By Prolife Leader Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life
Catholics affirm both the power of prayer and the duty we have to promote and defend the common good, as well as the relationship between the two. This year, of course, is proving to be a perfect opportunity to reaffirm this dimension of our faith as America reaches her 250th birthday.
The document adopted in 1776, the Declaration of Independence, is at the same time a declaration of dependence on God, whom it acknowledges and invokes four times as the source of natural and divine law, the giver of our rights, the Supreme Judge of the world, and the God whose Providential protects us throughout history.
The Declaration is fundamentally linked to the Constitution, which was finalized about a dozen years later. The former declares the principles on which our government is based, and the latter describes the mechanism by which it operates, with sovereignty residing in the people.
Our Founders made clear that what they laid out in these documents would only work for a moral and religious people. The reason is simple: if you have the power to govern yourselves, you have to know the right direction to go, if you want to avoid driving your nation and your families off a moral cliff.
With all our flaws, we have made it to 250 years. The average lifespan of a constitution is only about seventeen (17) years! There is no doubt that God’s hand is on the nation whose Founders relied on him so heavily and explicitly.
And that reliance, that recognition of God’s role, is explicit throughout the events of this semiquincentennial celebration. One of the first events to mark this year – one that we at Priests for Life organized as a member group of the America 250 Civics Education Coalition – was the National Prayer Service on the day of the annual March for Life in Washington.
And this month we arrive at two very significant celebrations of prayer for America.
First, Thursday May 7th is the 75th annual National Day of Prayer. National and local events will bring citizens from all denominations together to pray to God for the nation and for our families, for freedom and for the right to life. The theme this year is Glorify God Among the Nations – Seeking Him in all Generations.
Public and private prayer will rise up in homes, in Churches, on public property and on government property. Public officials, starting with our President, private citizens, adults and children, will lift up hearts and hands and voices to God.
Then, ten days later, on Sunday, May 17th, a once-in-a-lifetime event will occur on the National Mall in our nation’s capital. America will be rededicated to God, with a full day of prayer, testimony, music and speeches. It begins at 8am.
The official web page of Rededicate 250 invites us,
“Join with neighbors and friends from every state in the Union in giving thanks and praise to God for 250 years of His Providence for the United States, in praying that God Bless and Protect America for the next 250 years, and in solemnly rededicating our country as One Nation under God … remembering the people, sacrifices, and defining moments in which God has manifested Himself in our history.”
All of this, furthermore, is taking place at a time when legislative action, executive action, and Supreme Court decisions are all strengthening and affirming religious liberty. Over the last year I have attended most of the meetings of the Religious Liberty Commission, established by President Trump and tasked with creating a report with recommendations for further protecting and advancing this freedom.
Moreover, we are no longer living under the un-American judicial precedent set forth in the “Lemon” decision by which religious expression in the public square has been limited for decades out of fear of “excessive entanglement” of Church and state. Nor do clergy have to fear anymore that the government will punish them for preaching the Word of God as they see fit.
In short, “the separation of Church and state” is a myth, a lie, that has been used as a battering ram against the fundamental freedom that defines our nation. Sure, the Church and state have distinct roles, and we are not a theocracy. But religion is essential to the fabric of our nation, the duties we have to our Creator are not just private, but public, and Americans are protected by law to pray and share their faith freely and publicly, no matter who they are or for whom they work.
In these next ten days, therefore, from the May 7th National Day of Prayer to the May 17th Rededication of America, we invite all to take part in a novena of prayer for our nation at www.PrayerCampaign.org. individually, in families, in ministry organizations and in Churches, let’s join our voices together in an historic moment that can open the floodgates of grace as never before, for our freedom, for the right to life, and for the continued flourishing of the most exceptional nation on earth – one nation under God.
