A prayer from Rome...

I'm just finishing up three days of meetings in Rome, where the temperature edges toward 90 F. every day.  I set aside this afternoon to pray for our newly arriving seminarians, who must be feeling much as my classmates and I did in August of 1976.

As I sit here in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of Saint Peter's, I think of their anxieties and fears as they embark on this new endeavor to hear God's voice and follow his will.  I think of their goodness in being open to receiving his grace, and I pray that the Lord will draw them daily ever closer to himself.  I think of their families and friends and the myriad of emotions they must be experiencing, and ask God to reward them for shepherding these men to this moment.

But most of all, I praise and thank the Lord before whom I pray, for raising up good men in every generation to bless his name, to offer his sacrifice and to lead us to heaven.  Please join me in praying for them as they prepare to embark on this wondrous new journey!