Call for Prayer: Bishop Robert Baker Undergoes Surgery Today

Prayer Warriors:  Please say a prayer today for Bishop Robert J. Baker, bishop of Birmingham in Alabama. Bishop Baker will undergo surgery today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.  After a staph infection delayed the planned surgery, he has finally been cleared and sends the following message:

A message from Bishop Baker:

I was informed today that finally, I am in good enough health for surgery to remove the two kidney stones in my ureters and to face the surgery on my prostate. I thank you once again for your prayers for this surgery tomorrow (Friday). My prayers and good wishes are with all of you, as well as my gratitude for your prayers.

Very gratefully yours in Christ, your Bishop,  +Robert J. Baker

Bishop Baker has been a strong leader of the Church.  He was one of several Southern bishops to bar pro-abortion lawmakers from receiving Holy Communion.

I’ve met him on several occasions:  I first met him at St. Mary’s in Greenville, South Carolina when, during his tenure as Bishop of Charleston, he ordained my friend and fellow Patheos blogger Fr. Dwight Longenecker to the priesthood.

And some years ago, I bumped into him in an elevator during the USCCB Fall General Assembly.  He has an interest in history; and I was pleased to be able to tell him I’d read and enjoyed his book about the native Americans in Florida during the days of Spanish settlement. He is also author of When Did We See You Lord, coauthored with Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R., and The Questioner’s Prayer, released in April 2007. 

He has also contributed articles to the Encyclopedia Of Religion In The South, the preface to Ann Ball’s Prayers for Prisoners, and the introduction to Catalina Ryan McDonough’s Stations of the Cross for the Sick.