For years, I kept a rosary in my car I’d purchased at a second-hand shop. Every time I held those beads and prayed, I thought about the person, or people, to whom those beads had belonged and offered a prayer for them. No one is beyond the need or scope of our prayers. Though our sphere of influence is extremely limited when it comes to doing temporal, tangible things, when it comes to praying for people, the opportunities are boundless, completely uninhibited by time or space.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say about intercessory prayer:
Since Abraham, intercession—asking on behalf of another—has been characteristic of a heart attuned to God’s mercy. In the age of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ’s, as an expression of the communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays looks “not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others,” even to the point of praying for those who do him harm. (CCC 2635) …
