Now is the time for us to pray more than ever

In light of the recent election results, I write to say that now is the time for us to pray, more than ever. I know there are many people unhappy with the election results, especially many Catholics and Christians of all denominations. Many are scared because it is obvious that President-elect Barack Obama does not support the dignity of life, and he has in many ways expressed himself as leaning towards an almost socialist state. But in reality, we do not know if this is true or not. I had a discussion about this with my chaplain just before the election. His thoughts were that because of our governmental checks and balances, Obama will, in many ways, have to conform towards the middle ground.

So now, it is our duty to continue to express our beliefs in the dignity of all human life, our beliefs for a stronger economy, our beliefs for an end to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we must do it in a civilized manner, and we must do it most importantly through our prayers. We must pray for our nation, for all the people affected by this election, and especially for President-elect Obama to receive wisdom in all he does as the leader of our nation.

We have two great examples to follow:

Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram to Obama after the election, encouraging him to "build a world of peace, solidarity and justice."
The US Bishops also wrote a letter, ensuring the president-elect of their prayers, stating, "Our country is confronting many uncertainties. We pray that you will use the powers of your office to meet them with a special concern to defend the most vulnerable among us and heal the divisions in our country and our world. We stand ready to work with you in defense and support of the life and dignity of every human person."

We need to unite ourselves in prayer, as the Pope and Bishops have already done.

I do not know where our new Commander-in-Chief will take us in the coming years, but I made an oath of loyalty to this great nation and to support our efforts, and I plan to keep it in the coming years. I just have to pray that he is guided by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.