Praying for Vocations

Some time ago, our local parish began an initiative to pray together for vocations, and, thus, another prayer peg* was set in my life.

Each weekend at Mass, parishioners in our local collaborative pause to pray a beautiful Vocations Prayer from the Knights of Columbus:

Heavenly Father, bless Your Church with an abundance of holy and zealous priests, deacons, religious brothers and sisters, and lay ministers.

Give those You have called to the married state and those You have chosen to live as single persons in the world the special graces that their lives require.

Form us all in the likeness of Your Son, so that in Him, with Him, and through Him we may love You more deeply and serve You more faithfully, always and everywhere.

With Mary we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Each time I pray this prayer, I am struck by how it touches specifically on each vocation that a person may be called to, petitions for grace and strength, points us right to Jesus, and reminds us to live with love and service.

It is such a wonderful prayer to "peg" into daily or weekly life. I encourage you to consider doing so.

*What's a Prayer Peg?

If you have not caught my prior Prayer Pegs posts, please let me briefly explain what a "prayer peg" is.
Just like one can purposefully peg laundry to a line, so can we attach distinct praise, thanksgiving, petitions, and intercession to regular parts of our lives.

By pairing particular prayers with routine activities, we can form "Holy Habits" that help us respond to St. Paul's exhortation from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to "pray without ceasing".

Prayer pegs provide and easy and effective way to enrich prayer life.

Does Your Parish Do a Vocation Cross?

Another wonderful tradition to support prayer for vocations is a parish vocation cross.  If your parish does not already partake in such a program, I'd recommend bringing the idea up.

It is a simple, but powerful (because prayer is powerful!) initiative where each week one individual or family is given a cross and prayer cards to take home to pray daily for the week. Then, the next week, the cross and cards are transferred to another person or family at Mass. Thus, prayers for vocations increase and community builds.  Wonderful!

We first hosted our parish's vocation cross two year's ago and are delighted to be doing so again.

As I pray each day this week, I ask for the strength and grace to better live my vocation, for God to clearly illuminate the vocation He has planned for each of my children, and for those around me to be strengthened in their vocations. I also, of course, pray for an increase in vocations to the religious life.
If you'd like some ideas for beautiful vocation prayers, please take a peak at:

• Vocation Prayers.
• Discernment Prayers.
• Prayers for Vocations.
  
  
  Lord, we pray that each of us hears our call to vocation clearly and is given the strength and grace to live it well.

Pray for Your Child's Vocation and Possible Future Spouse

This morning, as my family walked into Mass, we discovered one of the scheduled altar servers had not shown up. Thus, one of my boys quickly went to the sacristy to prepare to serve.

As soon as I laid eyes on him dressed in an alb, a spontaneous prayer began in my head. It went something like this:

Lord, if my son is meant to be a priest, please let him hear his call clearly and pursue it well.  Lord, also, please equip me to best guide, support, and love him in whatever future vocation he is mean to live.

Religious life, married life, life as a single person. Whatever you will for my son, may it be so. 

And, Lord, if my son has a vocation to marriage, please be working in the heart and mind of his future spouse. Please be preparing her specifically for him so that they may both fully love one another and love you well. Let her be growing in relationship to you and in ways that will bloom in relationship with him. Likewise, prepare him to be a worthy husband to her.

Lord, I pray also for the possible future spouses of my daughter and of my youngest son.  If my children are called to the vocation of marriage, please be with their spouses now, giving them grace and helping them grow. Please prepare their spouses' hearts for them and theirs for their spouses.  Please direct them to their spouses in a timely way, not letting them stray in mistaken relationships. 

Of course, Lord, if marriage is not your will for any of my children, that is more than okay. Whatever you call is, I pray they hear it clearly and follow it well. Please give them the virtue, strength, and wisdom to live as priests, religious, single people, or married people - whatever is your will.

Whatever vocation you desire of my children, please work in their hearts, in mine, and, if they are to be married, in the hearts of their spouses, now so that your will may unfold beautifully.

Thank you for every grace and blessing. Amen.

A Weekly Prayer Peg for My Child's Vocation - and Possible Future Spouse

The prayer I prayed this morning was a bit verbose - just pouring forth as I looked at my son and then up to stained glass widows of Jesus on the cross and Mama Mary next to him.

Other weeks, my prayer is briefer, but, always, when I pray for my children's vocations - and for their possible future spouses - it is heartfelt.

You see, years ago, I felt prompted to pray for the potential future spouse of my eldest son, and, then, for that of my daughter and my youngest son, i, I should pray for their spouses every day.

Truth be told, though, I think a lot of things, but am not always the best at turning thoughts into action.

So, all too many days, such prayers went unprayed until one Sunday, I realized that when my boys are serving on the altar, I often find myself praying that, if they are meant to be priests, they will clearly hear God's call. Then, I thought, And, if they are not meant to be priests but are meant to be married, please be preparing their wives' hearts. And, at this moment, corollary clarity struck: Mama, you are meant to pray for your children - whatever their vocations may be - and, feel called to pray for their future spouses, too. So, what better time than "pegged" to Sunday Mass - and, sometimes, daily Mass?
So, it was a personal "prayer peg" formed.

Each Sunday, I pray simply, Lord, please be preparing my children for their vocation and help me to do so, too.  If they are to be married, please be working in the hearts and lives of their spouses now to prepare them for their future marriage. Or, something akin to that.  

Some weeks, I pray but a sentence or two. Other weeks, mental paragraphs of prayer pour forth. All weeks, I am grateful that God placed it on my heart to pray for this specific intention for my children, and, if they are to be married, for their future spouses.

Should marriage be their vocation, I look forward to welcoming their future spouses into our family and to smile, knowing God prompted me to pray for them before I even knew them.

God is good. All the time. Whatever vocation He has planned for my children will be, too.

The same goes for your children.

Do you, too, pray regularly for your child's future spouse or for your child to clearly hear a call to religious or single life? 

Do you pray that you be given the grace to be able to do your part in helping your child transition into whatever vocation is God's will? 

If so, have "pegged" such prayers to a specific time? 

Do you pray spontaneously for such intentions as I do, or do you use a specific pre-written prayer, Bible verse, or prayer "formula"?  

I would love to hear about it.

What's a Prayer Peg?

If you are new here or have not caught my prior Prayer Pegs posts, let me explain that as a busy, distractable Mom, I am not always good at listening to St. Paul's exhortation from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to "pray without ceasing."

Thus, I have come to establish a number of "prayer pegs" for myself and my children as a way of building "Holy Habits" for us which will flow naturally, seamlessly, and rhythmically within our lives. 

These "prayer pegs" are simply acts of blessing, praise, thanksgiving, petition, and intercession that we've attached to specific activities in order to form intentional habits of unceasing prayer.  For just like one can purposefully peg laundry to a line, we can attach a distinct form of prayer to a regular part of our lives.

What prayer pegs work for you and yours at other times during your days and weeks? Do share! 

And may your child and my own children continue to grow in relationship to God and in virtue, wisdom, and stature, so that they might clearly hear their calls to vocation and, then, live their vocations well.

What Do You Like, Mama?

"What do you like?" my daughter asked me tonight.

"Hiking. Berries. Snuggling with my kids. Walking in the woods.  Reading stories with you..." I rambled on for a minute with a stream of conscious list.

I neglected to state, though, the most important things:

God.

Life.

Love.

You, my child.  And Daddy.  Your siblings.  Our family.  Our friends.

The way God has created each of us with gifts and talents that can guide us to specific purposes in life ... to the way we are to live and share love in this world.

What do I like, my dear child?

The opportunity I have to live my vocation to married life.

I know.  I know.  I don't always live it well, but I am ever grateful for each bit of grace and mercy extended to me as I live my calling as wife and mom.

One day, dear child, when you have grown and moved through the process of recognizing your own vocation, I pray you are just as grateful.

Married. Single. Religious. Ordained. Whatever life you and your brothers may be called to, may you each live it with love, knowing always, Mama loves you and thanks God every day for gifting me our family.