Memorares are multiplying

Father Mark McCormick
Director of Vocations

In the middle of May this year, we launched the “20 Seminarians by 2025” prayer campaign. We are inviting everyone to pray Memorares begging the intercession of Our Lady for an increased number of seminarians with the goal of praying 500,000 Memorares in our parishes and diocese by Pentecost Sunday 2025.

I would like to share a campaign update with you. As of All Saints Day, November 1, there have been 84,035 Memorares prayed in our parishes so far. The Office of Vocations has received Memorare cards from parishes in Rapid City, Piedmont, Faith, Spearfish, Philip, Gregory, Timber Lake, Lemmon, Kadoka, Wall, Whitewood, and even Beatrice, Nebraska.

We also have some “Memorare prayer warriors” that are starting to surface. Carol Lipp, from Holy Cross in Timber Lake, has prayed 12,000 Memorares so far. When visiting with her, she said, “It is so important to pray for more priests when we are so short.”

I asked Carol if there were any graces or blessings that she has experienced in praying the Memorare prayer. She responded with such faith, “I have not been feeling the best as of late. However, since joining this prayer campaign, I am feeling much better. I attribute it to the Memorare prayer.“Thank you, Jesus and Mother Mary.”

Another unexpected grace came through Fr. Brian Lane, who prompted by the Holy Spirit, made a poster sized Memorare prayer card. LuAnn Linskov said, “The youth in grades 6-12 from the parishes of Holy Cross in Timber Lake, St. Mary in Isabel, and Holy Rosary in Trail City, gather each Wednesday night for faith formation at St. Joseph Center in Timber Lake. They begin their nights with intercessions to Our Blessed Mother Mary as they pray the Memorare for the diocese’s 20 seminarians by 2025 initiative.” Sometimes, a total of 335 prayers are prayed by the students and their catechists.

Father Lane said, “I believe the gift of Edge/ Life Teen in a group every Wednesday is that they practice owning the concept that vocations are everybody’s business. Quickly filling the Memorare wall poster is reinforcing the power of group prayer.” Father Lane inspired me to do the same. As you can see from the picture, the poster sized prayer campaign is catching fire and moving across the diocese. I have no doubt that we will far exceed our goal of praying 500,000 Memorares for 20 seminarians by Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2025. And being a person of great faith in Mother Mary’s intercessions, I am also confident that there will be other unexpected blessings that come from our dedicated effort to pray for more seminarians discerning a call to the priesthood. Perhaps all of us will start feeling better like Carole Lipp.