August Adoration: A Hopeful Vision of the World

At the Second Vatican Council, the Church developed and described a concrete image of the modern world—with its lights and shadows, imbalances, aspirations, and deepest questions—and, approaching it with genuine love and affection, sought to discover, through faith, the true signs of God’s presence and plans. And instead of depressing diagnoses and dire predictions, it sends messages of hope to the world—Easter hope—because it knows that the Lord is the end of history and the fulfillment of its aspirations.

We are journeying toward the fulfillment of human history, which fully coincides with God’s plan: to restore in Christ all that is in heaven and on earth.

- O God, come to my assistance.

- Lord, make haste to help me.

 

- Glory be to the Father...

- As it was in the beginning...

Hymn.

Together, we will walk toward God.

We will unite our lives;

we will join our voices.

If the path grows dark,

if the sun no longer shines,

never fear the night—

our light is love.

Along the way,

our faith will become a song.

 

Silence for adoration.

A Psalm of Hope.

In Him, the light of God shone,

and man became more fully human.

Even though so much asphalt and

concrete harden the heart of the city,

and despite the spiritual pollution,

the Lord continues to rise again.

For we seek out small signs of resurrection in the world:

in social, political, and cultural changes;

in technology, in medicine, in NGOs, in volunteer work,

in the cries of the poor and the marginalized,

in the defense of the rights of women,

workers, the elderly, and children;

and in ourselves and in the Church,

the Lord continues to rise.

And we rise with him.

He rises again in those who inspire trust,

in those who fight for peace and harmony,

in environmental and humanist movements.

He rises again in workers who stand in solidarity,

in peoples who demand liberation.

The Lord rises again.

And we rise with him.

Silence for reflection.

Reading from Romans 8:18–27.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.

For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. 

We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.

In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.

And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will.

Silence for reflection.

Petitions.

- For those who live without hope because of the current state of the world...

- For those in the Church who oppose dialogue with the world...

- That we may recognize and embrace all the good that the current situation has to offer...

- Add your own petitions…

Our Father.

Prayer.

God, our Father, grant that, like Jesus, we may be able to give our lives—not to judge the world, but to save it. Through Christ, Our Lord.

Amen