Posted on 08/31/2012 3:05:13 PM PDT by NYer
Amidst the falling glitter and balloons, the GOP crowd silenced themselves, closed their eyes, bowed their heads and listened to Cardinal Dolan's prayer. Here is it in its entirety.
Following is the closing benediction which was offered by Cardinal Timothy Dolan at the RNC last night.
With firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, let us pray:
Almighty God, father of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus, we beg your continued blessings on this sanctuary of freedom, and on all of those who proudly call America home. We ask your benediction upon those yet to be born, and on those who are about to see you at the end of this life. Bless those families whose ancestors arrived on these shores generations ago, as well as those families that have come recently, to build a better future while weaving their lives into the rich tapestry of America.
We lift up to your loving care those afflicted by the recent storms and drought and fire. We ask for the grace to stand in solidarity with all those who suffer. May we strive to include your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, in the production and prosperity of a people so richly blessed.
Oh God of wisdom, justice, and might, we ask your guidance for those who govern us, and on those who would govern us: the president and vice-president, the Congress, the Supreme Court, and on all those who seek to serve the common good by seeking public office, especially Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan. Make them all worthy to serve you by serving our country. Help them remember that the only just government is the government that serves its citizens rather than itself.
Almighty God, who gives us the sacred and inalienable gift of life, we thank you as well for the singular gift of liberty. Renew in all of our people a respect for religious freedom in full, that first most cherished freedom. Make us truly free, by tethering freedom to truth and ordering freedom to goodness. Help us live our freedom in faith, hope, and love; prudently, and with justice; courageously, and in a spirit of moderation. Enkindle in our hearts a new sense of responsibility for freedoms cause. And make us ever-grateful for all those who, for more than two centuries, have given their lives in freedoms defense; we commend their noble souls to your eternal care, as even now we beg your mighty hand upon our beloved men and women in uniform.
May we know the truth of your creation, respecting the laws of nature and natures God, and not seek to replace it with idols of our own making. Give us the good sense not to cast aside the boundaries of righteous living you first inscribed in our hearts even before inscribing them on tablets of stone. May you mend our every flaw, confirming our soul in self-control, our liberty in law.
We pray for all those who seek honest labor, as we thank you for the spirit of generosity to those in need with which you so richly blessed this nation.
We beseech your blessing on all who depart from here this evening, and on all those, in every land, who seek to conduct their lives in freedom.
Most of all, Almighty God, we thank you for the great gift of our beloved country.
For we are indeed one nation under God.
And in God we trust.Dear God bless America. You who live and reign, forever and ever,
Amen!
And that Amen was echoed by all present at last night's event.
Wonder why Cardinal Dolan did not make the same offer to the RNC particularly when the Republican platform does not offend Catholic doctrine as the Democrat platform does.
I also think the Dems will not be able to control their crowd. It may get nasty.
If you note the reaction of the demon-possessed to Jesus in the Bible, there was always an acknowledgement of his presence and and some sort of disturbance. Would not surprise me at all if the Cardinal struck a nerve that caused some sort of clear, antagonistic reaction.
Did you check to see where this prayer was offered at???
Okay I just noticed I am mistaken and Cardinal Dolan did offer benediction at the Republican convention.
He is supposed to be against abortion. Why sit down with folks who have no problem crushing the skulls of newborns?
The Cardinal's prayer reminds all who have understood America's founding philosophy, as articulated by the generations of that period in our history. His was a Benediction and prayer for present and future generations of Americans.
"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court even can do much to help it." - Judge Learned Hand
"If I have learned anything from the reading of history, it is that the man who, in violation of great principles, toils for temporary fame, purchases for himself either total oblivion or eternal infamy, while he who temporarily goes down battling for right principles always deserves, and generally secures, the gratitude of succeeding ages, and will carry with him the sustaining solace of a clean conscience, more precious than all the offices and honors in the gift of man." - Sen. Zacharias Montgomery
After Thomas Jefferson, in his First Inaugural, had enumerated the principles which would guide his Administration in his First Inaugural, he added:
"These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and the blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment. They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety."
So-called "progressives" of the 20th and 21st Centuries, in their arrogance, have removed (censored) the Founders' ideas of liberty from America's textbooks, but technology has outstripped their efforts. Every American school child and adult now has potential access to almost every word the Founders spoke and wrote, and their ideas are being rediscovered and circulated in a manner unheard of even 10 years ago, as if by the hand of Divine Providence. How else can one account for the events of 2010?
Enduring principles, according to the Founders were just that--enduring and "self-evident."
The sacred Rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written as with a sunbeam in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power - Alexander Hamilton
"Kings or parliaments could not give the rights essential to happiness, as you confess those invaded by the Stamp Act to be. We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings, and Lord of all the earth. They are not annexed to us by parchments and seals. They are created in us by the decrees of Providence, which establish the laws of our nature. They are born with us, exist with us, and cannot be taken from us by any human power, without taking our lives. In short, they are founded on the immutable maxims of reason and justice." - John Dickinson (Signer of the Constitution of the U. S., as quoted in "Our Ageless Constitution," p. 286)
Want to bet the Dems ask for a draft of the Cardinal’s prayer ahead of time?
The One the Cardinal serves set the example. He simply follows it by his willingness to “sit down.”
Just a guess.
Yes, good point, because Jesus would never eat with tax collectors and sinners. (Mark 2:13-17)
It may be that Dolan will yank the sheep’s clothing off these wolves, for all to see. Pray for Dolan’s safety.
I’m thinkin’ he’s gonna do an exorcism.
This was a beautiful closing prayer, and I hope he uses the same words at the DNC.
I didn’t notice until reading the prayer that he used the words from America the Beautiful - Confirm thy soul with self-control, thy liberty in law. I wonder if he knew that was going to be the closing song.
Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.
He did not offer because he was invited to say the concluding benediction. The DNC, on the other hand, did not extend an invitation. Instead, they invited a renegade nun to lead the delegates in prayer on day 3 of the convention. When Dem Catholics protested, the invitation was then extended to Cardinal Dolan. Last night, he delivered the closing night benediction at the RNC. Next week, he will be in Charlotte to deliver, one supposes, the same benediction at the DNC.
And it came to pass that Cardinal Dolan said the prayers of exorcism, and Zero’s teleprompter failed.
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