Prayer for Religious Liberty in America

           God Our Father, 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 duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ. Through the power and working of the Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and 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.  

1.)Today, what does it mean for the United States of America to be "under God?" Under His judgment? His blessing? His guidance? Could we possibly delude ourselves any longer into thinking that it means He is "on our side" and that our "democracy" is divinely inspired and sustained? 

2.) Do the moral principles that originally formed the substructure of our American democratic system at its founding have any traction in today's Culture? 

3.) Is our country devolving into a form of totalitarianism? Is the State attempting to absorb the role of the Church in society? 

Dialogue on the HHS Mandate

SR:  Signore Machiavelli, I am intrigued by your admiration of President Obama. What is it about him that interests you most?

 M: His use of words, the way he takes words and reinterprets them so as to give them new meaning. His evolving use of words is creative and entertaining, no? 

S:  Perhaps, but what he does with words is also dangerous. 

M: Ah! You refer to the way he neutralizes the Church by recasting freedom of religion as freedom of worship!  What a clever way to render his opposition harmless! 

SR: Since we are talking about words, I don’t think the word clever is fitting in the case. I think the term deceitful or diabolical would be more accurate. 

M: But the man is a politician.  This is what politicians do. They play with words to gain and keep power.  Words are their weapons as much as guns and bombs. All is fair in war and love, and politics!

SR: Seriously, what do you think of his attempt to recast freedom of religion into freedom of worship?

 M: A very smart move.  Give the man credit for seeing a great opportunity and taking advantage of it.  It is his chance to win the Culture War in one big battle.

 SR: What about the other battles the Church and Obama are fighting over, such as Same-sex marriages, abortion, stem cell research, genetic engineering, contraception, and nanotechnology?

 M: All those other battles become simple mop-up operations, because  the Church will have lost her effectiveness in the marketplace, or what you today call The Public Square.

SR: What if Obama does not win his court case on the HHS Mandate? What if the courts rule in the Church’s favor and support freedom of religion?

M: Obama loses nothing. A little set-back is what he suffers, nothing more.

SR: Why do you say that?

M: First of all, most people do not realize the HHS Mandate is about freedom of religion. They think the issue is who will pay for reproductive health services. And they think Obama has wisely provided the solution by saying the Insurance companies will pay.

SR:  You said “First of all”. Did you have something else to add?

 M: Of course, of course. Secondly, many Christians and Catholics would love to see Obama win HHS battle in the courts, because he already has won their minds and hearts. They have no problem if their practice of religion is limited to the confines of a church building. 

SR: So Obama has them even if the courts rule against him?

M:  Of course! They do not want to be the “light of the world”, or “the salt of the earth”, or the “yeast in the bread”, to use your Biblical metaphors.  They want to enjoy the comforts of religion without its challenges.  It is what they already are doing. It is the civilized, tolerant way to behave instead of disturbing people with faith belief. 

SR: But the Church is supposed to evangelize the culture, and witness to Christ in the world. 

M: Perhaps in other countries, where people have nothing to lose.  But in the United States people are usually too comfortable to evangelize. The Culture has already evangelized them.  You should not blame Obama for taking advantage of the situation.