These prayers are a Commemoration by the Jesuit Ecological Network from the Conference of South Asia in light of Pope Francis invitation to celebrate Laudato Si’ Week from 16 – 24 May 2020.  The theme of the year is ‘Everything is Connected.’

The resources available on the webpage https://laudatosiweek.org/resources/ helped us decide the sub themes.

The following prayers and reflections can be read and meditated upon, any time, any day.

Fr. Lumnesh Swaroop Kumar, SJ, former GIAN and South Asia Ecology Coordinator, liaised with Scholastics in the region, who have authored the prayers. It is from an inter faith perspective, in the context of Corona Pandemic and Migration that has adversely affected South Asia and the world.

Day 1: The Earth – Our Mother

We begin with an ode to Our Common Home, The Earth – Our Mother. The prayer asks us to continually remember our indebtedness to Planet Earth that sustains the creation.

For aeons, Mother Earth has borne the brunt of human invasion in the name of selfish, unplanned development. Our mindless acts have wiped away species to extinction, leaving the remaining in an endangered, vulnerable and threatened states. We now live in Climate Emergency, all the time.

Download this prayer and reflection here

Day 2: The Earth and the Poor

The cry of the Earth is the cry of the Poor. The thought becomes prominent in the present situation of unprecedented global ill health and economic turmoil, threatened by the mere yet potent nanometer sized viral particles.

South Asian states, termed as ‘Third World and developing’ have a major share of the global population and poverty. The Corona Pandemic brought mortality, morbidity and callous division of humanity by excluding the least privileged working class as ‘Migrant labourers’. A mass exodus of a staggering 100 million people is a cause of bewilderment as the world stood watching.

Download this prayer and reflection here

Day 3: New Lifestyle through Ecological Conversion

ill we find a recourse or will we relapse? Human beings no longer have an option but to change our regime, pick up the pieces of life left and live in harmony with the ecosystem around us.

We have to undergo an internal cleansing of our intentions, by thorough conversion of our deeds, for a sustainable co-existence with fellow beings.

Download this prayer and reflection here