As our group prepares to lace up our boots for the Camino de Santiago – the ancient pilgrimage route through northern Spain that ends at the Cathedral of Saint James – I am doing something I had not originally planned. I am asking.

Recently, I began sending out a request for prayer intentions so that we could carry them along with us on the way to Santiago. The invitation is simple: share a prayer, an intention, or the name of a someone you would like us to bring with us on the road. I’ve been struck by how many requests I’ve received and for so many. A significant number of them are for our children… those who are facing challenges and struggling, those who have drifted away from God and our Church, and those with whom loved ones are experiencing an unwanted distance.

We will pray for all of these intentions – and there’s still plenty of time left for you to add yours via the contact form here – but above all, this coming pilgrimage will be offered for all of our children – those close to us, those far from us, those thriving, and those who are struggling.

Again and again, the prayer at the heart of this invitation will be the same: our children. There will be prayers for health, work, healing, and many other needs. But the intention we will carry most deliberately (but far from exclusively) will be our shared prayer for every son and daughter. 

The Church has always understood that pilgrims do not walk only for themselves. For more than a thousand years, pilgrims on the Camino have carried the intentions of those who could not make the journey. When we walk, we will join that tradition: each step will become a prayer. Saint Paul captured this calling beautifully when he wrote: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2.

The intentions received thus far are for those who are struggling with addiction, mental health, broken relationships, or a drift from faith that quietly breaks a parent’s heart. Others are finding their way, building families, discerning vocations, or carrying burdens we may never fully see. We love them fiercely and may sometimes feel powerless to help. Yet God does not forget any of them, and God does not forget those who pray for them. The prophet Isaiah gave voice to this promise in words that have consoled families across the centuries: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” – Isaiah 49:15.

Jesus himself made the posture of the Church toward every child unmistakably clear. When the disciples tried to turn the children away, he stopped them: “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” – Matthew 19:14.

So many of us carry children in worry, hope, gratitude, and love that sometimes knows nothing else to do but pray. What if we carried all of our children together? Not in silence, but in community. Not alone, but side by side, lifting every name and every need to God as one voice. Something will be coming to ComposingCatholic this fall: a space, a gathering, built around one simple, urgent act: praying together for all of our children. Stay tuned.

Thank you for entrusting your children to this shared prayer. We will carry them with us.