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{"id":10109,"date":"2009-05-19T20:31:09","date_gmt":"2009-05-20T00:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/theanchoress\/?p=10109"},"modified":"2017-03-15T18:39:42","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T18:39:42","slug":"professional-pray-er","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/2009\/05\/19\/professional-pray-er\/","title":{"rendered":""Professional Pray-er""},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I know many people<\/strong> who love the Jim Butcher\u2019s Dresden Files<\/a> series of novels, including Julie at Happy Catholic<\/a>, whose recommendations are always worth taking, but I have been so enthralled with Terry Pratchett\u2019s Discword<\/a> series, I\u2019d neglected Harry Dresden. Harry Dresden is a Wizard, and his office door reads:<\/p>\n

Harry Dresden \u2013 Wizard
\nLost Items Found, Paranormal Investigations.
\nConsulting, Advice, Reasonable Rates.
\nNo Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties or Other Entertainment<\/em><\/p>\n

Yesterday, in talking about<\/strong> the list of folks I pray for (which I keep in my breviary) Buster teased, \u201cyou should put yourself in the phonebook like Harry Dresden, only make it, \u201cAnchoress; Professional Pray-er. If your life\u2019s a horror-story, bring it to her Oratory<\/a>!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The thing quickly descended into dementia and bad puns as Buster riffed, \u201cyou can be like that Sham-Wow guy: \u201cShe\u2019s got yer Jesus, she\u2019s got yer Mary! She\u2019ll chant you a p-salm on the pcheap<\/em>! Rosaries at a nominal price, by the bead or by the decade! If you think you\u2019re too great a sinner, if you think you can\u2019t pray, she\u2019ll say \u2018I-con!\u2019<\/em><\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s a joke, and I am by no means a \u201cprofessional pray-er\u201d (those would be our our monastic friends and many, many many others, both Catholic and non-Catholic) but I did get into the joke. \u201cI could have Billy May screaming at people in my ads,\u201d I said, \u201cShe once was lost, but now is found! You need a saint? She\u2019ll give you a saint a day, thousands of saints! All kindsa devotions, and no hidden fees. Is your life a big stain? She\u2019ll get that stain out, ora pro nobleach<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Fun having the kid home from school.<\/p>\n

But, on a more serious note, because I know so many of my readers really are heaven-stormers of the first order, people willing to pray whenever a need is known, (and particularly if you keep a prayer list of your own) I\u2019m asking you to please remember to pray for Elizabeth, a 29 year old woman, who has just learned she has an inoperable brain tumor, and faces a very tough road.<\/p>\n

This is where I would incorporate the helpful prayers of of our friend, John Cardinal O\u2019 Connor, who also had a brain tumor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Let us pray.<\/em><\/p>\n

Amazon.com Widgets<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"