Have you ever had your heart ache for someone you've never even met? Ever longed for their good even though you'll never hear the end of their story? Ever felt that someone else's story, or presence in the world, mattered to you profoundly even though they'll never know your name?
If you've ever had this kind of interior reaction to someone, you're not alone.
When our heart aches for the good, the healing, the conversion, the fulfilment of another - especially when they are someone seemingly unconnected with us - we can be sure that the Lord is placing them on our heart for a reason.
Whether you get hit with that from historic remains in a museum which you were once a person; the story of someone's plight (or triumph) that made the news; a family story about someone that has been passed down; what you learned on Wikipedia of the life of an author, painter or director; a random interaction you witnessed in a parking lot somewhere; awareness of an actor or a singer who isn't in the best of places right now...
For their healing, their good, their growth in his truth and his love, their deliverance or protection, or for the repose of their soul and the good of their loved ones/kin if they have passed.
How God connects us is a mystery. But we know that he does. And just as the saints intercede for us from heaven, we too are called to intercede for one another here on earth. When the Lord places someone on your heart to intercede for that you don't personally know, this is a profound gift - a sharing of his heart for that person with you.
Too often we diminish this experience to just remembering, thinking about, or obsessing over someone without ever bringing them to prayer. But as Christians, prayer should be our very first go-to.
So whoever that person is or has been for you - stop scrolling for a moment and say a prayer for them. A refugee story you still remember from 10 years ago? Pray for them
A celebrity crush from when you were 12? Pray for them
Someone on your heart and mind now?
Pray for them.
In this exact moment, it may be the very thing they need most.
Sr Orianne Pietra Rene fsp
Thank you to Sr Orianne, who is a Daughter of St Paul in the United States,
for giving permission for us to reprint this on our blog space