2024 Vocations Awareness Supplement
Prayer groups commit to interceding for priests, seminarians and religious
Father Todd Goodson, right, leads a holy hour for vocations on Oct. 4 in the adoration chapel of Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish in Greenwood. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)
By Sean Gallagher
GREENWOOD—The number of seminarians preparing for priestly ministry in the archdiocese has grown during the past several years, and the priest who oversees the archdiocesan vocations office looks quickly to one cause for the rise.
“I always think that the reason we have a surge in vocations right now is because people are praying in our churches and adoration chapels so hard,” said Father Michael Keucher.
Groups of people and individuals in parishes across central and southern Indiana praying for vocations in part led the archdiocesan vocations office to develop a new prayer resource for them.
It had 15,000 copies of “Eucharistic Adoration for Vocations” recently printed and distributed to parishes and schools across the archdiocese. The booklet includes prayers for adoration, discernment, religious, seminarians, priests, prayers written by saints, rosary meditations for priestly and religious vocations and a litany for vocations.
“This booklet is the perfect thing we can give to folks who are looking for a focused way to pray for priestly and religious vocations,” Father Keucher said. “We wanted to be able to give them the tools they need.”
This prayer by a growing number of people interceding for priests, religious, seminarians and those discerning ordained and consecrated vocations has also had a positive influence on their faith.
Fran Chigi, a member of St. Joseph Parish in Shelbyville, spoke of how her prayers for seminarians and priests have increased her awareness of the blessings and challenges of the daily life of priests.
“Because I pray for them, I think I have a better understanding of their lives, the commitment that they have and the sacrifices that they’re making,” she said. “It’s not just a priest up there celebrating a Mass. It’s who he is and why he has committed himself, and what a great commitment it is.”
Marilyn Ross has been part of a group at Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish in Greenwood that for about 10 years has prayed a holy hour for vocations on Tuesday nights in the faith community’s adoration chapel.
“I feel like God has really called me to this,” she said. “It’s not just something that came along. Knowing that I have this commitment to pray for priests and vocations helps keep me on track with my prayer life.”
Ross’ regular prayer for vocations has also led her to action to support vocations ministry.
She and others at Our Lady of the Greenwood hosted teenage boys taking part in Bishop Bruté Days, the vocations office’s annual summer vocations camp, late one evening after a full day of activities.
“It was about 10:30 when they got to the parish,” Ross recalled. “We had make-your-own ice cream sundaes for the boys. I called it ‘Jesus and Ice Cream.’ ”
Father Todd Goodson, Our Lady of the Greenwood’s pastor, then took the teens to the parish church where they prayed Night Prayer, part of the Liturgy of the Hours.
“We just don’t know how we’re impacting,” Ross reflected. “And we’re not called to know. To me, we’re called to be faithful to what God is asking us to do, and he’ll bring the fruit.”
Father Goodson has started his own holy hour for vocations in Our Lady of the Greenwood’s adoration chapel at 4 p.m. on Fridays.
“I try to commit to a holy hour daily,” Father Goodson said. “I don’t always do a perfect job, but this one helps me get my holy hour in. There’s a real need for vocations. I think it’s an opportunity if someone thinks he might have a vocation to come and pray with us.”
While Father Goodson and other archdiocesan priests try to pray a holy hour each day, there is a growing number of Catholic women across central and southern Indiana who are doing the same, offering their holy hours specifically for the priests serving in their parishes.
They’re part of the Seven Sisters Apostolate started in 2011 by Janette Howe in St. Paul, Minn. The name of the ministry is taken from the way it is organized.
Seven women commit themselves to praying a holy hour on a specific day of the week for their parish priest.
From starting in the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul in 2011, the apostolate has grown in just 13 years to be present in all 50 states and 39 countries around the world.
“It just goes forward by the excitement of people understanding the need of prayer for priests,” said Howe.
In the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, there are three groups of seven women praying for Archbishop Charles C. Thompson and 14 other groups praying for priests serving in their parishes.
Pam Malinoski has helped lead the group at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis for about 10 years, with one in the group praying a holy hour each day during that time for Father C. Ryan McCarthy, Holy Rosary’s pastor since 2013.
“There are a lot of activities in our parishes,” Malinoski said. “Having this as an option for a more contemplative way to build up the Church is a beautiful thing.”
She added that the prayer of Seven Sisters groups is a way of showing gratitude for all that priests do for them and the parish as a whole.
“Sometimes priests can be taken for granted,” Malinoski said. “As often as we ask them to pray for us and serve us in our spiritual lives, we can support that and give that back to them through our prayers in the dedicated and intentional way that the Seven Sisters do.”
Howe spoke about how the Seven Sisters Apostolate helps its members focus on the needs of priests in the present moment.
“It really slows one down,” she said. “When we’re before the Lord, we realize that we don’t need to pray for the priest’s whole life right now. We’re committing to praying for what happens in the next seven days, in a sense.”
Seven Sisters also has opportunities for men to give of themselves spiritually for priests. Its Fasting Brothers groups have six men fast on a particular day of the week and offer that sacrifice for a particular priest. There are only six in such a group because, in the Church’s tradition, no fasting should be done on Sundays.
Seven Sisters has also developed groups of seven women called Elijah’s Helpers, who pray daily holy hours for priests experiencing a crisis in their life and ministry. Howe explained that the vicar for clergy in dioceses where such groups are established let the group leader know when a priest needs their prayers.
“We don’t know who they are,” she explained. “We don’t want to know who they are.”
Howe recalled that a vicar for clergy told a priest who came to him for help “that there’s someone praying for him today.”
“It’s one of the most incredible holy hours I do every week,” Howe said. “It’s my favorite one.”
In leading a large suburban parish with a school, Father Goodson has many duties from week to week. So, he’s grateful for the Seven Sisters group that prays for him daily.
“It’s very edifying and helpful,” he said. “We need a lot of prayer. We have a lot of responsibilities in this challenging world that we live in. It’s very helpful knowing that there are people out there praying for us.”
Father Keucher, who has a Seven Sisters group praying for him, sees their ministry as rooted in Scripture.
“Jesus had a lot of women supporting his ministry,” he said. “I think of Mary and Martha, and then Luke mentions Joanna and Susanna and points to other women as well. We priests are alter Christus [other Christs], and what a joy that is. And so, we also need the support of holy women. The Seven Sisters apostolate means so much to me.”
Malinoski hopes that the prayer of the Seven Sister group in her parish and in others across the archdiocese will help all Catholics—not just priests—grow in holiness.
“There’s the idea that if your priest is a saint, then the people will be holy,” Malinoski said. “Hopefully, this will have a ripple effect through our parish. The more we can support Father McCarthy in his growth and spiritual life will come right back to us. Hopefully, that will make our entire parish more holy.”
(For more information about priestly and religious vocations in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, visit HearGodsCall.com. For more information on the Seven Sisters Apostolate, visit sevensistersapostolate.org.) †
