A List Becoming Prayer

one of the kind gentlemen from Pie and Coffee wrote and asked would I please expound a little more on the Archdiocesan Directory post of a couple days ago.

As those of you who've been here for years know, I have a job description reading "pray for the city and archdiocese of Milwaukee". Part of how I do that is through the Liturgy of the Hours, which is the everyday prayer of the whole Church. The other part is the lists. One of the lists begins:

+Timothy, archbishop
+Richard
+Rembert
Father Carl Last, pastor
Pastoral Staff of Cathedral Parish .........

and the other:

Thomas Barrett, mayor
James Witkowiak, alderman
all members of Milwaukee Common Council
Scott Walker, county executive
all members of the Milwaukee County Board ..........

and I've got a few tools to help: A picture of Milwaukee's bishops all together that lives in my L of H book, a subscription to the local daily newspaper and the local Catholic weekly paper, and that archdiocesan directory I mentioned before.

I read the daily paper with its daily litany of woe. I recite the names of all the archdiocese's priests and deacons and parishes listed in the directory. I read the list of all the civic officials. I have no way of knowing, myself, what the current special needs might be of each (many of them I've never even met), though being humans within human organizations it's inevitable there are needs.

So, I just hold each one in my hands and show each one to God, give each one to God, who knows all the needs of each and every one. Lord, have mercy. Make haste to help, O Lord. Please make us whole.

Occasionally on my bad days, I wonder why I am called to do what I do, since chaos keeps breaking out anyways. But, as long as I am called to this, I will do it. Maybe, just maybe, there's a little less chaos about, or a little more hope, because of faithfulness in prayer and doing what little service to others I can these days. I guess I'll find out in time's fullness; until then.......

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