Adapted with thanks from the Laudato Si’ Missionary project by Sr. Annarosa Crippa, OLA.
As part of the OLA “Green Community” Campaign, we are praying the Missionary Rosary during Laudato Si’ week.
We’d love you to join us in asking the Spirit to open the hearts of the communities we are a part of to the urgent theme that Pope Francis proposes to us in “Laudato Si’” so that together we can undertake the path of integral ecological conversion and become a society that lives and announces the Gospel of Creation.
A MISSIONARY JOURNEY THROUGH CREATION
We imagine taking a trip around our world, stopping over each continent. We are accompanied by the Holy Spirit, Mary, Mother of the Apostles, icon of the outgoing missionary Church, and Saint Francis, an example of caring for what is weak and of an integral ecology, lived with joy and authenticity. With the song of creation, we get ready to contemplate the wonderful and glorious mystery of the world around us.
We hear: “The world is more than a problem to be solved, it is a wonderful mystery to contemplate with joy and praise.” (Laudato Si’ 12)
Prayer: May your blessing act in us, oh Lord, and transform us with your renewing power, so that we may be ready to hear the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth and give ourselves wholeheartedly to their care and protection. And may we receive the joy of your gifts and praise your name, now and forever. Amen
1st Mystery: The Incarnation – God enters our history and walks with us.
Stopover: in Asia
We contemplate this immense continent, its peoples so different, so numerous, with so many technological capabilities, so many cultures, and so many contrasts…and poverty …
“There are forms of pollution that affect people on a daily basis … especially the poorest …. The technology that, linked to finance, pretends to be the only solution to problems, in fact it is usually unable to see the mystery of the multiple elationships that exist between things, and that is why sometimes a problem is solved by creating others. (Laudato Si’ 20)
“There is a very consistent scientific consensus that indicates that we are facing a worrying warming of the climate system (…). If the current trend continues, this century could witness unprecedented climate change and unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequences for all “(LS 24)
“Young people demand a change from us. They wonder how it is possible to try to build a better future without thinking about the environmental crisis and the sufferings of the oppressed. (LS13)
Prayer: Lord, awaken our consciences and have mercy on the times that we have contaminated your presence in creatures and we have not been able to rejoice in your magnificent works. Lord, have mercy.
Mary, mother of authenticity and purity, pray for us
Mary, mother of the Yes, firm and faithful, pray for us
Mary, humble, present, joyful collaborator of the Lord, pray for us
Mary Pray for the peoples of Asia, Amen.
2nd Mystery: In the encounter God reveals himself (cf. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth)
Stopover: We arrive in Oceania.
This continent is made up of 14 countries in the middle of the waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. The peoples are varied in their culture, customs and language, displaying the interesting diversity and great variety of an “ecosystem”.
The beauty of these lands embraced by the waters makes us think of the Gospel of Creation, of the harmonious relationship between creation and the human being that emerges from Scripture.
“The Bible teaches that every human being is created out of love, made in the image and likeness of God (Gen1,26). This statement shows us the immense dignity of each human person … (LS 65).
The narratives suggest that human existence and its historical reality is based on three fundamental relationships closely connected: with God, with others and with the earth. All three vital relationships have been broken, not only externally, but also within us. This break is sin (cf Gn 2,15) (LS 66). “
The current situation, with global warming, water pollution, environmental degradation with the loss of biodiversity, indicates how sin breaks the balance of all creation and alters human relationships with others, with God and with the nature.
“This world has a serious social debt with the poor who do not have access to drinking water, because that is denying them the right to life based on their inalienable dignity (LS 30).
Water is a human right. Its commercialisation and privatisation is a violation, it causes biodiversity to be lost and fertile lands become barren.
We need an integral ecology, which takes into account the place of the human being in the world and the relationships with our environment, in harmony with nature, since ecology is inseparable from the common good.
Prayer:
Mary, crystalline fountain of grace, pray for us,
Mary, who celebrates the cultural richness of each people, pray for us,
Mary, wisdom of the poor who resist, fight and wait, pray for us,
Mary, you teach how to go out, find and share, pray for us.
Mary, pray for the peoples of Oceania. Amen
3rd mystery: The Birth. “God with us” reveals himself in poverty and simplicity.
Stopover: We’ve arrived in Europe.
“How can we think we can live healthy in a sick world? The wounds inflicted on our mother earth are wounds that also bleed on us. ” (Pope Francis).
We have learned with the Covid Pandemic that everything is connected, we are all connected.
We realise that the root of the ecological crisis is human and social, it comes from our lifestyle, from our relationships with people, with things in the world. It is urgent that we become aware of the need for integral conversion: personal and societal, that educates us to a new vision, that of caring, sharing and not consuming, accumulating, predatory … to be able, united, to repair the damage that our system and our way of life has visited upon creation.
Our system, based on the market, pushes us to always need and consume more.
We consume, we pollute, we destroy. This culture of discarding has the economy at its centre and not the person and their good, it sacrifices people for their interests.
Its development glorifies the accumulation of wealth for the few and the dispossession of others. It is an unjust system and has created first, second, third and fourth world categories to measure the level of development of the peoples.
This vision that divides, calls us to a radical cultural change: to a new culture with new parameters that recognises us all in a single developing humanity, where we live in solidarity to accompany each other and grow together, sharing the goods of the Creator among all, without distinction. A culture that fosters relationships, integrates differences, shares wealth, creates bridges and dialogues, giving and receiving.
We need a change of life and production!
“I make an urgent invitation to a new dialogue on the way in which we are building the future of the planet (…) We need a new universal solidarity” (LS14)
“Christian spirituality proposes an alternative way of understanding the quality of life ….. The constant accumulation of possibilities to consume, distracts the heart and prevents valuing each thing and each moment ….. Christian spirituality proposes growth with sobriety and an ability to enjoy little. It is a return to simplicity … Sobriety that is lived with freedom and conscience is liberating. ” (LS 222-223)
“Social love is the key to authentic development: To shape a more humane society, more worthy of the person, it is necessary to revalue love in social life – at the political, economic, cultural level – making it the constant and supreme norm of action ”(LS 231)
Prayer: Lord, with your Spirit, transform our indignation into conversion and into a decision for personal and community change. Your Love gives us courage, supports our efforts to sow and wait, assures us that every little action is important and necessary in building the civilization of love.
Mary Mother of compassion and hope, pray for Europe: make it return to the first Love that built it and rediscover the roots of its faith and culture.
Mary, Mother of the first step, of boldness and perseverance, pray for us.
4th Mystery: The Presentation. The gestures and prophetic words of the God of history (Simeon and Anna)
Stopover in the Americas
“The joys and the hopes, the sorrows and the anguish of the humanity of our time, especially of the poor and of those who suffer, are at the same time the joys and the hopes, the sorrows and the anguish of the disciples of Christ. There is nothing truly human that does not find an echo in his heart ”. (G.S.1)
These are the words of Saint Paul VI from the opening of Gaudium et Spes and are still sound extremely relevant today if we look at the reality of this great continent and allow ourselves to ask questions. The incalculable riches of its lands, flora, fauna, its immense waters, its peoples, its cultures and traditions that make the beauty of its nature, its wealth and at the same time are the cause of its contrasts and problems.
Exploited lands and forests, displaced peoples, their dignity, their property, their lives violated …
Looking from an integral ecology viewpoint to discern the signs of the times and come to see the will of the Triune God, is to recognize that the problem lies in seeing nature only as a useful resource for consumption and not valuing it from other symbolic, cultural meanings , religious (Latin American Episcopal Council.
The planetary balance depends on the health of the Amazon. It works as a great filter for carbon dioxide, which helps to avoid global warming …. The interest of a few powerful companies should not be above the good of the Amazon and of humanity as a whole. (Quadragesimo anno 48)
Learning from the native peoples we can contemplate the Amazon to know the precious mystery that surpasses us. We can love it and not just use it. … The world is not seen from the outside but from the inside, recognizing the ties with which the Father has united us with all beings. (Quadragesimo anno 55)
Indigenous peoples could help us to perceive what a happy sobriety is and in this sense “it has a lot to teach us”. (Quadragesimo anno 71)
Prayer: Maria, Mother in solidarity, we entrust to you all the peoples of America, particularly the indigenous peoples that are recognized and respected and can offer the world the harmony of their lifestyle, a model to heal relationships in our society and open paths of justice of brotherhood.
Maria, we pray to you for governments and policy makers, so that the love of creation and the pursuit of the common good exceed their political and economic interests.
5th Mystery: Christ lost and found: God with us is ‘Life’.
Welcome to Africa
On the African continent, life is not only lived … it is celebrated!!!
Happy, welcoming, supportive, community peoples …. Rich cultures of human, spiritual, intellectual, artistic values, which make these peoples capable of adaptation and creative transformation of the most difficult situations. They know how to fight and always make life reborn …
This continent often experiences the drama of being poor because of its riches! Exploited without respect or measures by richer countries, with disastrous consequences for the peoples and ecology of Africa.
“Iniquity does not affect only individuals, but entire countries, and forces us to think about an ethics of international relations … The warming caused by the enormous consumption of some rich countries has repercussions in the poorest places on earth, especially in Africa, where rising temperatures coupled with drought are wreaking havoc on crop yields. … The exports of some raw materials to satisfy the markets of the industrialized North, have produced local damages, such as pollution with mining … the use of environmental space to deposit imported toxic waste …. We find that frequently the Companies that act like this are multinationals that do there what they are not allowed in developed countries or the so-called first world. (LS 51)
“Developing peoples, where the most important biosphere reserves are found, continue to nurture the development of the richest countries at the expense of their present and future” …. We need to strengthen the awareness that we are a single human family … there is no room for the globalization of indifference ”. (LS 52)
“Perhaps the continuing experience of living in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic has helped us all to reflect on a deeper level about the interconnectedness of all created things and the need for true compassion and solidarity among all beings. Humans, if we want to overcome the great challenges together; each one of us must commit to taking small steps.
Prayer: O God of all creation, you have given us life and have placed us in a world filled with your glory. Stay with us on this path of discovery and give us the insight to continue exploring the wonders of your Creation. Give us the wisdom to guide all our work in the search for the common good. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen..
In Conclusion
“We have a formidable heritage as Women Religious Missionaries. Our Sisters were courageous pioneers in new missions in so many West African countries where, by God’s grace, faith has flourished and God’s love has been shared with many. Today the degradation of our planet is a frontier that demands prophetic pioneer missionaries. We need bold and courageous missionaries who are not afraid to speak out and criticize the practices that are damaging our planet, who are not afraid to propose new daring strategies that offer solutions and, above all, by the testimony of their lifestyles, give an example of how to live in communion with all creation”
(from the message of our Superior General, Sr. Mary T Barron, to live the time of creation)
Prayer: Lord, with your Spirit, transform our indignation into conversion and into a decision for personal and community change. Your Love gives us courage, supports our efforts to sow and wait, assures us that every little action is mportant and necessary in building the civilization of love.
Mary Mother of compassion and hope, pray for Europe: make it return to the first Love that built it and rediscover the roots of its faith and culture.
Mary, Mother of the first step, of boldness and perseverance, pray for us.