A Lenten Challenge and Prayer
This Lent is an opportunity for discernment and action. May we quiet our hearts and enter the solitude of the desert, that we might hear the voice of God and listen to the cries of his children around the world whose livelihoods are impacted by our own actions and lifestyles. May we each reflect deeply—individually and as communities—and discern how to act. How are we being called to enter the desert of Lent and discern how the Spirit invites us to act to protect the book of nature, God’s creation?
A Lenten Prayer
O God,
During this season of Lent,
draw us into the desert, a place of fasting and prayer,
removed from the distractions of the world.
Help us listen to the voice of creation.
Turn our hearts to you.
In our innermost space,
let us listen more carefully
to creation, to others and to you.
Help us listen to the voice of creation.
As we are touched in this listening
by your incarnational presence,
remind us of your love and mercy,
your initiative and activity.
Help us listen to the voice of creation.
Show us your attentiveness
to the cry of the earth and cry of the poor
to the little ones wounded by a throw-away culture,
and to those suffering due to natural disasters.
Help us listen to the voice of creation.
Listening to the voice of creation,
help us to join in holy witness
to protect those most vulnerable
and to protect our common home.
Amen.
Adapted from Help me to listen to the voice of creation
Most Reverend for the 2026 USCCB Invitation to Ecological Conversion for U.S. Catholics. Visit USCCB website.
