This week, our prayer invitation will shift: to attune to the sorrow of the Earth. We are invited to listen to the cry of creation and connect to our own sorrow for our role in the environmental crisis.

Polls show voters are concerned with other issues, such as inflation and immigration. But the environment continues to be a top concern for many voters, especially younger ones, and the issue crosses lines of faith and politics in ways that others don’t.

Being in the same space as Pope Francis during his visit to Southeast Asia, we wanted to show him that the seeds he planted in his encyclical Laudato Si' are growing strong in our island nation of Timor-Leste.