To the Band of Brothers: 
Help Him Build a Treehouse
 

10/2/2026
Fr. Willie, S.J. ’87 | President

Almost daily, people walk up and ask me to pray for one thing or another. Standing at the entrance of the school, as I greet the students, one of them will stop and ask me to pray for their grandfather in the hospital, their father interviewing for a new job, or for them because they’re taking a math test that day. And while I don’t know how much prayer can possibly help anyone with math, I make it a point to pause at that very moment and quietly say a prayer internally. The older I get, the more I forget things, so stopping at that moment for the prayer assures the request is fulfilled.

But why? Why ask me, or anyone else for that matter, for a prayer you can easily say yourself? Is it possible the more people come together and petition God for something, the more likely He is to listen? Is putting together a prayer gang more likely to persuade God to get someone’s grandfather out of the hospital, land their father the job, or pass the math exam? Is it true there is strength in numbers, even in the spiritual realm? Maybe.

All that being said, I can tell you, God, in His infinite wisdom and unconditional love for mankind, opens the door for so many combinations of prayer to flood the world with grace. When a student approaches me and asks me to pray for one thing or another, I immediately realize he has been recruited by God to take an active part in channeling grace for that intention. God empowers us to take an active part in His plan of distributing grace and, eventually, redemption.

Look at it this way. After months of asking, when a father finally concedes to build his son a treehouse in the backyard, he sits at the kitchen table and designs it on a napkin. Then, he goes to Home Depot and buys all the necessary supplies. He lays everything out on the ground and gets to work. Realizing the great opportunity to bond with his son and not simply leave him reduced to being an inactive observer, he lets him sand a few planks of wood, drill a few screws, and hammer some nails. Could the father have built the treehouse on his own? Absolutely. Would the project have been completed quicker? More than likely. But the wise father knew that recruiting his son and making him an active participant would be empowering and could even deepen their father-son relationship.

Like the father with the treehouse, God doesn’t need us. He doesn’t need our prayers, doesn’t need our intercession, doesn’t need our novenas or rosaries. God, on His own, can address the world’s needs. But because He wisely chooses to include us in His various “projects,” because He chooses to recruit us, our prayers, intercessions, novenas, and rosaries not only channel His grace towards the intention, but empower us and deepen our Father-son or Father-daughter relationship.

Take for granted: every time someone asks you to pray for them or for someone else, understand God is sending them to you to recruit you for a project. God is inviting you, at that very moment, to help Him build a treehouse. So, pick up your sanders, drills and your hammers and get to work.

Auspice Maria