Apostleship of Prayer

In previous entries I have included reflections by the national director of the Apostleship of Prayer. The Apostleship of Prayer dates by to 1844, originating in France. The founder, Father Francis X. Gautrelet, is quoted as telling a group of Jesuit seminarians who were eager to work on the missions: "Be apostles now, apostles of prayer! Offer everything you are doing each day in union with the Heart of our Lord for what He wishes, the spread of the Kingdom for the salvation of souls."

In the early 1860's, the apostleship began its publication, Messenger of the Sacred Heart. This periodical worked to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and tried to develop in its readers an awareness of the needs of the Universal Church. Eventually the Pope offered a particular monthly intention, and, since 1929, a specific mission intention has also been offered.

The current mission statement of the Apostleship of Prayer reads: "The mission of the Apostleship of Prayer is to encourage Christians to make a daily offering of themselves to the Lord for the coming of God's Kingdom and for the Holy Father's monthly intentions. This habit of prayer encourages a Eucharistic spirituality of solidarity with the Body of Christ and loving service to others. Nourishing this spiritual program is the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus."

At the center of the Apostleship of Prayer's focus is the Morning/Daily Offering. In this prayer, members and others offer every moment of the day to God. There are a number of different versions of this offering. The traditional one is:

"O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month."

In the spirit of the Apostleship of Prayer (whether she knew it or not), St. Therese, the Little Flower, also had her daily offering:

"Oh my God!  I offer You all my actions of this day for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works, by uniting them to His infinite merits; and I wish to make reparation for my sins by casting them in the furnace of His merciful love.

"Oh my God!  I ask of You for myself and for those dear to me the grace to fulfill perfectly Your holy will, to accept for love of You the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in Heaven for all eternity.  Amen."

While I may or may not use one of these forms, I do try each day to offer the entire day as a prayer. Usually I'll make an initial offering in the first few minutes after I awake. Then, when I am more focused, I renew the offering with a little more detail, offering it as a prayer of praise, of thanksgiving, of reparation, and of petition, lifting up a number of needs and concerns (including the pope's intentions).

This month's intentions:

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for April is: "That every tendency to fundamentalism and extremism may be countered by constant respect, by tolerance and by dialogue among all believers".

His mission intention is: "That Christians persecuted for the sake of the Gospel may persevere, sustained by the Holy Spirit, in faithfully witnessing to the love of God for the entire human race".

A number of parishes include the Holy Father's intentions during the prayer of the faithful at Sunday Mass at least once a month.


For more information:
      Apostleship of Prayer