Okay, you Americans - here is the prayer the USCCB has provided you to battle the criminal and his confreres that now control your White House:
(1) Why wasn't the intercession of the Blessed Virgin included in the prayer? Ah, yes, it's the USCCB. My hunch is that had the Blessed Mother been included, the prayer would have had that much more efficacy (this is said without diminishing Christ's absolute Kingship, omnipotence of God, etc.). Jesus cannot say "No" to requests made by His Holy Mother. Yes? If it truly is a "decisive hour in the history of our nation", how can Catholics be so naive as to not include a petition to Our Lady. Lepanto anyone?
(2) In the prayer there's a hint - too much of one, of what might be called the deistic-political. That is, the prayer starts off with: "O God our Creator". Is that not too loud of an echo of your Declaration of Independence: "Nature's God...all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights"? Why not start off with: "Praise be to Jesus Christ, Lord of History, Redeemer of Humanity..." or something to that effect? Make it a really Catholic prayer. Too over-the-top? Too embarrassingly straightforward for the bishops? They'd rather speak about "religious freedom" rather than getting to the guts of your dilemma, i.e. Catholic morality?
Too much John Locke, America.
He is your country's precarious linchpin.
The tabula rasa haunts you and will continue to do so unless you resolve the issue.
Knowledge gleaned only through perception and experience. Un uhhhh...
No revelation from without?
"Separation of Church and State", you say?
What, then, is the nature of that "separation"?
Separated or separable?
There is a distinction, you know.
Distinction, distinction!
Haecceitas... calling Duns Scotus.
But, then, I'm a Catholic monarchist who believes that a nation must confess itself to Christ the King and His Social Reign. But, then again, I'm just a Canadian who likes Rush, back bacon and hockey. So, what do I know?
Please fire away in the com boxes if you so desire. Neo-Cats especially welcome.
H/T My Big Fat Catholic Blog for prompting this post.
Prayer for the Protection of Religious LibertyCritical questions/comments on the prayer and associated matters from someone viewing the affair from afar, north of your border:
O God our Creator,
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.
(1) Why wasn't the intercession of the Blessed Virgin included in the prayer? Ah, yes, it's the USCCB. My hunch is that had the Blessed Mother been included, the prayer would have had that much more efficacy (this is said without diminishing Christ's absolute Kingship, omnipotence of God, etc.). Jesus cannot say "No" to requests made by His Holy Mother. Yes? If it truly is a "decisive hour in the history of our nation", how can Catholics be so naive as to not include a petition to Our Lady. Lepanto anyone?
(2) In the prayer there's a hint - too much of one, of what might be called the deistic-political. That is, the prayer starts off with: "O God our Creator". Is that not too loud of an echo of your Declaration of Independence: "Nature's God...all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights"? Why not start off with: "Praise be to Jesus Christ, Lord of History, Redeemer of Humanity..." or something to that effect? Make it a really Catholic prayer. Too over-the-top? Too embarrassingly straightforward for the bishops? They'd rather speak about "religious freedom" rather than getting to the guts of your dilemma, i.e. Catholic morality?
Too much John Locke, America.
He is your country's precarious linchpin.
The tabula rasa haunts you and will continue to do so unless you resolve the issue.
Knowledge gleaned only through perception and experience. Un uhhhh...
No revelation from without?
"Separation of Church and State", you say?
What, then, is the nature of that "separation"?
Separated or separable?
There is a distinction, you know.
Distinction, distinction!
Haecceitas... calling Duns Scotus.
But, then, I'm a Catholic monarchist who believes that a nation must confess itself to Christ the King and His Social Reign. But, then again, I'm just a Canadian who likes Rush, back bacon and hockey. So, what do I know? Please fire away in the com boxes if you so desire. Neo-Cats especially welcome.
H/T My Big Fat Catholic Blog for prompting this post.
6 comments:
Thank you for an excellent analysis, and we do appreciate our neighbors to the North who are standing on guard for us, and praying to Our Lady of Victory for us, as we do for you. On this day on which the Gospel in the OF is the most frightening proclamation of Our Lord, to me, we see the challenge Our Lord lays down for us. The easy road is probably not leading in the right direction.
The Constitution says that Congress shall not abridge the free exercise of religion. Interestingly, there are certain religions which already conform to this mandate: the M religions. Rather interesting that the one presidential candidate is purportedly soft on the one religion, and the other is a self-identified member of the other. I haven't seen anyone critique this interesting fact: that the mandate is written to suit these religions. Now, I am not saying that any particular person sat down to do this, but if indeed the "spirit of the world" is orchestrating the workings of the world, it would appear to my simple mind, that he has pulled one off here, since the administration can point to certain religious organizations and say to the Catlicks, "What's your problem? THEY don't have a problem with it". I'm also not saying that all ostensible adherents to those religions are bad, since separating oneself from either of those religions can be dicey. Of course, along with giving the assent of mind and will to the Gospel, and participating in the True worship, Catholics are to love others, and that means all people, ergo, the schools, hospitals, soup kitchens etc, etc.
I'm happy to support those lawsuits against this mandate, because I believe it is unconstitutional based on the free exercise clause. St. Brother Andre, pray for us! Go Habs! St. Jose Maria Escriva, pray for us.
When I read text like "bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society" I wonder if this is really how we address our God. "Every corner of society"? Really? I ask the USCCB, Who are you talking to?
http://youtu.be/BhIIPbO_6xg
Ya know...I thought the prayer sounded anemic and watered down, like most things that have emanated from the bishops over recent decades. Nevertheless, I posted it on my blog, because I think it's important that we Catholics unite with our bishops when they uphold the Faith.
Nevertheless, I can't disagree with your analysis -- especially the part about the non-invocation of Mary. You are absolutely right. Mary is the Queen of Victories and Exterminatrix of Heresies, and we need to invoke her under those titles. I have always thought it stupid to pray merely for the strength to go on fighting when what we should be praying for is total, overwhelming victory and the crushing, humiliating defeat of God's enemies. (That, by the way, was the intention for which we offered our votive Missa Cantata of St. Thomas More last week. You should have heard the horrific windstorm that started during Mass.)
Michelangelo, Mary, Anita - Thanks all for your insightful responses. Can't help but think that, after yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, it's the beginning of the end for the U.S.A. Dark times ahead.
Think this is bad, the "Litany for Liberty" leaves even more to be desired.
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/upload/Litany-for-Liberty-2.pdf
Agree that Mary should have been included in this prayer. They do have a prayer card that includes Mary as our Patroness.
As much as I love the Declaration of Independence, it is too Lockean. In reality, governments do not derive their just powers "from the consent of the governed" but from divine mandate.
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