by Fr. Brian Wirth,
Director of Rural Life
In the midst of this dry and dusty fall harvest, the requests are returning: “Father, can we please pray for rain?”
In many ways, rain and favorable weather as a prayer request gets overlooked for many reasons. Outside of an agricultural or farming/ranching context, it’s just not something we think of regularly. And yet, rain and water are essential for life, both in body and spirit.
Much like the necessity of the salvific waters of Baptism for our soul, rain and favorable weather are a necessity for our physical lives. As the Collect states: “Being supplied with what sustains us in this present life, we may seek more confidently what sustains us for eternity.” There is an essential relationship between the spiritual and the physical.
Thus, praying for rain and favorable weather is a simple yet effective way for us as a diocese to grow closer together and to express charity in solidarity between our rural and urban parish communities.
Growing up on the farm, praying for rain and favorable weather was instilled in me by my immediate and extended family for as long as I can remember. I could personally see how important it was to them, and as a result, I became committed to praying for this daily.
Praying for rain and favorable weather also taught me at an early age that as a farming family (or any vocational calling), we are entirely dependent on the infinite graces of God for us and for His Creation.
As Nebraskans living in a primarily rural diocese, praying for rain and favorable weather should not be sporadic; these intentions should be as commonplace as praying an Our Father, Hail Mary, or Glory Be. Moreover, praying for rain and favorable weather is not only an act of charity toward the many farmers and ranchers in our diocese who raise and produce our food, but too, it expresses our desire for God to continually enrich us with His blessings and manifest His glory in creation.
In the spiritual life, prayer is much more meaningful when we are specific. God not only desires us to humbly pray to Him as the Giver of all good gifts, but more, God wants us to be particular in our requests. God wants us to express the particular desires of our hearts so that we may experience the infinite yet particular love of God as Father and Creator.
Thus, when praying for rain, there are three specific characteristics to always keep in mind: safe, sufficient, and seasonal.
In view of the recent hurricanes in our nation, we certainly do not desire rain that leads to flooding, hail, or tornadic/straight line winds. Instead, we pray for rain to come safely so that the ground may become fertile and gently soak up the moisture rain so greatly provides, and which doesn’t lead to excess soil erosion or loss of soil nutrition. Like the moral life, where there are two extremes, virtue lies in the middle.
Secondly, we should pray for sufficient rainfall. Just because it rains a couple of times or a lot in one rainfall doesn’t mean that we should stop praying for rain altogether. Much like our fields, so do the fields of our hearts, bodies, and souls need the frequent dewfall of God’s sacramental graces.
Lastly, we should pray for seasonal rainfall, in that God provides timely rainfall and moisture in the seasons that He has so wonderfully established. Just as we see the importance and goodness of the liturgical seasons in the Church, so do the four seasons possess goodness and importance for our everyday well-being.
In 2 Corinthians, St. Paul tells us: “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work.” Entering into another episode of statewide drought and dangerous fire conditions, this is a message of hope. As our Heavenly Father, God is always able to provide. “And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace.” (John 1:16)
Brothers and sisters, through the intercession of St. Isidore the Farmer, Blessed Stanley Rother, and St. Ansovinus, as One Body in Christ, in praying regularly for safe, seasonal, and sufficient rainfall, may we possess humble confidence in requesting more often a share of His Bountiful Abundance in this life so that we may seek the Eternal Life to come.
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Lk. 11:9-10)
Editor’s Note: Parishes interested in receiving a PDF of the novena prayer booklet may contact Father Wirth at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
