“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14
“The only hope for our country is God,” says Fr. John Riccardo, pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel parish in Plymouth, Michigan. Fr. Riccardo encourages us to pray until the end of 2016 for us, the reparation of our sins, and the sins of our country, and beg God for forgiveness and mercy. It is a prayer project that is spreading to parishes and dioceses across the country. Fr. John joined me for an interview discussing why we need to fast and pray for our country during this election year. I urge you to listen to this interview, begin praying and fasting, and hopefully spread this to your friends and family, parish, diocese, Bible study, or prayer group. Ask your pastor if this can be implemented in your parish.
Several U.S. presidents: John Adams, James Madison, and Abraham Lincoln, called for days of fasting and prayer to ask God for forgiveness for the sins of our country. How much more do we need this now that abortion, same-sex “marriage,” pornography, and gender confusion are rampant?
We Invite You To Join The Prayer And Fasting For Our Nation By:
- Fast every Wednesday until dinner, if possible, or substitute another day, or appropriate sacrifice, such as electronics or the media.
- Pray the Rosary, preferably every day but especially on Wednesdays, turning to the Blessed Mother in her titles of Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the Immaculate Conception, asking her to pray for our country.
- Attend Mass Wednesdays and receive the Eucharist, if possible.
The St. Michael the Archangel Prayer is also important to pray for protection from the evil one during this time of spiritual war. We need to spread the news, trying to fill the nation’s churches asking for mercy and forgiveness.
Resources:
- Fr. John Riccardo’s Interview with Teresa Tomeo explaining the why and how we need to fast and pray.
- Fr. John’s 6 minute video Tips & Advice for Fasting
- Acts 14:23 – “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they believed.”
- Joel 2:12 – “Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
- Mark 9:29 – “And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.””
- It’s Dangerous to Believe: Religious Freedom and Its Enemies by Mary Eberstadt
