SOLT sister speaks on prayer support for priests

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
Members of various Seven Sisters Apostolates throughout the diocese gathered for an annual meeting in Sioux City hosted by the apostolate’s diocesan contact Mary Stevens. (Seven Sisters Apostolate is a group committed to ensuring a holy hour is prayed each day of the week for priests and bishops.) Siouxland St. Serra Club members were invited to the event.
 
Sister Marie Hesed Champagne, SOLT, was the program speaker, presenting Strengthen the Hands that Serve, held in the Mater Dei Parish - Immaculate Conception Church parish center.
 
“When Mary (Stevens) invited me to come and give you a talk this morning, I said to myself, ‘How can I tell you how to make your prayer life more fruitful for the priest you pray for?’” she explained. “I know the priests of my diocese, and I know that in God’s blessings that we have many vocations. God is not outdone in generosity. We need the generosity to say yes.”

 The life of a priest can be difficult, the speaker pointed out, which is one reason they need prayers. The faithful are often critical of their priests, complaining about long homilies, something the priest said or other scenarios.
 
“We’re never satisfied,” Sister Marie said.
 
She shared how frequent prayer for priests has been a part of her vocation in different religious communities, including St. Teresa of Calcutta’s order.
 
Sister Marie said that from the moment of her confirmation at 8 years old in Canada, she knew her vocation was to be a religious sister. Sister Marie joined the contemplative Adorers of the Precious Blood community until circumstances led her to join St. Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity.
 
Inspired by a movie shown at the Canadian monastery on the 25^th anniversary of the Missionaries of Charity, and declining health due to the monastic environment, Sister Marie wrote Mother Teresa about joining her order. They met in person in the South Bronx in New York City to discuss the possibility. The inner city environment was so foreign to the Canadian sister that she was doubting the call to the Missionaries of Charity.
 
“Mother came over, took me by the hand and sat me next to her. She said, ‘Sister, when you come back, come back on the 18^th of June. I said I wasn’t coming back…and I did go back. That was 50 years ago,” the speaker said.
 From the Domus Trinitatis website - Sister Marie Hesed with Mother TeresaMother Teresa co-founded five branches of her order including contemplatives and missionary contemplative priests. The future saint wanted to ensure the priests were supported by prayer from the sisters.
 
“Mother Teresa felt that every priest of the world should be adopted by a sister to be prayed for,” she explained. “It was so serious for Mother that we had a day called the universal prayer day. Mine was Wednesday so all intentions were doubled that day for your priest. You never met him personally. You never wrote to him personally except one letter to an anchoress.”
 
Although very happy in her vocation, after 27 years as a Missionary of Charity, Sister Marie felt called to the Society of Our Lady of the Trinity (SOLT). When she joined the society, Father James Flanagan, the SOLT founder, was speaking to the SOLT community about the importance of prayers for priests.
 
“He said every priest needs at least 12 people to pray for them, as Jesus had the Twelve Apostles around them,” she said. “When I heard about the Seven Sisters, I thought this has been in the mind of the founders way back, the need to pray and support our priests and vocations.”
 
Over the years of praying for priests, Sister Marie said she learned that supporting the men is simply more than prayer.
 
“When you adopt a priest, what happens in reality is that you lay down your life to pay the price for them. I am going to be the intercessor. I am going to try and win those graces that he needs,” she explained. “And consequently, I made myself available to God to use me to win those graces… I commit myself to ask God to use me whatever way it is and in everything I do to be applied for the graces that person needs.”

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