3 minute read
The Seven Sisters Apostolate: Prayerfully Supporting our Parish Priests and Deacon
At Catholic churches all across the state, country, and world, there are good and holy men leading people to Christ as priests. They offer their lives to Jesus and pray for all of us, their parishioners. But how often are all of us, as parishioners, praying for our priest? They urgently need our prayers, as well.
An important ministry at our parish is the Seven Sisters Apostolate. This ministry’s work is simple — each person has a day each week where they commit to spending an hour in prayer specifically for Fr. Tom Donovan, Deacon Harry Cramer, or Fr. Don Blickhan. Each of them has a group of seven parishioners praying for them.
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Ministry member Bonnie Grist prays for Fr. Tom on Saturdays. Preferably, the hour would be spent in church or at Eucharistic Adoration. But the hour can also be prayed at home.
“Fr. Tom has just been great for our parish,” Bonnie says. “He has been such a blessing. We keep him busy. All of our priests need prayer, so I thought it was a good idea.”
Bonnie feels this ministry is a great way to give back to Fr. Tom for all he does.
“I think many parish priests have a lot on their plates,” she says. “This is the least I can do.”
The Seven Sisters Apostolate was started in 2010 by Janette Howe, who felt a calling to pray specifically for the Rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Minn., Fr. Joseph R. Johnson — she was so appreciative for all he did for her and her family. In 2011, while Janette was praying a Holy Hour for Fr. Johnson, she heard the words “Seven Sisters.” She felt a calling to invite six other women to pray for one hour, per day, specifically for their pastor and for a deepening of his devotion to the Blessed Mother.
The Seven Sisters Apostolate is a behindthe-scenes, silent ministry. The women aren’t in this ministry to draw attention to themselves — instead, the ministry exists with the sole purpose of supporting Fr. Tom, Fr. Blickhan, and Deacon Cramer. The sisters are asked to pray for the priest’s physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs.
Bonnie’s Seven Sisters group gets together periodically. They have also taken Fr. Tom out for lunch a few times.
As Bonnie notes, this ministry also benefits all those involved. It allows for extra time in prayer at the service of someone else. She would invite anyone to start another group of seven. It’s been a huge blessing to her life.
“The Holy Spirit pushed me to get involved in this ministry,” Bonnie says.
