THE BISHOP'S CROZIER: Intercessory Prayer

By Bishop James R. Golka

Happy Fall! As we move out of summer and into the Fall season, it is time for back to school and back into our routines and daily rhythm of life. It is also important that we maintain a rhythm and routine when it comes to prayer and our spiritual life. Often, when life gets busy and hectic, the habit of prayer is easy to let go. We are always going to be busy, but we need to remember that we need to be inspired by Mary in the Gospel who sat at the feet of Jesus and had “chosen the better part” (Luke 10:42) and set time aside every day to encounter Jesus so that he is always the center of our lives. 

Another important question to think about is how do we pray?  Is prayer always just asking God for things and asking him to help us?  This is certainly not a bad thing as Jesus tells us that in prayer we should “knock and it will be opened to you.” (Mt 7:7) However, prayer should go even beyond our needs.  It should also thank God for all that he has done for us: “How can I repay the Lord for all the great good done for me?” (Psalm 116:12) But one of the most beautiful ways to pray is intercessory prayer.  Intercessory prayer is when we pray for others, and when we also ask others to pray for us.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a beautiful teaching on intercessory prayer: “In the age of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ’s, as an expression of the communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays looks ‘not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others,’ even to the point of praying for those who do him harm.” (CCC, No. 2635) Intercessory prayer takes the focus off ourselves and opens our hearts to the love of God and the love of others.  It also reminds us that we are surrounded by the saints in heaven who are loving us with a love beyond imagination and “on whose constant intercession we rely for unfailing help.” (Eucharistic Prayer III) Intercessory prayer unites us in the bond of love and this love for one another literally moves God to dispense his grace upon others. So, as we grow in the habit of prayer, let us also grow in the habit of praying for others and asking the saints to pray for us and for others.

Another great way that we can participate in intercessory prayer is to pray for the intentions of the Holy Father each month.   Every month, the pope lists intentions that he would like the entire Church to pray for. This is a beautiful way to unite our hearts with the heart of the Holy Father and his particular prayers as the universal pastor for the Church and the world.  In the same spirit, I will be starting monthly intentions for our diocese that I would like to invite all of the faithful to join with me in prayer.  This is a great opportunity for our diocese to be united in faith, prayer, and charity. These prayer intentions will be listed on the diocesan website as well as in every issue of the Herald magazine along with the monthly intentions of the Holy Father.

With this in mind, I would like to ask for your prayers for two important groups of people this time of year. First, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) is starting up again in most of our parishes this month.  There has been a real resurgence of people who are coming to our parishes asking to be baptized or received into full communion with the Church. Last Easter in our diocese, we had 206 people baptized and 159 people received into full communion with the Catholic Church. That is an impressive number for a diocese of our size!  Please pray for all of those who are entering into the OCIA process as well as for our priests, deacons. lay catechists, and sponsors who are accompanying them in their spiritual journey.  Our prayers and support for them are very powerful.

Also, this time of year is when our seminarians are returning to their studies and I ask that you please keep all of them in your prayers. We currently have 21 seminarians in our diocese and we are very blessed that God is calling so many men to the priesthood. We also have 14 men who are beginning their formation for the permanent diaconate. Your continuing prayers for these men are crucial as they strive to be conformed to Christ and become dispensers of the sacred mysteries.

In addition to your prayers, I would ask that you also prayerfully consider contributing to the Seminarian Appeal. The formation of our seminarians is crucial to their future ministry and while we are blessed with many seminarians, seminary formation is a very large expense for our diocese. To donate to the Appeal, go to appeal.diocs.org/seminarians/. 

May we all be united in the bonds of love through intercessory prayer and please be assured of my prayers as we continue in this Jubilee Year of Hope.