Prayers make better presents for priests than most items, say some

Published: 2005-12-20

COLUMBUS, Ohio (CNS) -- How many rosaries, crucifixes and Bibles does a priest receive for Christmas? Answer: enough to open a Catholic book and gift shop. Parish secretaries, administrators and family members of priests all agree -- priests do not need any more sacramentals as gifts. Indeed, Catholic priests top many shoppers' "hard-to-buy-for" lists. For many priests, prayers from the faithful are the only gifts they need. "Your prayers for us are always welcome," said Dominican Father Andre Joseph LaCasse, who is on the staff at St. Patrick Church in Columbus. Father Homer Blubaugh, a diocesan priest who is pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Coschocton, also especially appreciates it when he receives prayers. "I get Christmas cards or intention cards that let me know a family has gotten together, prayed and offered up the rosary for me, or (said) other prayers," he told The Catholic Times, newspaper of the Columbus Diocese. "I really like that."

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