The Elijah Cup
Our church has a program called "The Elijah Cup." Each week, a family takes a chalice home from Mass and, using that as a focal point, prays for a week for vocations--for priests, deacons, brothers and sisters. We also pray for the ministers that are currently serving, that they are led by the spirit and buoyed by the people they serve. It was nice spending time each evening after dinner with my son and daughter (and my mom, too) praying and thinking and remembering all of the ministers who have served us over the years. I have moved quite a bit, and always attended Catholic school, so there was a long list of priests and nuns that emerged from the cobwebs of my mind during this week of prayer.
The name of this program comes from the story of Elijah and the widow in 1 Kings 17:7-15. In that story, the Lord ensures the widow, her son, and Elijah have food during a drought for a year, with the oil and flour never running out. It took me a while to figure out why this passage was chosen, but then it occurred to me--just as God didn't let the widow's groceries deplete, He will not let the supply of priests and other ministers deplete, despite the drought of young people committing to this type of service. And so, we pray for the young people called to serve, and we pray for their friends, that they will encourage following this call, and we pray for their families that they will support their sons, daughters, brothers and sisters as they work to live up to God's call.
Forgive the sermon, but it's been an interesting week. As we've been praying for vocations, my wife has been following in Jesus' footsteps during a 2 week pilgrimage to the Holy Land...very powerful stuff! I can't wait to hear all the stories.
© 2009 Mexipickle
posted by David at 10:56 PM
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