Led by Marianne Gronotte, more than two hundred and fifty women across three states throughout the Ohio Valley region have become spiritual mothers to the priests in their dioceses, and the Legionary priests who serve the area. These women are committed to praying for their adopted priest-sons in a dedicated and maternal way, starting with a weekly Holy Hour.
This weekly hour of Eucharistic Adoration is just one of five simple commitments of the SMOP program, but it is the women’s promise to pray for their priest before the Blessed Sacrament that is the basis, not just of this program, but of all spiritual motherhood programs around the world.
Besides weekly adoration, the women commit to saying daily prayers for their priest-son throughout the day, and frequenting the sacrament of confession as often as they can.
Perhaps the most difficult commitment to keep is that of anonymity: the women are required to remain anonymous to their priest-son. In the spirit of humility, and with the example of Jesus’ own mother Mary, who “kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart,” the women are discouraged from divulging to each other, and especially to their priest-sons, for whom they are praying. “There is something very sweet and hidden about praying for someone I’ve never met and will probably never meet,” describes one spiritual mother, “I like to think that even though I won’t know my spiritual son here on earth, we will recognize each other in Heaven.”
The fifth commitment requires the women to promise to pray for their priest-son for the rest of their lives. The women in the Spiritual Motherhood of Priests program enter into a permanent, life-long relationship that does not end even when their priest passes away; his spiritual mother will continue to pray for his soul as long as she lives.
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