Rooted in early Christianity, visio divina is a practice of praying through art. The invitation is to use the steps below to help guide your prayer time with the image of Our Lady of Aparecida.
CAFOD works alongside grassroots and community-led organisations in Brazil to create long-term, transformative change.
Pray these joyful mysteries and reflect on care for creation.
A statue of Our Lady of Aparecida (Sidney de Almeida)
More context about the statue and its story can be found here.
Prepare your heart for prayer. Sit comfortably take a few deep, slow breaths. Invite the Holy Spirit to guide your time of prayer and reveal, through the art, what God wants you to see.
Consider the image of Our Lady of Aparecida. Be attentive to anything that especially strikes you. What thoughts or feelings does it evoke? Call to mind the story of the broken pieces of the orginal statue being brought up from the river as you contemplate the picture.
Spend some time in quiet reflection, on the image and the story behind it. If you find it helpful you could make some notes or drawings.
Take some time to speak to God about what you are noticing and thinking about. Ask God how he wants you to live out anything that came up during this time of prayer and reflection.
To conclude your prayer time, you are invited to pray either a decade of the Rosary or simply one Hail Mary. Along with your personal intentions, please offer the Rosary:
For the protection of our common home.
For CAFOD’s local partners in Brazil.
