Archbishop Coakley calls for prayer and penance

Dear brother priests, deacons, staff and members of the lay faithful,
 
You have heard me say before that this is indeed a very dark moment in the history of our beautiful, but wounded, Catholic Church. In times like these, we are called to prayer and penance for the purification of the Church. It is complicated, because there has been both sin, and crime. Criminal activity demands transparency, accountability and justice. We have sought those very things in all that we have done in the past couple of weeks as these issues have come to light.
 
Sin, however, demands repentance, reparation and prayer. The bishops, priests and leaders of our Church must set an example, but all the faithful are called to take up this effort. I want to call on my Priests, Deacons and Seminarians to take the lead in the spiritual response to this crisis in the Church. The faithful lay people of our Archdiocese can also take initiative with this spiritual response.
 
I encourage times of prayer, adoration, and gathering the faithful for acts of penance and reparation for the sins in the Church. I encourage personal fasting as well. These are all powerful ways that people can respond in the coming weeks and months. In one of our parishes, 40 hours of adoration was established specifically to respond in this way. I am told that within 24 hours more than 80 available prayer slots were filled, and far more people actually showed up to pray during the 40 hours. I encourage the prayer of St. Michael the Archangel at the end of Mass or for private use. There is a beautiful Mass for the Forgiveness of Sins in the Roman Missal (38B) that would be very powerful to celebrate publicly as well. There are many ways for us to implore God’s grace, healing, protection and to make reparation for sins in the Church. It is clear to me that people are hungry for tangible ways to respond in prayer and penance for our beautiful Church.
 
Yes, it may be a dark time for our Church. But throughout the history of the Church, in times of darkness, the light of Christ has often shone most brightly through faithful men and women who let that light shine through them. As daunting as the circumstances may seem to us, I want to encourage you. What the Church needs now more than ever are holy men and women! Be saints!
 
With the assurance of my prayers, I am
 
Sincerely yours in Christ,
 
Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley
Archbishop of Oklahoma City