The Fortnight for Freedom, a 14-day period of prayer, education and action, endorsed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), is set to begin in dioceses throughout the United States on Thursday, June 21. The Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge will begin the Fortnight activities in the Diocese of Raleigh with the celebration of Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Raleigh at 6:00 PM that evening. An outdoor reception will follow.
Below is the prayer for religious liberty provided by the USCCB’s Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Freedom that can be used during the Fortnight and beyond. The prayer is available on prayer cards that can be purchased from the USCCB’s publishing department.
To purchase prayer cards, click here.
O GOD OUR CREATOR,
from your provident hand we have received
our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
You have called us as your people and given us
the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God,
and your Son, Jesus Christ.
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.