Try this prayer and these petitions to pray for priests

This beautiful prayer turns our thoughts to the Lord as the priest is receiving Communion.

As a priest, I am aware of the countless people of God who pray for me—those from within my parish community and followers I have as an author, speaker, and radio personality. In my parish, a group of women called the Seven Sisters commit to praying for me, their pastor, on a specific day each week. Individuals on Twitter, like Kathryn Jean Lopez and Edith (CatolicaEdith), inspire me by their posts.

Recently, Lopez tweeted: “If you go to Mass today, thank the priest. We need faithful priests. Pray for his holiness. Pray that he can know and show the Lord every day of his life. Faithful, joyful priests in this culture are miracles, too. Pray for priests, that Jesus Christ is their everything.”

Edith once tweeted a picture of a prayer a person could pray for a priest as he receives Holy Communion:

O Lord, may Thou find shelter and rest gently within the heart of thy Priest. Make him, O Lord, a priest according to thy Heart: meek, humble, zealous, so that all he does will be for Thine honor and glory. Mold him into a man of prayer and labor, insensible to earthly things, and sensible only to Thy love and to the graces of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

How beautiful — an encouragement to pray for priests and a prayer one could use to do so. Do you pray for priests? If so, how do you pray? Which priests do you pray for and what do you pray?

You might pray for priests who are close to your heart — the priest who baptized you, who gave you First Communion, who forgives your sins in confession, who witnessed your marriage, your pastor, or any other priest friend. Thank God for them and their vocation.

How do you pray for them? You may wish to include them in your Rosary intentions, or ask priestly saints like St. John Vianney, St. Francis de Sales, or St. John Eudes to pray for them. And maybe you pray for something specific when you remember your priest(s) in prayer. As you pray for the priests in your life, here are a few suggestions.

— For his happiness and that he may be well-rested: Pray that your priest is happy and he finds things that give him life. Pray that he takes his days off and vacation so that he is well-rested.

— That he be blessed with good friends: Pray that your priest has good fraternity and friendships with priests but also with lay people, too.

— That he live a virtuous life and grow in virtue — patience, humility, purity, charity, etc.

— That he will be compassionate in his pastoral work

— That God will give him specific gifts, like offering good counsel in the confessional

— That the Lord keep him faithful and holy and that he will always remain in love with the Lord Jesus and the Church

— For protection from evil, to be guarded against temptation, and for continued conversion of life

— That he will be inspired by the Holy Spirit in his preaching and that his preaching will be effective, touch hearts, and change lives.

— For his spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health and for any healings he needs

— For his intentions: Pray for God’s will to be done in all the circumstances your priest is praying about. And as you remember his intentions, know that so many have asked him to pray for them, so your prayer for his intentions will be joined to theirs!

As I encourage you to pray for the clergy, know that your priests are praying for you too. They remember you in their prayers as they pray the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy chaplet, and other devotions. They carry your needs and burdens with them and leave them before the tabernacle.

Thank you for your prayers for holy priests!