Do You Pray? Don’t Let Anybody Take Your Picture
Good Lord, now praying is controversial? Or is it a picture of praying in a room with Donald Trump that raises ire?
Over the weekend, I saw a picture which appeared in news venues of Catholic bishops standing in the Oval Office praying with/over President Trump. I am not a mind reader, I don’t know what they were praying for, but for sure praying for a leader of the free world is a good idea. Prayers for guidance, prayers for deliverance from all evil, prayers for the nation, prayers for the leader’s health and family – all of these are pretty good ideas, not only for those serving in religious roles but also for all of us to follow suit. A picture of this sort is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes. Prayer.
Unless….
Then, the news hit that a Bishop apologized for being in the picture. Then another spoke up.
According to a story by C.J. Womack with Fox News (October 26), 12 Catholic prelates had attended a meeting arranged by the Heritage Foundation to discuss immigration enforcement, religious worker visas (such as priests from other countries serving in U.S. parishes), etc. Then the bishops went to the Oval Office to visit with the President. A picture of the group praying was taken.
One bishop, from Milwaukee, accused the administration of manipulation. “We came in good faith to try to work for the betterment of our fellow human beings, to ease their suffering, to build up the common good, and to pray with a president, not to pose for a political photo….” Another, from Iowa, said, “In no way did any of us intend by our involvement to endorse any political party or any individual candidate.”
Were these their own decisions to make their thoughts about possible political endorsement known after the fact? Or was it that of their episcopal advisors, those people who swirl around prelates on a daily basis to make sure they don’t step over any societal lines? You know, like Jesus did, stepping outside boundaries set by the Pharisees. All the picture showed were some Bishops from dioceses in the United States. I don’t know who they were, most people wouldn’t even know their own bishop, let alone one from another diocese. These men had crosses and Roman collars. And they prayed.
What’s the problem? Men at prayer. It did not say what their words to Almighty God were, this wasn’t a violation of the secrets of the voting booth. In fact, I consider it a lesson to the world. All prelates everywhere should be seen praying for their leaders. All religious leaders and all people of God should be begging the Ruler of All to guide those leading the citizens of their respective countries, to pray for their protection, that they choose to stand with God, rule justly and walk in His Presence, always and everywhere.
Do they? Who knows, no pictures.
This was a photo op, of course. The Archbishop of Denver acknowledged that. “I wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand, it was a great opportunity to raise important issues for the Church’s benefit. On the other hand, I knew people might be upset…I knew that it would be shared and that some might use it for political purposes. But as I prayed about it, I thought that this is what Catholics do. We pray for people. No matter whether we agree or disagree on anything, we always pray for our country and leaders.”
Well said. Prayer is what counts. The critics of this incident need some knee time to ponder anew what the Almighty can do, as the old hymn says. And I wholeheartedly agree with St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians:
“And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”
Or is such a thought controversial too?
This article, Do You Pray? Don’t Let Anybody Take Your Picture is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
https://bellarmineforum.org/do-you-pray-dont-let-anybody-take-your-picture/
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