Parishioners of St. Isaac Jogues have discovered that big things can indeed start in small ways.
When the parish leaders started a St. Monica Ministry to pray for loved ones who have fallen away from the faith, little did they know it would take off in such a robust fashion.
Father Brian Nolan, pastor of the church in Carney for the past three and half years, said he and his parishioners were looking for a way to complement the parish’s substantial corporal works of mercy with spiritual works of mercy aimed at getting parishioners back in the pews.
He said the original idea was to have parishioners drop the first names of loved ones who had fallen away from their faith in a box decorated with a picture of St. Monica. Parishioners then would recite the names and pray for the loved ones. The response was so strong that the ministry decided to hold a service following eucharistic adoration in Advent.
“It really was amazing to think how quickly it grew,” Father Nolan said. “We thought we might get 15 to 20 people at the Tuesday service and were really surprised when 35 to 50 people showed up for the first one to pray for nearly a thousand people. It was great to see parents and grandparents showing the initiative to pray for their family members.”
Each Tuesday evening during Advent, St. Isaac Jogues parishioners meet and recite the Litany of St. Monica and the Litany of the Good Shepherd. St. Monica is the patron saint of wives and abuse victims, having successfully prayed for her son, St. Augustine, to return to the faith during her lifetime (A.D. 331-387). She also successfully prayed for the conversion of her abusive husband and mother-in-law.
Linda Leizear, a retired real estate agent living in Perry Hall and a longtime parishioner of St. Isaac Jogues, said the planning for the St. Monica Ministry started last summer after some brainstorming by a half dozen parishioners.
“So many parishioners were lamenting the fact that their children and grandchildren didn’t attend church that we knew we had to do something,” Leizear said. “It’s not that they lost faith, but they had just fallen away for some reason or another. We said that obviously we needed some type of prayer ministry. A group of us got together and came up with the idea that we would focus on doing a daily petition for the return of non-practicing Catholics.”
In the first two weeks, 712 names were submitted and the number rose to nearly 1,000 by the time the St. Monica Ministry started holding its services where several parishioners read each of the names.
“We all looked at ourselves and said, ‘Wow, we really hit a nerve.’” Leizear said. “It’s important to have active Catholics, not Christmas-and-Easter Catholics.”
Shirley Zongker, a retired educator and longtime parishioner, called the response “overwhelming.”
“I think the power of prayer and the power of that many people praying for one thing will make a difference,” Zongker said. “We really were blown away by the number of responses. I’ve seen a number of parishioners come to the St. Monica prayer service who I haven’t seen regularly at Mass, so they are on their own mission.”
Leizear said the ministry was helped by some good publicity throughout the parish in the church bulletin and in a weekly email blast, Jogues Jots.
“We’ve had a lot of support and it just shows that we are on the right track. This is a very warm and embracing parish and we hope to fill the pews once again,” she said.
Father Nolan and the St. Monica Ministry plan to continue the service once a month after Advent. Leizear said the St. Monica Ministry is already brainstorming what they can do to expand the ministry and plans to work on something special for St. Monica’s feast day in August.
“It’s powerful to have that many people praying for one thing. You know, praying to the Lord will always bear fruit,” Father Nolan said.
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