From the Cloistered Life website:
On November 21 (the Memorial of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple), the Church will celebrate Pro Orantibus Day ("For Those Who Pray"), an ecclesial event established by Pope John Paul II for all Catholics worldwide to commemorate the hidden lives of cloistered and contemplative religious. We celebrate this day because the contemplative life is a gift from God to us all, because these men and women lay down their lives to pray for the needs of the world, and because we all benefit from the graces obtained by their prayers, even when we do not know it. All vocations need one another, and so, on this day, the faithful are encouraged to reach out to the cloistered and contemplative communities in their diocese, through prayer, encouragement, and material support.
Some concrete ways to do this are: participating in a novena and offering up Masses, writing letters to contemplative communities, visiting them, and making a special point to teach families, religious education classes, youth groups, etc., about the tremendous value of the contemplative life. In Pope Benedict XVI’s words, "Let us thank the Lord for the sisters and brothers who have embraced this mission, dedicating themselves entirely to prayer and living on what they receive from Providence. Let us pray in our turn for them and for new vocations, and let us work to support monasteries in their material needs."
For more information visit
CloisteredLife.com.
This Thursday, November 21 (the Memorial of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple), the Church will celebrate Pro Orantibus Day ("For Those Who Pray"), an ecclesial event established by Pope John Paul II for all Catholics worldwide to commemorate the hidden lives of cloistered and contemplative religious. Ways to honor the event include prayer (participating in a novena, offering up Masses, etc.), encouragement (writing letters to contemplative communities, visiting them, calling them to thank them, etc.), and material support.
Pope Benedict XVI spoke often of the tremendous value of the cloistered, contemplative life. Addressing a group of cloistered Dominican nuns in Rome, he referred to such religious as the "heart" which provides the blood to the rest of the Body of Christ. Pope Francis also made a point to meet with and show his appreciation to contemplative nuns while in Brazil for World Youth Day.
Special promotion of this annual celebration is being coordinated in the United States by the
Institute on Religious Life.For more information visit
CloisteredLife.com.
Check out the
vocation resources in the Diocese of Fargo.
