“Penny a Prayer for Priests” is a simple program. You designate a jar to be your Pennies for Priests jar. Then, when you get a penny, you say a prayer for vocations or for a particular priest, deacon, or religious, and put the penny in the jar. You never put money in the jar without saying a prayer for each coin you deposit. The primary purpose of the program is vocation awareness, not fund raising. Putting the money in the jar is a reminder to pray for vocations. Seeing the amount of money in the jar increase serves as a visual tool to show how much you have prayed for vocations.
If you are a CCW member, before the annual DCCW convention, you send the DCCW treasurer a check for the amount of money in the jar. The money is given to the Bishop to assist in paying for seminarian education and support.
If you are participating in Penney a Prayer for Priests in your home, at the end of the time you designate-e.g., school year, special anniversary, a full jar- you use the money for something to do with vocations. The money can be sent to the Bishop for seminarians, to a mission, to do something special for a priest or religious. A classroom or a family with children may wish to invite a priest for ice cream. What you do with the money is up to you.
Remember, the primary purpose of the program is vocation awareness, not fund raising.
You can think of “nickels for nuns, dimes for deacons” if you want to save more than pennies.
Penny A Prayer Bottle Directions: