Macon, Shelbina parishes present prayer bouquet to Bishop O’Donnell
The Catholics of Macon and Shelby counties had never heard of Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell when they started praying in earnest for him.
He didn’t know who they were, either.
“At all the Masses on a weekend in late June, I said we need to pray for our next bishop, whoever he’s going to be,” recalled Father William Peckman, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Macon and St. Mary Parish in Shelbina, in Northern Missouri.
Bishop O’Donnell’s appointment didn’t come until August. Many thought the people of this diocese would wait up to a year for a new bishop.
Fr. Peckman asked his parishioners to keep track of the prayers, devotions and sacrifices they were offering up, in order to present them as a “prayer bouquet” for the new bishop him upon his installation.
The response was immediate and enthusiastic.
“It went very well,” said Fr. Peckman. “There were thousands of prayers offered, from
Rosaries to Divine Mercy Chaplets to novenas to ‘Our Fathers’ and ‘Hail Marys’ and many hours purposely offered up in studying Scripture and the Catechism.”
Some parishioners offered up days of fasting or abstinence, as well as Mass intentions.
“Basically, if it’s Catholic and it’s prayer, it’s included somewhere in there,” said Fr. Peckman.
People submitted a record of their prayers with their weekly offering at Mass each Sunday.
Parish staff kept track of the numbers, which Fr. Peckman presented to the new bishop in a card at his installation on Oct. 28.
Fr. Peckman offered his parishioners guidance in formulating their prayer intentions.
“One thing I mentioned was that our new bishop will not be taken from among the ranks of the angels,” he stated. “We’ll be getting another human being who is not all-knowing. He will, therefore, need divine guidance. So, let us pray for whoever that person is going to be.”
Second, he advised them not to tell God what kind of bishop they want.
“God’s not a short-order cook who is going to give us a bishop we want,” the priest reminded them. “He’ll give us the bishop he knows we need.”
He added: “And I believe we got the one we need.”
