Praying for Priests With St. Thérèse of Lisieux
It is said that when Thérèse Martin entered the Carmelite convent at Lisieux at age 15, she said her purpose in doing so was to “save souls, and above all, to pray for priests.” Today, she is a patron saint of priests.
But why do priests need our prayers? Aren’t they the holy ones, the ones who pray for us?
Thérèse’s Brothers
Well, yes, ideally, our priests are holy. But, ideally, so are we. We are all striving for holiness together, and our priests need our prayers as much as we need theirs. In her autobiography, “Story of a Soul,” St. Thérèse writes, “For years I had cherished a longing which seemed impossible of realization — to have a brother for a Priest. … Yet God went beyond my dream; I only asked for one brother who would remember me each day at the Holy Altar, and He has united me in the bonds of spiritual friendship with two of His apostles.”
In 1895, she continues, her convent received a letter from a seminarian who, inspired by St. Teresa of Avila, asked “for a sister who would devote herself specially to his salvation, and to the salvation of his future flock. He promised always to remember this spiritual sister when saying Mass, and the choice fell upon me.” Thérèse was overjoyed and began writing to her new spiritual brother; “Undoubtedly,” she writes, “it is by prayer and sacrifice that we can help our missionaries, but sometimes, when it pleases Our Lord to unite two souls for His Glory, He permits them to communicate their thoughts, and thus inspire each other to love God more.”
She soon received another spiritual brother and, in addition to praying “for all the intentions of Christ’s Vicars,” she had a special interest in these two brothers. One of them wrote to her:
“Do you know that you open up new horizons for me? In your last letter particularly, I find insights on the mercy of Jesus, on the familiarity that He encourages, on the simplicity in the relations of the soul to Almighty God which had, until now, scarcely occurred to me … My dear, very dear little Sister, I leave you in the Heart of Jesus, where I often find you, and where I will hope to meet you always.”
Like Mary Magdalene, St. Thérèse was an “Apostle to the Apostles.” She dreamed of being a priest and traveling the world, bringing the Body and Blood of Christ to people who didn’t have Him:
“I feel in me the vocation of a Priest; with how much love, oh Jesus, I would carry you in my hands when, at my voice, you came down from Heaven. With how much love I would give you to souls! But alas! While desiring to be a Priest, I admire and envy the humility of St. Francis of Assisi and I feel the vocation of imitating him in refusing the sublime dignity of the Priesthood.”
Of course, just as Mary Magdalene could not become an apostle, Thérèse could not have been a priest, but she saw in her humility that she could save souls in her own “little way,” as a “Carmelite, Spouse, Mother.” This simple woman, who died at age 24 as a celibate nun, has been a spiritual mother to so many priests, in life and in death.
Praying for Our Priests
There are many ways we could all benefit from imitating St. Thérèse, not least of which is to pray for and befriend priests. As we pray for first responders — for the health care workers, the police officers, the fire fighters (even for grocery store workers and other people meeting basic needs during the coronavirus pandemic), let us not forget the other first responders: our priests.
Our doctors and nurses are attending to patients’ physical needs, but our priests are attending to their spiritual needs. They are risking their own health and, potentially, their lives to anoint the sick with COVID-19. They are coming up with creative ways to administer the other sacraments, from “drive through” confessions to “stay in your cars” communion. They are also, as Fr. Harrison Arye pointed out in a recent episode of the “Clerically Speaking” podcast, often the last person to be with the dying. As many hospitals are banning family members from visiting patients, it is up to priests, the last people allowed in, to sit with the dying as they pass into everlasting life. More than 60 priests, whom Pope Francis called “the saints next door,” have died of coronavirus in Italy because of hospital ministry. Yet they keep ministering.
Certainly, it is obvious that these men need our prayers, now more than ever. And who better to guide us in this prayer than St. Thérèse! Won’t you join me in praying for our priests daily? If you can’t find the words, let her prayer inspire you:
O Jesus, eternal Priest,
keep your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart,
where none may touch them.
Keep unstained their anointed hands,
which daily touch Your Sacred Body.
Keep unsullied their lips,
daily purpled with your Precious Blood.
Keep pure and unearthly their hearts,
sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.
Let Your holy love surround them and
shield them from the world’s contagion.
Bless their labors with abundant fruit and
may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here and in heaven their beautiful and
everlasting crown.
Meet Taryn Oesch
Taryn Oesch is a writer and editor in Raleigh, N.C. She is the managing editor of Catholic Women in Business, a contributing writer and assistant editor at FemCatholic.com, and a fertility awareness educator in training. When not writing or editing, you can find Taryn reading Jane Austen, drinking Earl Grey tea, playing the flute or the piano, and spending time with her fiancé and their families and friends. You can find Taryn on Instagram @Taryn_Oesch and on her blog, EverydayRoses.blog.