Fr. Andrew Sensenig, OMI: “Got Jesus?”

Last year, I wrote about how I pray the rosary while running. It is a way of dedicating my runs to pray with God on what is going on in my heart and my life. The rosary starts out slow and deliberate and always the challenge is getting my head, heart and breathing into praying the Apostle’s Creed. It takes a few tries, but after some starts and stops, the prayer finds its own rhythm.

Late last November, when we in the Diocese of Juneau heard about the terrible news of Fr. Thomas Weise’s sudden illness, and people were asking for prayers, (Fr. Thomas Weise was the pastor in Petersburg and Wrangell, Alaska and was only 46 years old.) I started to run and pray as I always do the rosary, dedicating it to Fr. Thomas, his family and friends. As I trudged up one of the many hills in Sitka, Alaska, and my breathing became labored and heart and head were pounding, I tried to think through what would be a good prayer on behalf of Fr. Thomas? An answer came through the frantic breaths and pounding heart to me and it was “mercy.”

Mercy was the only thing that made sense, and so I added the Divine Mercy Chaplet after my Rosary prayers were completed. The Divine Mercy Chaplet added a quality to my prayer run and as the words: “Have mercy on us and the whole world.” began to sink into my heart, my gait got smoother and my breathing became easier.

As I finished that run, I knew whatever outcome was in store for our brother, Fr. Thomas, I asked for the best thing for him, for his family, his friends and the people of Southeast Alaska…“mercy.” So from then now, when I run, I pray a Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. During the Rosary, I ask Mary, Mother of Mercy, to help out on whatever prayer intentions are in my heart and then ask Jesus HIMSELF to help out Fr. Thomas, his family and friends when praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Even as the news came through that Fr. Thomas had died on December 6, 2015, I still pray that the Mercy of God is with him and his family and friends now and always.

This year as I run in the LA Marathon, I am going to run it in a manner that Fr. Thomas might approve of. I got a very loud orange tee shirt (picture included with the question: “Got Jesus?” printed on it. You might not know this, but Fr. Thomas ran the LA Marathon in 2003. He told me that it was a fun and tough race. Why, “Got Jesus?” Because Fr. Thomas was all about asking probing questions in a gentle and forthright manner.

This year’s LA Marathon will be on February 14th and I just want to ask you all a favor. Valentine’s Day is a great day, because we take the time to express our love for each other in a special manner with cards and candies and flowers. It is all about love and as we know through faith that “God is Love as the First Letter of John states in Chapter 4, verse 8. So before you dive into expressing your affections for each other on this wonderful day of love, why not offer a Valentine to God on Fr. Thomas’ behalf?

What I am suggesting is simply take a moment and offer a prayer for vocations, for the Church so an exceptional goodhearted and loving person like Fr. Thomas might consider becoming a priest or deacon or a religious.

Please know that I will be doing exactly that as I run through the streets of LA during the LA Marathon. I will be offering Rosaries and Divine Mercy Chaplets one after another for vocations for the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and the dioceses of Alaska. It is the best valentine that I can offer to God. Even though, there will be over 30,000 other runners rejoicing that great day with me, I will have three super people running along with me and they will be Jesus, Mary and Fr. Thomas. You can take it from me; they are exceptional running buddies.

If you need a little help, here is a great prayer for Oblate Vocations.

Oblate Vocation Prayer:

God of joyful hope and faithful love:

You call us to share fully in the mission of your Son.

In this time of great promise and change inspire us to

be witnesses to the power and presence of Jesus.

May we love and respect all you have created and

be disciples of the Good News especially among

the dispossessed.

Guided by the Holy Spirit, may others be inspired

to leave nothing undared for the Gospel by becoming

Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

St Eugene de Mazenod. Pray for us.

(Click here to see that vocation prayer for the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. in the recent “Oblate Connections” from the Anglo-Irish Oblate Province  

Thank you for taking the time for pray for vocations!