From the Desk of
Bishop Henry J. Mansell

The first sentence of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." On September 24, 1789, the House of Representatives passed the First Amendment.

The very next day the same body passed by an overwhelming majority a resolution calling for a national day of prayer and thanksgiving. President George Washington, consistent with his calls for prayer in the darkest days of the American Revolution, then proclaimed a public holiday of thanksgiving.

It was in the dark days of the Civil War that President Abraham Lincoln, at the urging of Sarah Josepha Hale, author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," declared Thanksgiving Day a national holiday to be celebrated every year in November.

The villainous attacks of September 11th by the terrorists against the persons and fabric of the United States, and the world, have once again summoned us to more intensive prayer. I am grateful that since September 11th our churches have remained open for longer hours, special Masses have been celebrated, prayer services have been organized, Holy Hours have been arranged, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has been increasing. Attendance at Mass generally is rising significantly.

Our prayers have been offered for the victims, their loved ones, the firefighters, police officers, and emergency service workers - those who have given their lives and those who continue to work - the leaders of our country and nations everywhere, for all of us.

I have been thinking over these weeks of the people on the planes, who knew they were going to die within minutes. We know from recordings of telephone conversations that some were able heroically to fight the perpetrators and prevent greater loss of life. Some I'm sure tended to those who were in extraordinary emotional distress.

But for those sitting quietly in their seats knowing that death was imminent, what were their thoughts? What were their prayers?

What would our prayers be?

Would we not recite the Act of Contrition, or express sorrow for our sins in our own words? Would we not pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be to the Father? Some of us might recite the Rosary, and find comfort in the repetition of the prayers. We probably would be reciting aspirations we have come to love over the years. We might be praying to our favorite saints. We could be reciting Psalms or portions of them that have been especially meaningful to us. We'd be asking for God's help.

Would we not be thanking God for the gift of life, the talents, abilities we have been gifted with for whatever period of time? Would we not be praying for those we would be leaving behind?

Would we not be asking that our conversation with God, which is after all what prayer is, continue on the other side of the wall so that we might praise God in the joy of all eternity?

Should not these be the prayers of our every day?

The Saturday after the terrorist attacks, a story appeared in the Buffalo News reporting that Mother Teresa experienced darkness and distance from God at various times in her life. This experience was particularly difficult in 1959-1960. This was known before, and of course has been the experience of saints over the centuries. St. John of the Cross wrote the classic work, The Dark Night of the Soul, in this regard. Considering the squalor, poverty, and wretchedness of the streets of Calcutta where Mother Teresa worked, experience of such darkness is not surprising. But, Mother Teresa continued to pray and to minister there for 37 years until she died in 1997!

In God's grace, faith grows through commitment. Faith grows through commitments kept. Faith grows through covenants observed.

Prayers for Our National Leaders

As we go forward, we continue to beseech God for wisdom and sound judgment on the part of our national leaders. It may be helpful to repeat here the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church on the strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force. They are found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and they are:

• the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
• all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
• there must be serious prospects of success;
• the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated.

God bless America! May the United States of America always be one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.

Most Rev. Henry J. Mansell
Bishop of Buffalo
October 1, 2001