am part of nature.” How does putting on these “Laudato Si’ glasses” change the way you view the environmental challenges and climate events affecting your local or global neighbors?
- The story beautifully compares community support to the steady, interconnected roots of a forest. Individual resilience is rarely enough against systemic climate issues; what “roots” of solidarity do you need to strengthen in your own neighborhood to face the storms of our time?
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Small Action of the Month
Take a walk in a local green space. Choose one tree or plant and spend five minutes contemplating its hidden root system. Reflect on how it relies on the unseen soil and water beneath it, and how it, in turn, supports the broader ecosystem around it.
Hearing Creation’s Call
This month’s call to action
Join the Laudato Si’ Movement’s Creation Care Prayer Network, a global community united in prayer for the healing of our common home and for all those most affected by the ecological crisis. Through shared monthly intentions, contemplation, and moments of communal prayer, we walk together in ecological conversion, allowing prayer to deepen our relationship with God, with one another, and with all creation.
LSM Monthly Prayer Guide
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 Spirit’s call in creation.