Picture of St. Rochus Wailing Wall      At the Wailing Wall (the western wall of the Old Temple) in Jerusalem, generations have prayed and cried out their need before God.  Indeed, to this day, little pieces of paper with prayers and petitions are rolled up and inserted in the broken mortar between the bricks of the wall.
 
    Our own Wailing Wall at St. Rochus serves the same purpose.  It is here in order that you might place your own needs and petitions, so that all who pause here may see, be moved, and pray.  You can also remove a petition from the Wall, keep it for a week and pray for the writer whose heart is broken.  Then you can initial it and put it back again so that the person who put it there originally, may know that he or she is not alone; that someone cared enough to pray with and for them.
 Picture of two petitions placed in the wall.
 
A close up of the bird nest.     The St. Rochus Wailing Wall stands here as a small shrine, a special place in our own church where we are present with deep devotion and piety, and raise our hearts and minds to God with longing, tears, and confidence.