I wish I had known about the Annual Global Day of Prayer for Priests. One of the priests at Grotto sent me a notice on it last week, but it had already passed. I'm sharing this now so we know for next year. In fact, I've signed up to be included in notifications and recommend you do to.
I'm also including in this post other formal ways to get involved with praying for priests.
Last night, I found this news story on it at Catholic News Agency about the Global Rosary Relay for Priests. I hope there is better publicity on this before it happens next year so we can participate, even if only in our homes. We need to pray for priests.
From Catholic News Agency:
.- Catholics throughout the world joined together on June 27 to ask for Mary’s intercession in a 24-hour rosary initiative for World Priest Day.
“Be assured that I will offer my praying of the Holy Rosary for the sanctification of priests,” wrote Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, announcing that he would participate in the day of prayer.
“The sanctification of priests is a daily intention in my prayers, and, therefore, I am happy to participate in this global prayer for priests,” he added.
The Annual Global Rosary Relay is an initiative for World Priest Day, a day of prayer and sanctification established by St. Pope John Paul II to be celebrated on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. This year, the feast day fell on June 27.
Read the rest of this interesting article which explains how the relay worked this year.
More ways to pray for priests
Rosary for the Bishop is still active. You should pray first and foremost for your own bishop, then any others.
At Assumption Grotto, the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross offer a Holy Hour with Exposition for the Sanctification of the Priesthood on Thursdays following the 7:00 PM Mass going through 9:00 PM. This is all part of the Passio Domini they have on Thursdays.
The affiliated Sisters of the Holy Cross run the Crusade for Priests - a formal plan of prayer for a bishop, priest, or seminarian they assign each year for you to pray for. You can always ask to include a priest or bishop of your choosing, but they will assign you one, as well. Each year you will get a new name. See more information here on how to adopt a priest, bishop, or seminarian through them.
There is another effort online running a spiritual adoption of priests called, adoptapriest.org. Priests can enter their names to be put out for adoption and people can get someone to pray for.
Of course, there is always personal prayer using some of the resources found in the links provided. Always pray for your parish priest, your bishop and the clergy and seminarians of your diocese. Have Masses said for them. Pray also for the discerning young men who have not yet responded to that call. And remember, it's not just prayer that is helpful in bringing them graces, it is the small sacrifices. The link for the Crusade for Priests has a PDF of the document the Vatican put out on Spiritual Motherhood which has, among other things, some very fascinating stories about how priests and bishops were aided by prayers and sacrifices of others. And, it demonstrates many alternative ways to make sacrifices. Check it out.
Let's not forget to pray for our deacons too. Many of them are helping out in large parishes where there is only one priest, or in parishes where one priest is divided between many parishes. I know of priests who have such large numbers to care for that without those deacons they might otherwise crack under the pressure.
*Image at top is Fr. Eduard Perrone in Adoration in 2013 during the 40 Hours Devotion he holds each year in November at Assumption Grotto.
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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski
