Have You Prayed for Priests Today?

There's so much that could be said, Coffee Talkers, in light of the sad news of a Massachusetts priest found dead and the shocking press release about Fr. John Corapi.

Perhaps I'll comment more on these sad stories later, but for now, my deepest response is this: "Have I been praying for priests?" And the simple answer is no, I have not been, and yes, I need to be.

So won't you join me now in praying for priests? After you sign off your computer, maybe you could say an Our Father or pray a Rosary, both for any priests you know personally, and then for all priests. And I don't care if you're not Catholic - pray for priests, anyway! Because I think we can all agree that our world would be a better place if it was filled with good, holy priests open to divine assistance when they need it (which is always, because priests, like the rest of us, are human).

One of my favorite prayers for priests was written by St. Therese:

O Jesus, I pray for Your faithful and fervent priests, for Your unfaithful and tepid priests; for Your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields; for Your tempted priests; for Your lonely and desolate priests; for Your young priests; for Your dying priests; for the souls of Your priests in purgatory.

But above all I recommend to You the priests dearest to me: the priest who baptized me; the priest who absolved me from my sins; the priest at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion; the priests who taught and instructed me; all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way. Jesus, keep them all close to Your heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.

Peace and all good,
Leslie