Bishop Anthony B. Taylor is making his first “ad limina” visit to the Vatican March 14-21 with the bishops of Texas and Oklahoma where he will meet privately with Pope Benedict XVI.
Bishops are required to make periodic visited called “ad limina apostolorum,” which means “to the thresholds of the apostles” Peter and Paul, who were martyred in Rome. Traditionally, the visits serve as an occasion for leaders of local churches to draw inspiration as well as guidance from the center of Catholicism.
When Bishop Taylor travels to Rome, he will take with him the prayers of the people of Arkansas.
In preparation for the trip, Arkansas Catholic is gathering a list of prayers, devotional acts or good deeds being offered for the pope’s intentions. This is commonly known as a spiritual bouquet and can include the number of Masses, rosaries or other prayers said or good deeds that will be performed.
For example, a family can gather to pray the rosary every Sunday for a month and offer those prayers for the intentions of the pope or an individual can offer the Communion he or she receives on Sunday for the Holy Father.
Other offerings could include:
Holy hours Days of fasting Days of abstaining from meat, candy or conveniences Acts of charity An hour of Eucharistic adoration Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 3 p.m. Minutes of Scripture or spiritual reading
All of these acts for the pope will be presented to him personally by Bishop Taylor.
Send your personal prayers for the pope or spiritual offerings to Malea Hargett, Editor, Arkansas Catholic, PO Box 7417, Little Rock, AR 72217 or mhargett@dolr.org or post your offerings in the comments section below. The deadline to accept these offerings is March 7.
Prayers for the pope
