In view of tumultuous events in the United States just over the past two weeks, and the stunning vitriol they have generated from elites and media, it appears that we're past human help. To put it bluntly--It's time to pray for our country.
I'm an advocate of the Rosary, the Catholic devotion to the Blessed Mother. To clarify, prayers to Mary are not "worship." She was as human as you or I. The prayers of the Rosary are requests, basically asking the Mother of God to put in a good word for us with her Son. As the gospel story of the wedding at Cana tells us, when His Mother asks, the Lord listens. The story also shows that even if He is reluctant, He acts upon her request. (Think about it; she might be able to help us, if God has lost patience with us--which would be understandable.)
My mother was a lifelong devotee of the Rosary, and she instilled in me a reverent respect for this powerful prayer. Throughout my life, Mom often mentioned to me that she was "making a novena," which is a nine-day commitment to recite the full five decades of the Rosary each day. When I asked what she was praying for, she would reply "a special intention." Many years ago, she told me about the 54-Day Novena. Three sets of petition Rosaries, totaling 27 days, plus three sets of novenas in thanksgiving--whether you think your intention is granted or not. Mom told me she had relied upon this quite time-intensive novena many times. She wouldn't say exactly what prayers had been answered, only that the 54-Day Novena was "very effective."
So after a summer of riots and violence across the land, the threat of socialism creeping into our politics, and over six months of a deadly and disruptive pandemic, I decided to join thousands of American Catholics by starting the 54-Day Election Novena for the USA. It began on September 8, which on the Church calendar is celebrated as the Blessed Mother's birthday; tomorrow will be my 27th day of petition. On Monday, I'll switch to Rosaries in thanksgiving until November 1st--27 days from now, just two days before Election Day.
I'm a practicing Catholic, not a religious fanatic. However, I firmly believe in the power of prayer. The 54-Day Novena is keeping me calm in the roiling waters of our current national climate. When Justice Ginsburg died and the political battling started immediately, I was unruffled; there's a sense of confidence that it's part of the answer. When Amy Coney Barrett was put forward for the Supreme Court, I had the same calm reaction to the fierce firestorm of criticism. Now, with President Trump ill with COVID-19, I'm able to remain grounded in the peacefulness generated by a daily prayer that I have faith is being heard and will be answered.
I may not like or understand the answer when it finally arrives after Election Day. But I do believe that, whatever the final outcome may be, I'll be able to accept that the resolution will be what should happen. That's the power, and the peace, of prayer.
