The Power of Prayer

Father Declan Says

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is despair in life let me bring hope,
Where there is darkness only light
And where there’s sadness ever joy.

O master, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul.

~Prayer of St Francis of Assisi

As I’m sure you’ve heard, Father Declan has recently been diagnosed with cancer. I have always believed in the healing power of prayer and have asked the seventh graders to keep Father Declan in their prayers. Do I think we can heal such an insidious disease with a few prayers? I don’t know. What I do know is that Declan is a kind man who doesn’t deserve to be ill. What I do know is that knowing that students are praying for him every day may just give him the strength and the courage he needs to face this battle.

That is enough.

I spoke to my students this morning after mass about saying a prayer for Father Declan at the same time each morning. Won’t you join us? Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, would you be able to stop for a few moments at 8:30 A.M. and say a prayer for Father Declan? Any prayer will do.

Over the weekend, I told my students I would not ask them to get up early to say a prayer. We decided on 12:00 noon for this weekend if you’d like to join us at that time as well. There’s power in prayer; there’s power in numbers. Somewhere in there lies a formula that even this non-math teacher can handle.