Today is the United States National Day of Prayer.
This is not a recent inroad of either the "vast right wing conspiracy" or the "religious right." As Janet Parshall notes in today's "Beyond the News" commentary:
The first Continental Congress called for a National Day of Prayer in 1775. President Lincoln called for the same in 1863. And, in 1952, Congress established a day of prayer as an annual event. President Truman signed the resolution into law.
President Bush's proclamation on this occasion calls upon Americans to pray "each according to his or her own faith." My readers know that I'm a Roman Catholic, but they may not know who is designated as our nation's patron saint, chosen by the Catholic bishops at the First Council of Baltimore in 1846.
She is the "Immaculate Conception"--one of the many reverential titles bestowed upon Mary, the Mother of God.
The United States is under the Blessed Mother's special care and protection, and the month of May has traditionally been one of devotion to her. On this National Day of Prayer, that should be worth an extra Hail Mary or two for every American Catholic.
