Don’t tell them about FDR’s D-Day Prayer or they would die of shock:
My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.
And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:
Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.
Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.
They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.
They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.
For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.
Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.
And for us at home – fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas – whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them – help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.
Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.
Give us strength, too – strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.
And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.
And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.
With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.
Thy will be done, Almighty God.
Amen.
Every public servant from the President to the road crew are ordinary citizens first, who institute our government and have every civil right endowed by “their Creator” (Declaration).
Because they are sovereign citizens, no small thing, our government personnel, through their civil rights enumerated in the First Amendment of the Constitution for the United States of America, are entitled to practice their freedom, their peaceable assembly and free association.
Faith is a gift from God. Religion is an intimate and private relationship with God through Faith that may be freely shared to the common good of the citizens and all people.
To deny this denies the free will choice of every sovereign person to accept or refuse the good will of other individuals.
It is to the betterment of all people to accept the good will offering of other sovereign persons to come to know, to love and to serve (their Creator) of our Founding Principles “to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our (Constitutional) Posterity” The Preamble to our Constitution, the very purpose of the Constitution’s existence.
Common denominator of most leftists Is that they hate God. Praying to Satan on the capital steps ? They’re good with that !
She works for CNN. She appears to be about 30 years old and a graduate of Texas Tech in Lubbock.
As a Navy man (and priest!), I’m happy to see that illustration of the Chaplain pennant, the only flag that may fly above the national ensign (US flag), and that only when a Chaplain is on board and conducting divine services. I’ve been on many ships, and most of the time it was something of a struggle to get the quartermaster to hoist the Chaplain pennant–but it was worth it!
I wonder if they could argue that was all before the famous 1948 Supreme Court Case (I believe 1948), that I hear tell is what changed our understanding of the religious clause of the First Amendment.
Dave G:
Are you thinking of Everson (1946)?
Tom, possibly. I’m not Constitutional lawyer, but I’ve heard discussions over the years and a case in the last 40s (possibly more than one?) has been brought up as to why we went from religious liberty focus to keep your religion out of our state focus.
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Father J, were you ever a chaplain on a submarine? We all swore a lot, but we all believed in God and prayed often (mainly because breathing seawater was an unappealing alternative).