Spiritually Adopt a Priest

Our priests need prayers.  Priests are challenged as satan seeks to tempt them and devour their souls. They are the first line of attack that satan wages on our church.  He knows that without our priests, we have no sacraments.  We have no Eucharist.   Evil seeks to destroy our church.  Without priests, we have no church.  They are the roots of the vine that Jesus planted when he chose Peter as our first Pope and the apostles as our first priests.  Without prayer, priests are unarmed in a world of sin.  We need to pray for our priests! 

I offer this suggestion when praying for priests.  Adopt a priest for a year or for a life time.  Pray for that priest.  Pray for him as if he were one of your family, one of your children.  Gather together as a family and pray a rosary for your priest.  When you cannot gather together, pray for this priest yourself.  Offer three Hail Mary's a day for him.  He is one of our Mother's beloved sons.  Offer up your sufferings for him.  Pray for his strength.  Pray that he have a burning love for souls.  Pray that he be given energy when he's tired.  Pray for him to see Jesus in every soul.

Spiritually adopt a priest you know, or, perhaps one you don't know.  There are always missionary priests to be adopted.  There are parish priests in other parts of the world who could use your prayer support.  Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in your choice.  Feel free to adopt more than one priest.  When you do find a priest to adopt, you can choose to tell this priest or not.  I chose to tell my priest that I adopted him.  He was happy to know this. 

Offer your Masses for him.  Have masses said for him.  Ask the Blessed Mother to stand by his side.  Pray for the gift of a happy death for him.  Pray for him to persevere even in danger.  Write his name down in your family bible.  Praise God for the gift of your priest.  Thank God for that gift.  Burn a candle for your adopted priest.  Sing songs of praise to God for him. 

No matter how you choose to handle it, pray everyday for your priest.  Hold him close to your heart.  You will be blessed. 

Always remember to pray for our Pope, too.  Our beloved Francis needs our prayers, too.  Adopt him along with your priest and pray for him daily.  Pray! Pray! Pray!  God will protect and strengthen our priests. 

Sweetest Lord, and Loving Jesus.
We thank you for the gift of Father _____________________ who is our spiritually adopted priest.  We ask that you bless and protect him.  We ask that you give him strength in difficult times.  We ask you to cover him with Your most precious Blood.  We ask that You anoint him with Your love and with your peace.  We ask that you send Your angels to protect him as he ministers to his flock.  We ask that you protect him from evil.  We ask that you give him energy when he must go on.  We ask that you give him rest when he needs it.  More than anything else, we ask that you give him the gift of a rich prayer life so that he may draw closer to You, our Father, to Your Son Jesus, our brother,  and be filled with the light and gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Light of Heaven, we thank You for your blessings.  Bless Father _______________________.  Amen.