From time to time Father Tom Frank, a retired priest who lives at St. John Paul II Residence for Priests in Georgetown, visits my parish to celebrate daily Mass. Father Tom is very faithful to his brother priests in that he keeps a record of when priests die and prays for them during Mass on the anniversary of their death. I have worked at the diocese long enough to have many fond memories as we pray for the priests who have died.

Another thing Father Tom makes a point to do during the prayers of the faithful is to pray for the priests serving at our parish. This may seem like a no-brainer, but I think it’s critical and worth saying: Our priests need our prayers!

I found this prayer for priests on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website, so maybe like Father Tom Frank, we too can pray daily for our priests.

Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the gift of our priests.

Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments.

Help our priests to be strong in their vocation.

Set their souls on fire with love for your people.

Grant them the wisdom, understanding and strength they need

to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.

Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel.

Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.

Help them to become instruments of your divine grace.

We ask this through Jesus Christ,

who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest.

Amen.