Praying for seminarians, and do you go to Mass on Thanksgiving?
Laura DeMaria
If your diocese is like mine, you will occasionally receive a printout with pictures and names of all the seminarians in your diocese. I recently received this mailing and it reminded me of a project the Cathedral of St. Matthew in DC does every year: it’s a tree hung with the names of all the seminarians, printed on little pieces of paper. Parishioners are encouraged to, during a holy season like Advent or Lent, take a piece of paper home and pray for that seminarian by name every day during that holy season. It is a wonderful idea, and I first participated a few years back, and it stuck with me ever since.
So now when I receive the graphic with all the seminarians and their names and years in formation, my habit is to pray for them. I also realize that just when I receive that, or during a liturgical season, is not the only time we should pray for seminarians. They are the future of the church, after all. So, take this is as a reminder, if you do not already, to pray for the men who are being formed to lead the church, offer her sacraments, and shepherd her people, and to do so regularly.
Next thought: do you go to Mass on Thanksgiving? I started doing this a couple years ago, and I have to say, it is a delightful tradition. You are really in the mode to “give thanks” when you start your day off with the greatest form of prayer there is. So, if you’re not busy running a turkey trot, check your parish website for Mass times for this Thursday, and see if you can’t fit it in among the cooking, baking, and visiting. It is our job to give back to Him what is His, first - and gratitude is a prayer, after all.
Happy Thanksgiving!