House chaplain prays to exorcise 'all spirits of darkness ... at play in the people’s House'
The spiritual condition of America is becoming more and more transparent. The solution is not a policy-driven solution or a person-driven solution, but prayer. The house chaplain, Rev. Pat Convoy, recognized this in his opening prayer last Thursday (July 18, 2019).
“This has been a difficult and contentious week in which darker spirits seem to have been at play in the people’s House," the Reverend Pat Conroy began.Then, in a dramatic moment, Conroy raised both hands and said, "In Your most holy name, I cast out all spirits of darkness from this chamber. Spirits not from You. I cast out the spirit of discouragement which deadens the hope of those who are of goodwill."I cast out the spirit of petty divisiveness which clouds the sense and the desire to be of fruitful productivity and addressing the issues more appropriately before this House," he continued. "I cast out any sadness brought on by the frustration of dealing with matters detrimental to the honorable work each member has been called to engage in.”Conroy concluded with a plea to the Lord: "Annoit your servants here in the House with a healing balm to comfort and renew the souls of all in this assembly. May your spirit of wisdom and patience descend upon all so that any spirit of darkness might have no place in our midst. Rather, let Your spirit of comity, of brother-and-sisterhood, and love of our nation, and all colleagues in this chamber, empower our better angels to be at play in the common work to be done, for the benefit of all Your people. May all that is done within the people's House be for Your greater honor and glory. Amen."The chaplain is responsible for opening the House each day with a prayer and offering counsel to lawmakers and aides on the House side of the Capitol. Conroy is a Roman Catholic priest from the Jesuit order. The Jesuit motto is Ad maiorem Dei gloriam, or "For the greater glory of God."
The Debt Crisis Debate - A Call for Courage [Opinion]
The debt ceiling crisis continues to confound the USA's politicians. News shows are in a 24-hour spin cycle as the two parties in Washington play a deadly game of chicken with each other. What is certain (to me) is that whether it is within the next week or the next year, American will face a financial reckoning because of its incredible debt load. The politicians continue to scratch at any option they can in an effort to try and find one more free lunch. Sooner or later, however, we will all realize there are no more freebies.
What is at the center of the current crisis is the inability to compromise. Both sides are going to have to agree to some unpopular budget cuts and tax increases in order to begin the slow process of correcting American's financial imbalance. Therein lies the problem: our political leaders have one eye on the problem and another eye on re-election. Could it be that the greater financial problems cannot be solved without jeopardizing their political futures? If so, this reflects a much deeper issue for the American citizen.
On the July 24 edition of Meet the Press, former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) made this point well:
... politics just reflects society. And what we are seeing today, I believe, is a new emerging governing coalition being built in this country, a new political center of gravity.... We are living at a time when society is the most complicated, interconnected, immediate we've ever seen. That also reflects on a world order that is being rebuilt. We haven't seen a world order being rebuilt since World War II. So, obviously, what's happening in Washington is going to reflect what's happening across this country and the world. The emergence of the tea party, for example, whatever that is, a philosophy about government, that was born out of frustration, disappointment, high expectations in your leaders. To Doris' point, you're supposed to come to Washington to help govern, find solutions, solve problems. We're not seeing that. This just didn't start, by the way, with this president. I saw this in the Senate emerging over the last 12 years. Both parties are to blame. We have, I think, a vacuum of some leadership, some courage. Courage has never been an abundant commodity in Washington. And the last point I'd make, look at the last three elections in this country. We're not a republic that swings wildly. Last three elections, back to back, threw parties out of power in those elections. What does that tell you? That tells you that the board of directors, the people who own the country, the citizen, the voter is going to take action.
Question: are we seeing a new world order being built, or are we still witnessing the destruction of the old world order that began at the end of World War II? I think the latter. Look at what happened between 1914 and 1945 - the center of gravity shifted in the world from Western Europe with Great Britain, Germany, France, and Italy the former great powers, to the United States and the Soviet Union as the new super powers. By 1945, the sun was setting on the British Empire, Germany lie in ruins and divided, France was defeated by Germany in the war and had lost its international prestige, and Italy was defeated. A generation later, the Soviet Union is gone and the United States is under the heavy weight of trillions of dollars in debt.
What do you think? Are we witnessing the passing of an American-dominated world order or will the United States find a way to regain its financial foundation and begin rebuilding its economic strength?
Related articles
- Policy mistakes of historical magnitude (business.financialpost.com)
- Pawlenty: Obama not showing courage in debt crisis (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
