The Elijah Cup, a consecrated Chalice, serves as a focal point of prayer for vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and religious life. Our Church strongly encourages us to sustain this need for prayer for vocations. We invite families to volunteer to take the Elijah Cup and pray together throughout the week. We truly appreciate your enthusiastic response to our invitation.
Parishioners who sign up to participate are presented at the end of Mass with “The Elijah Cup,” a chalice used at that Mass. We encourage you to place the Elijah Cup in a prominent place and say a short prayer when you pass by, or say formal prayers together with your family. There are prayers in the case to assist. The chalice is kept in your homes for the week while you pray for vocations. What a blessing for you and your families!
To sign up for the Elijah Cup, please use the Online sign-up sheet attached to this page for the Mass you want to sign up for. Please return the chalice by 2:00 pm on the following Friday. If you have a last-minute schedule change, please return to update the sheet.
Serra Atlanta, a Catholic organization that fosters vocations, explains: “The purpose of the Elijah Cup, a consecrated chalice, is to provide a focal point for prayer. We are all aware of the need for vocations to the priesthood, the diaconate, and to religious life. But sometimes we forget just how powerful praying for an increase in vocations can be. If we pray with the faith of the widow of Zarapeth, our cup will never run dry! We will always have priests to bring us Jesus in the Eucharist.
In 1 Kings 17, during a drought, Elijah tells the poor widow of Zarapeth that if she makes him a small loaf of bread with the last of her flour and oil, her ‘jar of flour will not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry until the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ In faith, the widow baked the bread and fed Elijah. For the next year, the widow, her son, and Elijah ate bread made from a bowl of flour and a jug of oil.
The 2nd Vatican Council instructs us that it is the job of the laity to pray and raise up vocations, and Pope John Paul II has echoed this in many of his teachings.
Option: In an effort to promote this ministry, please send us a picture of you/ or your family with this Sacred Cup with a short reflection on your experience, for our bulletin/website.