Have You Prayed for Your Parish Today?

Tonight I was perusing The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic by Matthew Kelly. It looks like a good book, get a free copy.

Anyways, of the many things that struck me as I leafed through the first few chapters, the thing that struck me hardest was a line about how infrequently most Catholics pray for their parish. I was immediately convicted. I hadn't prayed for my parish today. I didn't pray for my parish yesterday. Or the day before. I didn't even pray for my parish last Sunday, which was Easter, the Holiest Day of the Year! I hadn't prayed for my pastor any of those days either.

In fact, I couldn't recall the last time I had prayed for my parish. The last time I had prayed for my pastor had been a few days after the election of Pope Francis, when my wife and I said an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and Glory Be for the intentions of Pope, the Archbishop, and our pastor while we were in the car on our way to go get sushi one Friday evening.

I remarked to my wife that evening that I thought it would be a good custom to regularly say those three prayers for the intentions of those three men each Sunday on the way to or from Holy Mass. She readily agreed. I also remarked that I would probably forget all about it. I was right. I did forget.

So tonight, the Holy Spirit convicted me for withholding from my prayers from parish and my pastor. It is my duty to pray for them. It is my blessed privilege to have them to pray for at all! I quickly rattled off a Hail Mary for my parish and for my pastor, and as I finished I realized I wasn't paying attention! I was thinking about writing this blog post!

So I started over again, and slowed down. I said a Hail Mary again, with greater reverence and better attention (not necessarily great, but greater). Then I slowed down even more and I thought about my parish and my pastor, and I spoke (inside my head) to God about them. I asked God for the things I thought my parish needed, the needs I figured my pastor has. I placed them both in His hands, He knows best.

I thought about the financial needs my small, indebted parish has. I thought about the fundraising endeavors I'm participating in as part of the new fundraising committee. I thought about our committee's desire not to just acquire new financial resources but to acquire new spiritual resources via evangelization. I asked God to bless us, lead us, and to grant us favor and success.

I thought about my pastor, what a good man he is! I thought about how much wisdom and discernment he needs to lead our parish. I thought about how important it is for him to be healthy, physically, mentally, emotionally and especially spiritually! I asked God to provide to our pastor all his needs and to make him very strong and to draw him ever closer to Himself.

When I was an Evangelical Protestant, I lived with my pastor's family for a year and half - at the beginning of my college years. Every evening, his family gathered for prayer. On Saturday evenings, the night before Sunday morning services, prayer was usually especially focused on the church community. We always prayed that the service would go well, that people would be touched by the music and inspired by the sermon. We prayed the visitors would come and that they would be drawn to Christ. We prayed that the music and the sermon would be good. We prayed that our members would be welcoming.

You know what? The music was touching. The sermons were inspiring. The people were welcoming. Visitors came fairly often, and not only a few were drawn to Christ. Prayer works. Don't we believe that? Why not act like it then?

Pray for your parish! Pray for Sunday Mass! Pray that the liturgy would be reverent and that people would see its beauty. Pray that the organist prays well and that the cantor sings well, to the glory of God. Pray that the lectors read well and that when they speak the Word of God that the hearts of the people would be open. Pray that the books go from in the red to in the black! Pray that the pews would be full of repenting lapsed Catholics, curious Protestants, and seeking non-believers. Pray that after Mass your parish social hall would be the best hang-out in town! Pray that the confessional lines are full.

Pray for your pastor to be so holy, wise, and effective that he gives serious competition to the patron saint of parish priests, St. John Vianney!

Have you prayed for your parish today? Have you prayed for your pastor? How long has it been?

What are you waiting for?