Step 1: Prayer
St. Lawrence of Brindisi, holy priest, pray for us!
The first thing I would like the St. Theobald Society to focus on is prayer. I would eventually like to see a website of some sort where a community of believers commit to prayer. We can pray in general that the Church be cleansed of corruption and be born anew to holiness. We could also pray for specific prayer requests from priests, sisters, and others who know of a situation that needs it. I'd like us to be able to pray 24/7 by having different people in different parts of the world commit to praying an hour a week. I'd like it to be that people can request prayer anonymously but also by name if they so choose. To be able to pray 24/7 we need only 168 people to commit to dedicating one hour a week to pray for the Church. That's not much.
Will you pray?
Yesterday, I went to daily Mass and dedicated it to praying for all priests, seminarians and church workers who are despairing over the hypocrisy and moral failings of the Church hierarchy.
Tomorrow, I hope to go to Adoration and Benediction.
I feel safe at my parish. I've been at this parish for 17 years now. I remember when the story broke back in the early 2000s about the sex abuse scandal. Our pastor stood at the altar and was openly upset. This was so unlike him. He is usually calm, laid back and jocular. He stood there and apologized, visibly distraught. I remember at one point he pounded the altar and then stopped himself and was obviously trying to rein his emotions in. So I believe he is one of the good guys. Perhaps I am naive. I remember I asked some others in our homeschooling group who went to other parishes whether their priest had said anything. They were surprised at the question. It had not even been alluded to. This made me appreciate our pastor's honesty. We just have him now and two married deacons.
Lauds today were especially applicable, I thought. I have shamelessly copied and pasted the following from Universalis.com. I have bolded the words that stood out to me as being especially meaningful.
From Psalm 24
Psalm 119: 145-152
The first thing I would like the St. Theobald Society to focus on is prayer. I would eventually like to see a website of some sort where a community of believers commit to prayer. We can pray in general that the Church be cleansed of corruption and be born anew to holiness. We could also pray for specific prayer requests from priests, sisters, and others who know of a situation that needs it. I'd like us to be able to pray 24/7 by having different people in different parts of the world commit to praying an hour a week. I'd like it to be that people can request prayer anonymously but also by name if they so choose. To be able to pray 24/7 we need only 168 people to commit to dedicating one hour a week to pray for the Church. That's not much.
Will you pray?
Yesterday, I went to daily Mass and dedicated it to praying for all priests, seminarians and church workers who are despairing over the hypocrisy and moral failings of the Church hierarchy.
Tomorrow, I hope to go to Adoration and Benediction.
I feel safe at my parish. I've been at this parish for 17 years now. I remember when the story broke back in the early 2000s about the sex abuse scandal. Our pastor stood at the altar and was openly upset. This was so unlike him. He is usually calm, laid back and jocular. He stood there and apologized, visibly distraught. I remember at one point he pounded the altar and then stopped himself and was obviously trying to rein his emotions in. So I believe he is one of the good guys. Perhaps I am naive. I remember I asked some others in our homeschooling group who went to other parishes whether their priest had said anything. They were surprised at the question. It had not even been alluded to. This made me appreciate our pastor's honesty. We just have him now and two married deacons.
Lauds today were especially applicable, I thought. I have shamelessly copied and pasted the following from Universalis.com. I have bolded the words that stood out to me as being especially meaningful.
From Psalm 24
Who will climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who will stand in his holy place?
The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,
who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.
He will receive the blessing of the Lord
and be justified by God his saviour.
This is the way of those who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Psalm 119: 145-152
You, O Lord, are close; your ways are truth.
I call on you with all my heart –
answer me, Lord.
I will obey your laws.
I call on you –
save me
so that I can keep your decrees.
At first light I cry to you,
I put all my hope in your word.
In the night I keep watch,
pondering your sayings.
In your mercy, Lord, hear my voice;
in your justice, give me life.
My persecutors come to do me harm:
they are far from your law.
But you, Lord, are near to me,
and you are trustworthy in all your precepts.
From the beginning I have known your decrees,
how you have made them to last for ever.
The Canticle was from Wisdom 9
| Canticle | Wisdom 9 |
|---|
| Lord, give me wisdom |
|---|
Lord, let your wisdom be with me to help me and to work with me.
God of my fathers and Lord of mercy,
who made all things by your word;
who in your wisdom set man to rule over all that you created
– to arrange the world in holiness and justice
– to make right judgements according to the guidance of his heart:
give me Wisdom, who stands by your throne,
and let me not be unworthy to be your servant.
For I am your slave and the son of your servant-girl,
a man, weak, short-lived,
slow to understand your judgements and laws.
Even the highest of the children of men
– if your wisdom is absent – counts for nothing.
With you abides Wisdom, who knows your works.
She was with you when you made the world.
She knew what was pleasing to your eyes.
She saw what was right according to your precepts.
Send your Wisdom from the highest heaven;
send her from the throne of your greatness;
that she may abide with me and work with me,
so that I may know what it is that pleases you.
For Wisdom knows everything, and understands;
she will lead me wisely in what I do,
and protect me in her glory.
:The Short Reading:
| Philippians 2:14-15 © |
|---|
Do all that has to be done without complaining or arguing and then you will be innocent and genuine, perfect children of God among a deceitful and underhand brood,and you will shine in the world like bright stars.
Absolutely, this is the place to start.
ReplyDeleteAs a Secular Carmelite, prayer for priests (and encouraging same) is a strong part of my vocation.
There is a thing called Seven Sisters Apostolate which is a good thing. Me, I'd tweak it a bit to include men, teens, and have a community/formation element. But the idea is for every priest to have a person offering a holy hour for him each day.
I think we need to weave together all of prayer approaches possible; however God calls people. It will also reveal the need for people to actually learn how to pray.