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The Seven Sisters Apostolate: Faithfully Supporting Our Priests In Prayer
A group of 14 women has answered the call to join the Seven Sisters Apostolate in which the members pray for one hour each day of the week for the sole intention of Fr. Ben Kociemba and Fr. Mark Botzet.
The Seven Sisters mission was begun in the Diocese of St. Cloud in 2010 to form a Seven Sisters group for each priest in the diocese. Laura Koski brought the Seven Sisters Apostolate to our Little Falls community.
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Each Seven Sister commits to prayer for a particular priest during one Holy Hour on a distinct day of the week, so each day of the week is covered. She may pray at any time during that day. Each Seven Sister group has an anchoress. Linda Scepurek is anchoress for Fr. Ben and Julie Laflamme is anchoress for Fr. Mark.
As part of their devotions, all Seven Sisters in the diocese attended a retreat in June at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud, when commitments are made for the next 12 months. When a woman joins the Apostolate, she commits to serving for one year, but she can recommit.
June is the commitment time as the month is devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“I pray on Thursday for one hour for Fr. Mark,” Julie says. “Each woman has a different day and we have substitutes if we can’t make that hour. It can be any hour in the 24 hours. It is preferred that we pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, but with COVID we haven’t been able to. A lot of us tried to do it in church, however.”
When the women pray, there are recommended prayers in the Seven Sisters Apostolate booklet. One prayer, attributed to St. Teresa of Calcutta, asks the Blessed Mother’s intervention to protect and guide the priests.
Among her other prayers, Julie also prays a novena to the Sacred Heart that was a favorite of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, and she also prays for our seminarians by name, as well as for the intention of vocations in the diocese.
“A priest can also have another Seven Sisters group praying for him,” Julie says. “He can have two to three people praying for him. The more people praying for our priests, the better.”
The members pray for the priests’ personal, social and spiritual needs. They also ask the priests for the intentions they would like lifted in prayer.
As the Seven Sisters offer prayers for our priests, they can grow in their own faith.
“For me, it feels like a great honor and it is humbling to pray for priests,” Julie says. “There is a deeper love for priests in general and for Mary, as well. Other members have felt a deepened relationship with Mary which is really beautiful.”
Marlene Knopik, whose son is a priest, has been praying Eucharistic Adoration since 1993.
“It is an honor to be praying for our priest, Fr. Mark,” she says. “I believe in the power of prayer.”
“It has humbled me to be praying for a priest,” Jackie Retka says. “A lot of times when we pray, we are praying for ourselves, but this has enriched my faith life because I am praying for someone else for the whole hour.”
“I really appreciate Fr. Botzet,” Michelle Rosha says. “Praying for him is an honor. I especially pray for his relationship with Mary, Mother of God, and this has helped me to appreciate her special love for priests.”
Bev Welle found she received a blessing she never expected as she prayed.
“It was totally unexpected, but a personal relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary developed while I was praying for Fr. Ben this past year,” she says.
MaryAnne Backowski, a member of the Seven Sisters praying for Fr. Mark, also has a son who is a priest.
The other Seven Sisters for Fr. Ben include Missy Anez, Anne Roach, Peg Winkelman, Maria Heimenz-Becker, and Anita Miller. The other Seven Sisters for Fr. Mark are Tina Dolan and Sheila McCallum. Substitutes are Tiffany Threlkeld, Theresa Schultz, and Diane Tamm.
One of our two Seven Sisters Apostolate groups prays for Fr. Ben Kociemba — (from left) Missy Anez, Peg Winkelman, Bev Welle, Fr. Ben, Anne Roach, Linda Scepurek, Anita Miller and Maria Heimenz-Becker.
