This week you are going to be inundated with all things election, if it’s not pre-election news it will be an analysis of the results as they return, and then a series of reports as to who was elected and what they’ll do in the next four years. And if that wasn’t enough we still have other news – an east coast still recovering from a crippling hurricane, tensions running high in other countries, and a stressed economy. It’s so easy to get caught up in the numbers, the statistics and the last minute push by the presidential candidates seeking out every last voter but we have to remember what truly is at stake.
Matthew Kelly wrote in his book, Rediscover Catholicism, that “The Church (like so many other things in life) is not so much something we inherit from generations past or take over from our predecessors as it is something on loan to us from future generations.”
The Truth doesn’t change. It never has and it never will. We are a people with a God who sent us his one and only Son to suffer, die and rise again so that we may have life, hope, and know the Truth. We are called to protect our country, our freedoms and our faith so that the generations to come can freely practice their faith without fear of persecution.
It’s not supposed to be easy. Imagine life without the hope and promise of the Lord’s unconditional love – we are already so blessed to be in this country, to be a part of a democratic process to elect our leaders. Some don’t even have that much.
In June, the USCCB issued a “Prayer for the Protection of Liberty” to encourage Catholics to pray for those who lead our country that they may protect our religious freedom. As the last minute ads are aired, the last speeches prepped and the voters prepare to cast their ballot, we have the opportunity to help elect those that will help protect our religious freedoms.
We, as faithful Catholics, will continue to pray. We will watch, like everyone else, on Tuesday as the votes are counted and the leader for the next four years is chosen. No matter the outcome, we will continue to pray and share the Truth with the world.
The Prayer for the Protection of Liberty.
O God our Creator, from your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty. Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome—for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—this great land will always be “one nation, under God,indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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