Marian Solidarity

Surinamese society is one of the most multilingual in the world though Dutch is the sole official language. Public discourse about the languages is part of an ongoing debate about the country’s national identity. It has a running territorial dispute with Guyana.

Joyful Mysteries: Intentions for Suriname

1. For peaceful coexistence among the different ethnic groups.
2. For political will to police drug traffickers and gold smugglers.
3. For the timber industry to manage forest resources wisely.
4. For authorities to halt the transshipment of arms-for-drugs.
5. For peaceful resolution of its territorial dispute with Guyana.

Most Vincentians are descendants of African slaves brought to the islands to work on plantations of coffee, tobacco, indigo, cotton and sugar. Slavery was abolished in 1834. Today, agriculture remains the most important sector of the economy, though a growing tourist industry is also important.

Joyful Mysteries: Intentions for St. Vincent & the Grenadines

1. That the country’s debt burden be reduced.
2. That pollution in the coastal waters and shorelines be controlled.
3. That employment opportunities be created for the young.
4. That the nation be protected from effects of global warming.
5. That the tourism industry is developed with an eye to conservation.

The volcanic island of Saint Lucia is more mountainous than many others in the Caribbean. It is also one of the few islands in the world that boasts a drive-in volcano. An educated workforce, improvements in roads, communications, water supply, sewerage and port facilities have attracted foreign investment.

Sorrowful Mysteries: Intentions for Saint Lucia

1. For victims of natural disasters.
2. For peaceful dialogue among political parties.
3. For the success of reforestation, particularly in the northern region.
4. For economic growth and more employment opportunities.
5. For growth in other industries, to decrease country’s dependence on tourism.

The federal two-island nation in the West Indies is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas. It is known for a number of musical celebrations that typically feature parades, street dances and salsa, jazz, soca, calypso, steelpan music.

Luminous Mysteries: Intentions for Saint Kitts and Nevis

1. For the protection of this small nation from all threats.
2. For government to address the issue of rising criminality.
3. For sound economic management to lighten the debt burden.
4. For a halt to the transshipment of drugs to the US.
5. For the development of other industries.

In his intimate life, God “is love,” the essential love shared by the three divine Persons: personal love is the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of the Father and the Son. Therefore he “searches even the depths of God,” as uncreated Love-Gift. It can be said that in the Holy Spirit the intimate life of the Triune God becomes totally gift, an exchange of mutual love between the divine Persons and that through the Holy Spirit God exists in the mode of gift. It is the Holy Spirit who is the personal expression of this self-giving, of this being-love. He is Person- Love. He is Person-Gift Here we have an inexhaustible treasure of the reality and an inexpressible deepening of the concept of person in God, which only divine Revelation makes known to us.

At the same time, the Holy Spirit, being consubstantial with the Father and the Son in divinity, is love and uncreated gift from which derives as from its source (fons vivus) all giving of gifts vis-a-vis creatures (created gift): the gift of existence to all things through creation; the gift of grace to human beings through the whole economy of salvation. As the Apostle Paul writes: “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to US.”

an excerpt from Dominum et vivificantem (On the Holy Spirit in the Life of the Church
and the World) by Ioannes Paulus PP. II

Peru’s territory was the nucleus of the highly developed Inca civilization, centered at Cuzco. It became the principal source of Spanish colonial wealth and power. The country is still coming to terms with the trauma of the long conflict between state and leftists.

Glorious Mysteries: Intentions for Peru

1. That the government succeed in curtailing cocaine production.
2. That farmers learn methods to prevent erosion and desertification.
3. That the mining industry control its pollution of rivers.
4. That the street children of Lima be spared from more exploitation.
5. That efforts to reduce preventable diseases may succeed.