On November 11, 2018, Kristine Bruce read this in the Magnificat from the Diary of St. Faustina:
“My daughter, I want to instruct you on how you are to rescue souls through sacrifice and prayer. You will save more souls through prayer and suffering than will a missionary through his teachings and sermons alone. I want to see you as a sacrifice of living love, which only then carries weight before me.”
“Jesus, had me at ‘how you are to rescue souls,’” Bruce shared with Aleteia. This desire to "rescue" had been on her heart, as her siblings, and then her oldest child, left the Catholic Church. Over time, she “got really serious” about reading books and asking other Catholics for ways “to get them back.”
With that nudge through the St. Faustina quote, from Divine Mercy in My Soul, The Diary of Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament, a new ministry was born: “Praying for our Prodigals” (PFOP).
Bruce heard Jesus’ words to St. Faustina: “sacrifice and prayer.” Although the words felt familiar to her, “it was at that time and space that it hit me like a ton of bricks.”
She prayed with the saint’s diary passage for a few months. “I thought surely there was already someone providing support and help for Catholic moms carrying this cross.”
But when Bruce researched, she didn’t find anything. Then with the help of her best friend, her spiritual director, and a priest, they came up with the idea of “Praying For Our Prodigals” — and she gives the Holy Spirit most of the credit.
PFOP came from an interior shift Bruce experienced. “Instead of trying to convince them, I began to focus on prayer, fasting, and surrender. I would do the praying, and I let God do the converting."
“Over time, I began to see real fruit, both in my own family and in the lives of other parents walking this same road. Many are witnessing meaningful movements back toward the Church after years of distance," she said.
Bruce believes her message resonates with many parents who are quietly carrying the suffering of seeing a child leave the Church, and wondering if their prayers are making any difference.
The format of the ministry is simple: One weekly email and one group rosary per week. Bruce says although there have been minor tweaks, it’s basically been the same since 2018.
4 Pillars of praying for prodigals
Trust. Pray. Sacrifice. Love.
Over the years Bruce has read “many, many books -- always on the lookout for tips on how to rescue souls.” The “four pillars” are the fruit of her reading, reflection, and prayer.
Summarizing the explanation that new subscribers receive by email, Bruce expounded:
Trust: The Divine Mercy Image, “Jesus, I trust in You” prayer, and Surrender Novena are great places to start.
Pray: “I highly recommend the Rosary daily.”
Sacrifice: Kristine encourages fasting on Fridays -- "do what you can" -- as well as a "daily sacrifice of something that’s challenging, but doable” based on the Biblical principle of prayer and fasting.
Love: “Love God. And love your child where they are, no matter how far away they are. No one is far from God. He loves them regardless of whatever they are doing,” this praying mother advises with conviction.
Tips without nagging
Bruce encourages sharing personal experiences as "nobody can debate your story." As part of PFOP, she recommends against debating and nagging loved ones, especially close relatives. Her “best practices” are the four tips listed above.
“However, if you feel the Holy Spirit nudging you to do so,” Bruce proceeds with the following three steps:
- Pray to the Holy Spirit and your Guardian Angels for guidance.
- Speak about your own experience including answered prayers -- things that cannot be debated and God-incidences.
- Ask why they left and then listen. Listen, and listen some more. Do not correct them, simply listen.
The apostolate is free of charge although donations are accepted for administrative costs. Bruce asks that anyone struggling financially not donate. “This apostolate is here to uplift you, not add to your burdens.” The generous donations they do receive have allowed PFOP to continue as a free offering.
To those who want to support their mission in non-financial ways, Bruce welcomes prayer, spreading the word about their work, volunteering skills (like writing, social media, and design), and sharing feedback for improvements.
She has also prepared a list of “Top 8 Recommended Books” that she returns to again and again.
PFOP success stories
“There have been so many,” Kristine admitted, “I actually no longer keep a list.” She commented that they’re all “very similar … Someone prays and sacrifices for someone else’s conversion and the person returns!”
She then acknowledged there are, of course, differences in each one because God speaks to each one individually and leads them in ways that are very personal and unique to them.
“He knows how best to bring them back to Himself. Thanks be to God!”
Kristine gives God “all glory” for the return of both her adult children to the faith and added that there have been many others.
She shared the story of one of her own son’s co-workers who returned to the Church and brought his wife along.
My son met a new co-worker. During water breaks and such, he and the new employee talked about a wide variety of topics. As the Holy Spirit would have it, the topic of Jesus and the Church came up. My son casually mentioned he is Catholic.
The new employee admitted being Catholic also, however, he only attended mass on Christmas and Easter. He continued by saying, "Once I get my life back in order, I'm going to start going to mass every Sunday."
My son kindly replied, "Most people find it works better doing it the other way. They go back to mass every Sunday, and their life gets back in order."
He didn't think much of the conversation until the employee came back a few days later. He admitted the comment made sense, and he was planning to attend Sunday mass!
My son and his wife became the confirmation sponsors and godparents for this couple.
Other stories include:
- A co-worker of Kristine’s husband who got married in the Church only to appease the parents. They have now been married several years, go to Mass willingly and have had their babies baptized.
- One PFOP participant’s adult children was not serious about faith and had delayed getting their baby baptized. They've now come back to the Church, are involved in their parish, and now have two children baptized.
- A sibling whose life was in total chaos came back to the Church and is now seeking the medical help he needs.
Bruce added that sometimes "smaller steps" come first, such as a person at least attending Christmas Mass, after several years of not going.
Bruce shared testimonies from emails she's received:
- “One positive has been that one of the people we’ve been praying for has agreed to go into rehab this Saturday. Alcohol has been his 'god' and I am praying this is a step back to the one true God.”
- “Last week the holy relic/arm of St. Jude the Apostle was here on display at St. Jude Catholic Church on the south side of [xxx]. I did go over to venerate it. I touched the plexiglass and felt a tiny 'bolt' go through me. I didn't think just too much of it. I stayed for Mass, went out to eat, slept as normal, and did my usual practices in the a.m. After my morning prayers I got on the internet as I always do. Lo and behold the last email of the day was from my daughter whom I haven't seen in over 13 years."
- “The small act I saw last week was my birthday present from the son that we have been praying for. My birthday is one day before his. He gifted me some fuzzy socks that said on the bottom. 'I’m not sleeping, I’m praying.' It filled my heart with hope knowing God is at least showing him something through my action of praying… Why would he want to buy me those if he didn’t know how important prayer and God are to me?”
When all it takes to draw closer to God is one step, for Bruce, even these small steps are immeasurable gifts of grace — for both the one praying and the ones prayed for.
