The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. We are a small community of Catholic believers who are answering a call to communal, intercessory prayer. It has become a way of life for us to live every day. We are responding to what we believe God is asking of us: Committed, sustained, informed intercession in the world today, in the 'heart' of and under the authority of the Church. We invite you to pray and ponder the following. 

The heartfelt desire of God is for the world He created--and now, recreated, through the Blood of His Son, Jesus, the Lamb of God (Jn. 3:16; Rev. 1:5; Rev. 5:9; Heb. 9: 12, 14). The charism of communal and contemplative, intercessory prayer is about the passion, the purpose, and the pleading power of the Lamb of God in the world and for the world (Jn. 1:29; 1Tim. 1:15; 1Jn. 2:2). 

        It is a charism so precious to the Holy Trinity and the Blessed Virgin Mary that we must be consumed to the core of our being by this call to participate in the ongoing offering of Jesus in the world--this victory of paschal victimhood (Heb. 9:28A; Col. 1:24).  We are being invited to embrace this call of the Lamb fully in our lives--this call to co-redemptive, sacrificial love in the world (Gal. 2:19B-20). Are you being called to share in the crucified Love of Jesus in and for the world? 

        First of all, this is an interior call into our hearts. We are called to allow Love to enter in and make "Their" (i.e., the Trinity) home in our hearts (Jn. 14:23), so that we can live, love, and pray from a deep, 'paschalized' place within our hearts, in sincerity, transparency, and humility as true sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father (Gal. 4:6-7; Ps. 2:7-8; Eph. 4: 1-2).  Are you being called to be an intercessor? Your 'yes' will make a difference in the world.  

        Any authentic charism, or a gift of the Holy Spirit for the Church, must be 'housed' in holy, human lives (sacred temples). Sanctity saved the world through the perfect obedience of the spotless, unblemished Lamb of God (Heb. 5: 8-9; 1Pet. 1: 19).  Now, the ongoing purpose of God in the world calls for holiness of life (Lev. 19:2; 1 Thes. 4:3; Rom. 12:1), a living of this charism through the 'mature Heart' of Jesus in the world. An intercessor's heart is a new heart (Ezek. 36:26).  It's a heart fully for God and fully for humanity. It is a relational heart, a repentant heart, a receptive heart, a reconciling heart--a true heart. Love is the key, living in the true freedom of belonging to God completely (1 Jn. 4:16; Is. 43:1), through the intimacy of covenant closeness with God (Eph. 2:13), shared with one another and the world, a rich, paschal love, a love stronger than death (Songs 8:6B)! 

        As intercessors we are called to stand on the "resolute rock" of Marian/ Petrine faith, convinced that "nothing will be impossible for God" (Lk. 1:37; Lk. 1:45). This faith involves an ongoing conversion of heart and mind, lived in total, rooted relationship with God, resolute in repentance, committed to communal formation, persevering in prayer on behalf of others. We are called to walk the highway called the "holy way" together (2 Cor. 7: 1; Is. 35:8A; Mt. 7: 14). Are you being called to share in the crucified Love of Jesus in and for the world?  

Fr. Kevin Joyce, pastor 

Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska