Praise God for Freedom

Thank you, dear God, for the freedoms we enjoy living in the United States. Our hard-won freedoms were achieved with great sacrifice and determination, and we owe much to those on whose shoulders we stand. With freedoms such as we have there comes responsibility. With freedoms that we enjoy, there is a price. Many paid that price for us and suffered greatly—still, many were not afforded that freedom and suffered more. Most unfortunately, many suffer still today.

To whom much is given; much is expected. Luke 12:48 is clear: "Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more." Our work on the planet is never done. Our work is to make good all that has been wrong, to bring justice to all who have suffered, and to shed light into the dark corners where those who are lonely, forgotten, alienated and shamed can be made to feel a part of the work and do the same for others. There is no political message here; the opposite is true.

This is a universal prayer of thanksgiving to God for the many gifts we have been afforded, the most beautiful being the gift of life. This is also a prayer of petition that God inspires us to do the right thing and take responsibility for our freedoms, and to learn how we can be better at taking care of ourselves, our family, friends, neighbors, strangers, enemies and all those in between. Our planet earth and all of her resources need to be remembered too.

Creator God, bless us and all those in our country with a keen understanding of our responsibilities for our freedoms.
Unite us, erase our divisions, and cancel our ingratitude and desires to look for the ways in which we are different, replacing them
with an ardent desire to find unity in our differences.
We are grateful for everything you have bestowed on us,
and we endeavor to be better at what we do best:
glorifying your holy name. Amen.




^{This article is the copyrighted property of National Catholic Services, LLC. All rights reserved. To provide constructive feedback, or request permission to redistribute, please communicate with: editor@virtus.org}

This article is not part of your continuing training. To access your required bulletins you must log in using the form in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Then go to the TRAINING tab.