Fortnight for Freedom kickoff

Today begins the US bishops' Fortnight for Freedom.  Please join in these next two weeks of making your voice heard in support of religious freedom!  

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has compiled resources to assist in your observance, which can be found here.  Be sure you understand the issue at hand, so that if you are asked about the Fortnight for Freedom, you will be able to explain why people across the country, including but by no means limited to Catholics, are so concerned about their First Amendment rights as a result of the HHS mandate!

Here is the prayer, promulgated by the USCCB, to be said throughout the Fortnight for Freedom (June 21, 2012 through July 4, 2012):

Oh 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. 

Mary, Immaculately Conceived, patroness of our country, pray for us!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, pray for us!

St. Thomas More, patron of religious liberty, pray for us!