Parish Prayer
The people of a parish community and the priests who serve them have a special bond. This bond transcends the familiarity and human confines of friendship and enters into a mystical relationship where we serve one another. For that reason, it is especially efficacious for parishioners to pray for their own priests just as their priests are praying for them.
This effort is not a true “program” in that we do not recommend a “one size fits all” that parishes implement for a short time. Instead, we encourage that a parish adopt a prayer method that works best for their unique charism and rhythm and existing parish prayer efforts. Click on Ways to Pray for more guidance.
Why Pray for Your Priests?
There are many things to pray for why should we specifically pray for our priests?
- The priest in your parish is the shepherd. He has willingly taken on the role of shepherding the flock. Intercessory prayers from the “sheep” he serves are particularly powerful.
- As the world pulls further and further away from God, the priest’s role in shepherding us becomes much more difficult. Our prayers provide much needed sustenance for a priest who serves on the front lines.
- Prayer by the laity helps us understand and appreciate the priesthood. The more we pray for priests, the more we grow in our faith, and the more we unite ourselves to the Body of Christ.
