.- The Catholic Business Journal is encouraging its readers, radio audience and online subscribers to join in a spiritual bouquet to pray for the cardinal electors as they gather to choose the next Pope.
“We take action with our vibrant prayers, for the cardinals themselves, and for the Church,” said Karen Walker, founder of Catholic Business Journal, an online business platform for networking, faith building and the exchange of ideas.
The spiritual bouquet, which will be presented to the next Pope after his election, is being organized by Catholic Action for Faith and Family, a group that works to defend Catholic teaching.
“Now is a time for great prayer,” said Dick Lyles, host of a radio show produced by Catholic Business Journal and aired on the EWTN Global Catholic Network.
“As Catholic business professionals, we are called to be faithful, right where we are...prayer remains the most important way we can support our cardinals at this time.”
Spiritual bouquets consist of prayers and penances, such as attendance at Mass, holy Communions, rosaries, litanies and fasting, which one offers for someone else.
“The idea of a spiritual bouquet is that each prayer is like a flower,” explained Thomas McKenna, founder of Catholic Action for Faith and Family.
“The collection of prayers is like a bouquet mystically offered as a gift to God for a particular intention,” he added.
McKenna said the idea of this spiritual bouquet came to him after a conversation with Cardinal Raymond Burke.
“I asked Cardinal Burke if there was anything I could do and he responded that his only request was for prayers,” McKenna said.
Walker noted that while “we are not cardinals...we can certainly take action in (the) historic choice of a new pope.”
“We are encouraging our audience of Catholic business professionals to lead the way for prayer in their communities, by participating in the Spiritual Bouquet of prayers initiated by Catholic Action for Faith and Family,” she added.
All those wishing to join in the bouquet can go to CatholicAction.org to register their prayer offerings.
