I consider myself a resilient person. But lately, my resilience has been failing me, and the truth is, it’s affecting my prayer life. Maybe it would be more accurate to say my struggling prayer life is affecting my resiliency, as I’m not praying much these days, except for the Rosary.
I recently reflected on this prayer crisis while thinking about my position at the Catholic Star Herald and my responsibilities with the Diocese of Camden. “Don’t sell yourself too short,” a friend told me. “You are praying when you recite the Rosary!”
So I asked myself, “What other ways do I pray that I might not be noticing?” I realized that I pray for the people whose stories appear in this newspaper. Last year, to name a few:
I prayed for 18-year-old Grace Martin, who established the Shells of Hope nonprofit to help the underprivileged and young people with cancer. The Camden Catholic High School student just went through her own battle with cancer last year. Coincidently, she’s been helping kids with cancer since she was 9.
I prayed for Jake Hosko, who drove his dump truck straight from work to Christ the Redeemer Church to attend every RCIA class at his parish in Atco. The father and husband received his Sacraments of Baptism, Holy Eucharist and Confirmation at the Easter Vigil last April.
I prayed for Bishop Sullivan when he wrote in November about his intense pain of losing his friend Mother Lucille Cutrone, foundress of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, to cancer.
I prayed for Bishop Williams the day he was announced as our coadjutor. Yes, because he was in line to become the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Camden. But immediately more-so because he would be leaving his parents, eight brothers and sisters, countless nieces, nephews, friends … and frequent family dinners with all of those people gathered around the table.
And I not only prayed, but mourned for the Gaudreau family, especially after covering the Night of Remembrance at Gloucester Catholic High School – and witnessing Mr. Gaudreau’s grief for Johnny and Matthew only days after their deaths.
Last week, I was reading a column by Bishop Kevin Kenney of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. “Prayer brings us into an awareness of the gift we carry in our bodies,” he wrote. “Our spirit, our soul and our heart are influenced in many ways, directing us to make decisions in life from a cultural perspective, a religious perspective, or a little bit of both. … A worldly perspective is shown to most of us through the lens of the media. Our perspectives can broaden immensely through reading stories.”
The day after reading Bishop Kenney’s column, I gave my parents a call to talk about the future of media, specifically, the print product. My parents are longtime Atlantic County residents and subscribers to the Catholic Star Herald. My parents have always kept atop of current events and are regular consumers of all types of media – TV, print, news websites. So, I asked them how they get their Catholic news when they are away, visiting my siblings on the West Coast.
Turns out, they don’t. My father, particularly, prefers reading the Catholic Star Herald newspaper because he likes to dive into the content, ruminate on it – not swipe quickly by the stories on his smartphone.
My parents and I have had many faith conversations over the articles and columns that have appeared on these pages. They keep the Catholic Star Herald newspapers stacked next to the sofa. The papers are in the line of sight; they are conversation starters; they are prayer opportunities; they are evangelization tools.
I stumbled across Bishop Kenney’s column because I read Catholic newspapers and magazines from across the United States. They are stacked in my office, in my line of sight. They give me ideas for stories. They give me insights to pray upon. They are evangelization tools.
Pope Saint John Paul II once stated, “We celebrate the blessings of speech, of hearing and of sight, which enable us to emerge from our isolation and loneliness. We celebrate the gifts of writing and reading by which the wisdom of our ancestors is placed at our disposal and our own experience and reflection are passed on.”
February is Catholic Press Month. I ask you to dive into the Catholic Star Herald newspaper. Ruminate on the ideals, the principles found within.
I truly hope you see the value of your Catholic newspaper. Actually, I’ll more than hope. I’ll pray on it.
Jennifer Mauro is managing editor of the Catholic Star Herald.
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