in·ter·ces·sion

The Mirriam Dictionary definition:

Pronunciation:
\ˌin-tər-ˈse-shən\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin intercession-, intercessio, from intercedere
Date:
15th century

1 : the act of interceding 2 : prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of another

So what brings you to choose prayer over wringing your hands and whining "Woe is me?" Oh sure, I say grace before eating (at least once a day) and I say my morning prayers (usually in the car, sans radio as I drive to work.) Then a few days ago I got an email from a friend and she referred to her vacation break from school as an 'intercession'. Wait a minute, I thought. I've never heard that word used for a vacation, but I HAD heard it in church. You loose your wallet, pray to St. Jude. Suffering from writers block and you have that final paper to grind out? Turn to St. Francis de Sale, patron saint of authors and journalists, to intercede for you. So after checking out the definition I googled intercession and "WHOA!" It is a popular topic with pages upon pages of links. And I thought I could find a quick intercessory prayer petitioning for help to get us all out of this financial quagmire that is gripping not only us but Europe as well. So who is the patron saint of good finances?(I never thought you'd ask.)The Infant of Prague, who I hadn't thought of as a person. I considered it another culture's visual representation of Jesus. For a while I thought about writing my own intercession but that just looked way too challenging.So I opted for the ready made version. So this is my post of how a simple misspelling led me to prayer. The word my friend intended to use was: intersession. What a difference one letter can make...and what a difference one prayer can make.