May 2025
Monthly Prayer Guide
For working conditions to overcome structural injustices
Editorial page
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.
We align our monthly prayer intentions with those of the Pope, integrating a Laudato Si’ dimension to deepen our reflection and action. As part of this journey, we also look forward to Laudato Si’ Week 2025, a special time of global celebration, prayer, and commitment to ecological conversion. This month, however, our intention focuses on our gratitude for Pope Francis’ life and for the future of our Church.
May we be inspired to act with courage, love with purpose, and bring hope to our common home—one step, one prayer, one action at a time
Hear Creation’s Song
Monthly intention:
In gratitude for Pope Francis’ life and
legacy and in prayer for our future Pontiff
Quote of the month:
“The God who created the universe out
of nothing can also intervene in this
world and overcome every form of evil.
Injustice is not invincible.” LS 74
Prayer for
social justice
by Constance (Connie) Fahey, Franciscan Sisters of Mary, United States of America.
Spirit of Truth
Who enfolds our world in Your Love,
we come to You with a heavy heart.
How does one begin to dismantle the evils of racism,
sexism, classism, environmental injustice and other
ism’s permeating society?
Are we complicit with the corporate sin of societal
institutions by remaining silent observers?
How can we be an instrument of peace and
radiate Your healing love?
People like Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, Jr.
and protestors marching on our streets denounce
systemic injustices.
We read Scripture’s injunctions–love God, love my
neighbor, pray for my enemies, even those who
persecute me.
Are we heeding these difficult teachings?
Is it enough for us to welcome strangers into our
circle of relationships, alleviate the suffering of the
Lazaruses-onmy-doorstep, and celebrate the
diversity of people and their creeds?
Grace us that we have love for all, promote justice for
all, and have mutual respect for all creation.
Amen
Hear Creation’s Cry
Monthly reflection to deepen our eco-conversion
“I Want to Be a Living Letter”: Alfred Okumu’s Eco-Conversion Journey
Alfred Okumu, Animator, Uganda
When Alfred Okumu first read Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ powerful encyclical on care for our common home, he didn’t expect it to change his life. But the words of Pope Francis awakened something deep within him.
“It felt like a personal call to action,” Alfred says.
“Laudato Si’ helped me see creation as something sacred—something I
am part of, and responsible for.”
Today, Alfred serves as the Communications and Community Liaison Officer for the Laudato Si’ Center Comboni Uganda, and as an Animator for the Laudato Si’ Movement in the country. His faith has blossomed into bold, concrete ecological action.
Together with the National Forestry Authority and Tree Talk, Alfred and his team have distributed thousands of indigenous and fruit tree seedlings to schools and parishes across Uganda—including St. Kizito Bugolobi, St. Paul Banda, St. Daniel Comboni Kasana-Luweero, and parishes in Kireka, Ggaba, Opachi (Arua), and Namukora (Kitgum). These trees now grow alongside the hearts and minds of young students, nurtured through environmental school clubs that focus on zero hunger, zero poverty, and zero emissions—the “3 Zeros.”
In Kasala Parish, Alfred helped establish a 4.7-acre demonstration farm, a living classroom for climate-smart agriculture. Children and local communities learn firsthand how to grow fruit trees like mango, avocado, and jackfruit, alongside native species such as mahogany, mivule, and acacia.
“We don’t just talk about ecological conversion—we live it,” Alfred says with a smile.
“Each seedling planted is a prayer for a better future.”
Beyond the fields and forests, Alfred’s message reaches communities through the
airwaves. On Radio Maria Uganda (103.7 FM) in Bbiina, his team hosts regular programs
on environmental stewardship. They speak about waste management, the dangers of
bush burning and plastic pollution, and the need for eco-friendly alternatives. These
programs, supported by the Catholic Workers’ Movement in Mbuya Parish and other local
Catholic groups, empower listeners with practical ways to care for creation.
Even with limited financial resources, Alfred’s vision continues to grow. Requests for
support now arrive from dioceses across Uganda—including Gulu, Nebbi, and Mbarara.
His dream? To see the spirit of Laudato Si’ alive in every parish, every school, and every
home in Uganda.
“My eco-conversion began when I met Br. Ocan Cosmas Okech MCCJ and Br. Michael Avaga MCCJ, and read Pope Francis’ encyclical in 2015,” Alfred reflects.
“Now, I want my life to be a living message—not written in ink, but in trees planted across Uganda, children educated, and a planet healed.”
Alfred’s journey reminds us all that ecological conversion is not a one-time event, but a lifelong journey of walking gently on the Earth, guided by faith, hope, and the call to integral ecology.
Questions
for reflection
- How was it that Pope Francis’ call to care for creation reached you? Where were you in your life? Who were you with
- How can you be a living letter that gives life to the letter Laudato Si’ in this moment that our Church is living
- As part of LSM, we are all fruits of Pope Francis’ prophetic call for justice and peace with creation. As we prepare to celebrate Laudato Si’ Week for the first time with him joining us from heaven, let us go forth as pilgrims of hope and offer our work, events, and activities in prayer for the future of our Church. Spend some time planning how you and your community will honor his legacy during Laudato Si’ Week this year.
Hearing Creation’s Call
This month’s call to action: Join Laudato Si’ Week 2025!
🌿 Join Laudato Si’ Week 2025! 🌿
This year, we celebrate 10 years of faith, action, and care for our common home. As we reflect on this journey, let us come together in prayer and action to renew our commitment to creation and the most vulnerable.
🙏 Pray, act, and celebrate this milestone with us. Let’s make the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si’ a movement of hope and transformation!
📅 Save the date! Stay tuned for reflections, prayers, and ways to get involved.
Together, we can build a future where all creation thrives! 🌍✨
This prayer guide was developed with the support of Ashley Kitisya, from Kenya, Alfred Okumu from Uganda, Suzana Moreira, from Brazil, 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.