How to Pray for the US Election

How to Pray for the US Election

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It’s not only okay to vote and campaign based on your faith, it’s a duty. And this year’s presidential election lines up beautifully with the Church’s calendar, as we will see shortly. But first, this.

You’ve probably heard many Catholic bishops and priests say it’s inappropriate to mix religion and politics. But these bishops and priests are dead wrong. A cursory review shows that bishops who admonish Catholics not to talk about politics talk about politics themselves all the time. What these bishops mean to say is, “don’t talk about politics unless your politics is my politics.”

In other words, bishops and priests who tell you not to mix business and politics are actually using religion to suppress political views they oppose.

It’s possible that these bishops and priests don’t know what the Church teaches regarding Catholics' political duties. If they read this post, they’ll learn something.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then led by Cardinal Josef Ratzinger (now Pope Emeritus) instructed:

“The social doctrine of the Church is not an intrusion into the government of individual countries. It is a question of the lay Catholic’s duty to be morally coherent, found within one’s conscience, which is one and indivisible. There cannot be two parallel lives in their existence: on the one hand, the so-called ‘spiritual life,’ with its values and demands; and on the other, the so-called ‘secular’ life, that is, life in a family, at work, in social responsibilities, in the responsibilities of public life and in culture. The branch, engrafted to the vine, which is Christ, bears its fruit in every sphere of existence and activity.”

Catholics and all Christians should, indeed, carry their faith in the voting booth and into the public square. As a more open-minded Catholic bishop recently warned that faith should not be a consideration when voting; faith should be only consideration when voting.

Recently, a few courageous priests and bishops have made two things very clear:

  1. Catholics must vote primarily based on faith.
  2. Catholics cannot vote for a Democrat without committing mortal sin.

First, this outstanding video from Fr. James Altman of Wisconsin:

(Note: Bishop William Callahan of LaCrosse, WI, is threatening Fr. Altman with Canonical punishments for speaking the truth in a video. In case YouTube destroy’s this video at the bishop’s request, I’ve downloaded it and will host it myself if necessary.)

Next, Bishop Strickland of Tyler, Texas, strongly endorses Fr. Altman’s video:

Bishop Strickland writes:

As the Bishop of Tyler I endorse Fr Altman’s statement in this video. My shame is that it has taken me so long. Thank you Fr Altman for your COURAGE. If you love Jesus & His Church & this nation…pleases HEED THIS MESSAGE

Finally, Bishop Sticka of Nashville tweeted:

“It really confuses me that both Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi time and time again state that they are faithful Catholics and yet promote unlimited abortion as well as deny so many of the teachings of our faith. Nancy stated that she will no longer support the Hyde Amendment.”

“I guess they think it is OK to say they are faithful but yet support the ultimate child abuse and human rights violation of the death of the unborn,” he added. “I hope someday her portrait will be removed from the Capital as she did of those who supported slavery. No difference.”

“How can a person say they are a faithful Catholic and yet support those who support the ultimate child abuse and human rights violation of those yet born? Slavery was legal at one time and yet now we look at it with horror. A child yet born is not the property of another.”

So, it’s pretty clear that there are brave priests and bishops out there. Just get punished for speaking the truth. Or, as Eric Sammons recently put it:

Let us, then, sharply proclaim truth. But, more importantly, let us recognize that we can do nothing but err and sin without the grace of God. This means we are more or less powerless.

How do you win an election when you are powerless?

Simple.

  1. You make God the center of the election in your own life.
  2. You accept whatever happens as coming from God.

Accepting whatever happens as a gift from God requires God’s abundant graces and your openness to them. I can’t help much there.

On the first point, though, here’s what I’m thinking. Here’s how to bring God into the 2020 US election:

  1. Pray every day. For this prayer, at a minimum, pray Archbishop Viganó’s Prayer for the United States. And, if that’s too long, try his prayer for the novena for the US election below.
  2. Join the 54-Day Rosary for the Election sponsored by LifeSiteNews.com and approved by Archbishop Viganó.
  3. Read 2 Maccabees. It’s not in Protestant bibles, but it is available online here.
  4. Pray a simple deliverance prayer that asks the heavenly hosts to dispel demons. (Do not attempt to order demons around. You don’t have legal authority to do so unless the demons are affecting yourself, your spouse, your children, or your home and possessions. It’s best to leave this to priests who know demononology.) If you don’t know such a prayer, I’ve added one at the end of this post.

That’s it. Yes, you can vent your spleen on Twitter and share stories about Joe Biden’s mental decline on Facebook. Just remember that we are powerless. If social media and Fox News interferes with your prayer life, cut them off and cast them away, for it’s better to go into election night knowing someone was wrong on Twitter than to go to hell having giving that errant so-and-so a piece of your mind.

Finally, thanks to a faithful reader, here’s how the 2020 election lines up with the liturgical calendar.

Use these dates and feasts to pray specifically for the intercessions of the angels and saints for these days, especially the Rosary on the anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto, October 7.

Presidential Debates #

Vice-Presidential Debate #

Election Day #

  • November 3: Five Saints Day
    • Saint Martin de Porres
    • Saint Malachy O’More
    • Saint Sylvia
    • Saint Winifred
    • Saint Hubert

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Crush the plans of the enemy under thy heel. Obtain from your divine Son an election according to His holy will. Amen

Archbishop Viganó’s Prayer for US Election #

Let us pray for the United States of America; let us pray for our President; let us pray for his victory, that the Lord God of Hosts – Dominus Deus Sabaoth –will grant that he may know how to place himself under God’s protection and may desire to make himself the knight who fights for the just and the defender of the oppressed. Let us pray that the snares that the invisible Enemy plots in the shadows may come into the light, and that those who want to promote vice and sin, and rebellion against the Commandments of God and the very laws of nature, may be defeated. Let us pray with the faith of children who run gementes et flentes to their Queen, so that she may intercede for us with her Divine Son and obtain for us the grace to see the beloved American nation protected as well as the whole world, our families defended, and our adversaries defeated. Then we too will be able to write: Not valor, not the power of the media, not economic resources, but Our Lady of the Holy Rosary made us victors. So may it be.

  • Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop

Archbishop Viganó’s Introduction to the 54-Day Novena #

Anyone who believes he can merit the glory of Paradise by living a mediocre life knows he is on the wrong track: Regnum caelorum vim patitur et violenti rapiunt illud [The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force](Mt 11:12). In these strong words of the Gospel we understand that only the violent can in some way conquer the Justice of God and obtain its reward thanks to His infinite Mercy. A violence, a force, that is certainly not that of the world but that consists above all in recognizing our own unworthiness – as mortal creatures before the Uncreated and Eternal Being, and as sinners before the Holy of Holies – and also the Omnipotence of God, who deigned to redeem us by the Passion and Death of His Divine Son. I would also say that the first act of this sublime violence to conquer the Kingdom of God was accomplished by Our Lord, who in the eternity of time wanted to restore the Fall of Adam by offering himself to the Father to redeem us from sin and death: Tunc dixi: Ecce venio. In capite libri scriptum est de me, ut faciam Deusvoluntatem tuam [Then I said: Behold, I come. In the scroll of the book it is written of me, that I should do your will, O God](Ps 39:8-10). Similarly, Our Lady also responds to the Archangel Gabriel: Ecce ancilla Domini: fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum [Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to your word](Lk 1: 38).

This is the violencethat shakes the gates of Heaven: the power of humility and sacrifice, following the example of Christ and His Most Holy Mother. She, the Mediatrix of all graces, knew how to obtain from the Mercy of God that which His Justice would have refused. And it is to Her, Our Advocate, that we raise our fervent prayer, certain of being heard: Memorare, o piissima Virgo Maria, non esse auditum a saeculo quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragiaesse derelictum [Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided.]

In the recitation of the Rosary we invoke the Most Blessed Virgin with three very simple prayers, so easy that even a child can recite them: the Pater noster, the Ave Maria and the Gloria Patri. And while we repeat these prayers we meditate on the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries, concentrating our mind on the sweet words that our lips pronounce. All of Catholic doctrine is contained in these three prayers; all of Marian doctrine is proclaimed in the Ave Maria. And at these words, which rise to the glorious throne on which Our Mother sits as Queen, the entire Heavenly Court is moved, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is touched with compassion, and the arm of Divine Justice is stopped.

Let us therefore have recourse to the recitation of the Holy Rosary, dear brothers and sisters, in this moment of tribulation and of total crisis. Let us also make violence in heaven, by means of the infallible weapon of prayer that the Most Blessed Virgin taught Saint Dominic and that over the centuries has obtained the conversion of sinners, the salvation of the nations, and the defeat of the Enemy.

Saint Pius V ordered the faithful to recite the Rosary to impetrate victory from God in the epic battle of the Christian Armada against the Turk in the waters of Lepanto: still today, at noon each day, the bells ring in our cities to recall October 7, 1571. The Senate of the Republic of Venice wanted to honor the Queen of Victories by having these words engraved on the Doges’ Palace: Not valor, not arms, not leaders, but Our Lady of the Holy Rosary made us victors. We too, who fight an even more bloody battle without a deployed army against an even more terrible enemy, ought to have recourse to the Rosary, with the same faith that strengthened the arm of the valiant leaders of Lepanto.

Deliverance Prayer: Lorica of St. Patrick #

I bind to myself today the strong virtue of an Invocation of the Trinity: I believe the Trinity in the Unity the Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today the virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
the virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
the virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
the virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today the virtue of the love of seraphim,
in the obedience of angels,
in the hope of resurrection unto reward,
in prayers of Patriarchs,
in predictions of Prophets,
in preaching of Apostles,
in faith of Confessors,
in purity of holy Virgins,
in deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today the power of Heaven,
the light of the sun,
the brightness of the moon,
the splendour of fire,
the flashing of lightning,
the swiftness of wind,
the depth of sea,
the stability of earth,
the compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God’s Power to guide me,
God’s Might to uphold me,
God’s Wisdom to teach me,
God’s Eye to watch over me,
God’s Ear to hear me,
God’s Word to give me speech,
God’s Hand to guide me,
God’s Way to lie before me,
God’s Shield to shelter me,
God’s Host to secure me,
against the snares of demons,
against the seductions of vices,
against the lusts of nature,
against everyone who intends injury to me,
whether far or near,
whether few or many.

I invoke today all these virtues against every hostile merciless power that may assail my body and my soul:
against the incantations of false prophets,
against the black laws of heathenism,
against the false laws of heresy,
against the deceits of idolatry,
against the spells of witches, and smiths, and druids,
against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today against every poison,
against burning,
against drowning,
against mortal wounding,
that I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ within me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ at my right,
Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the ship,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today the strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity. I believe the Trinity in the Unity, the Creator of the Universe.

Amen.

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