Day of Prayer encourages Americans to turn hearts to God

By Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. Cap.

Dear friends,

For many years, the National Day of Prayer has offered people of all faiths the opportunity to come together to offer our gratitude and praise to the one God — our Father, who created us all in His image and who sustains us with His love.

Today, in a world which often seems so full of confusion, prayer is our source of hope because it anchors us in deeper and unchanging realities: that we are not alone; that God does exist; that He knows and loves each of us by name; and that He intends each of us for an eternal destiny of joy.

The Columbine High School tragedy, for all its sorrow, can still be the seed of new life if we begin to learn from it. Never has our need for turning toward God and away from our own selfishness been more urgent. We need God as a living presence in our own hearts and families first — but also in our public life. We need to pray. Our nation needs to pray. And surely Coloradans, who continue to bear the suffering of the past few weeks in a special way, should be witnesses to the whole world that God alone is our strength and in Him only is our consolation and deliverance.

I join the prayers of the entire Catholic community in northern Colorado, as well as my own, to those of the many good people who have made the National Day of Prayer 1999 a reality. May the spirit of this day take root in our hearts and guide us on a path of renewal throughout the coming year.