Prayer for Religious 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."
"They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for whatever overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved." 2 Peter 2:19
"O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But, do not remember all of the suffering they have inflicted upon us; Instead remember the fruits we have borne because of this suffering--our fellowship, our loyalty to one another, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble. When our persecutors come to be judged by You, let all of these fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.
Amen"
(Prayer found written on a scrap of paper in the coat of a dead girl at Ravensbruck concentration camp.)
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| St. Maximillian Kolbe |
St. Maximilian Kolbe established The Knights of the Immaculata, a Franciscan community of 800 men. Imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz, he offered himself in place of a condemned prisoner, suffering two weeks of Torture, thirst, and starvation before dying.
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| James Monroe by Rembrandt Peale |
5th President of the United States
"When we view the blessings with which our country has been favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means which we posess of handing them down unimpaired to our latest posterity, our attention is irresistibly drawn to the source from whence they flow. Let us then, unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgments for these blessings to the Divine Author of All Good."
From: Fortnight of Freedom: Our Most Cherished Liberty. June 21-July 4. Thanks to St. Peter's Fellowship, Oklahoma City, 2012.
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