Dear Marriage Supporter,

As many of us gather in houses of worship across the nation this weekend, I hope you'll join me in taking a moment to remember our nation in prayer.

Here is a suggested Christian prayer from Fortnight4Freedom.org:

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty

O God our Creator,
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has prepared and collected numerous resources for individuals and churches across the nation at www.Fortnight4Freedom.org. And it's not just for Catholic churches! If your church is not already a part of this groundbreaking new initiative, I urge you to share Baltimore Archbishop William Lori's letter of invitation with your pastor this weekend. (Click here to download.)

As Archbishop Lori suggests, I hope you will set aside some time during these two weeks to pray for religious liberty both here and abroad, and will take advantage of this moment to explain the importance of religious freedom to your own children and grandchildren.

And then join with churches from every faith tradition on July 4th as we celebrate our heritage with the ringing of bells from coast to coast!