Pope Benedict XVI Asks for Support for Priests and Prayers for His Ministry

"I ask all of you to support your priests in their ministry of leading men and women to God, bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel and its message of hope. In a special way I also ask you to pray for my own ministry of governance in the Church, and for the spiritual fruitfulness of the celebrations at the conclusion of the Year for Priests."

~ Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience 5/26/10 ~

If you haven't made a commitment to pray a monthly Rosary (or more) for the Holy Father, please consider signing up at Rosary for the Bishop. Certainly, you don't need to join a prayer campaign in order to pray for Pope Benedict or any other bishop. However, by making a commitment you are less likely to forget to actually pray the Rosary for them. There is great beauty and power in Catholics throughout the world united in prayerful support of God's priests. Let's show Pope Benedict, our bishops and all our priests how much we love, appreciate and pray for them.

You don't have to worry about forgetting your commitment to pray a Rosary for the Holy Father or another bishop. The Rosary for the Bishop group will be happy to send you an email reminder for each day you promise to pray. They have done all the work in setting up this prayer campaign and making it easy for the rest of us to participate.

I opted not to be reminded by email for the days I commited to pray the Rosary. Nevertheless, I am always reminded and not allowed to forget. I can't say who it is that reminds me, because I don't know, but the reminder comes and, without a doubt, I know that it is what God wants of me. If you haven't made a commitment to Rosary for the Bishop yet--pray about it. God might be asking YOU to say 'yes'.

As you can see from the Rosary for the Bishop badge in the sidebar, so far only 46 people from 40 parishes and 33 dioceses in the whole world have made a commitment to pray at least one Rosary a month for Pope Benedict. Doesn't this sweet, holy shepherd deserve more?

The Holy Father and other bishops are provided with access to the latest data of how many people are praying for them. On the Rosary for the Bishop website you are able to see how many people are praying for any particular bishop. You might be surprised at some of the statistics. Check it out for yourself and see what the Holy Spirit inspires you to do.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.