Catholic Bishops Roll Out Secret Weapon: Cloistered Nuns Appointed Prayer Ambassadors in Fight For Religious Freedom

The US Catholic Bishops have laid out their plan to defeat the Obama Administration’s HHS mandate this weekend.  The Church is holding a Fortnight for Freedom to fight back against this unconstitutional law.

And a group of cloistered nuns was appointed “Prayer Ambassadors” in the fight for religious freedom.

Passionist Nuns Sister Mary Veronica, Mother Mary Salvador and Sister Mary Elizabeth spoke to reporters last week from behind the grille at their Ellisville monastery. From their cloister the nuns have been praying for religious liberty. Because they do not own a television or access the Internet, the nuns keep updated on the HHS mandate issue through the St. Louis Review, National Catholic Register, Our Sunday Visitor and L’Observatore Romano, which the sisters take turns reading aloud during meals. (St. Louis Review)

In deep violation of our First Amendment, Obama launched an all-out war against our Constitution’s protection of religious freedom with ObamaCare’s employer mandate.  The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is fighting back.  Hard.  As part of its major offensive campaign, the Fortnight for Freedom, the U.S. bishops are asking the faithful to devote part of their daily prayer lives to the issue of religious liberty.

The Passionist Nuns~
A small, cloistered group of eight women dedicated to a life of Prayer, Solitude, Penance, and Community, is taking up this fight with the best weapon they have, prayer.  From their Immaculate Conception Convent in Ellisville, MO, the Passionist Nuns are devoted to “uniting (the fight for religious liberty), as the mystical body of Christ to Jesus on the Cross”.

From The St. Louis Review,

It was no coincidence to Mother Mary Salvador that she was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 10, 2012 — the same day President Barack Obama announced his so-called “compromise” for religious employers who objected to the HHS health care mandate.

The Passionist Nuns’ superior, who was treated for pneumonia and a collapsed lung, said there’s value to be found in the kind of physical suffering she experienced. With all of the evil present in the world, it’s especially important now, more than ever, to take human suffering and turn it to prayer.

Eight cloistered Passionist Nuns living at the Immaculate Conception Convent in Ellisville recently have taken that message to heart as they pray for the safeguarding of religious liberty in this country, joining with seven other contemplative communities in the St. Louis region to pray for religious liberty. Earlier this month, the archdiocese sent copies of a prayer card, with a letter asking each community to devote part of their daily prayer lives to the issue of religious liberty. …

“As the mystical body of Christ, we can unite (the fight for religious liberty) to Jesus on the Cross,” said Sister Veronica. …

Despite disconnecting themselves from most modern media, including television, the web and secular print media, the Passionist Nuns have remained informed on the HHS mandate and religious liberty primarily through the Catholic press, including the National Catholic Register, the St. Louis Review, Our Sunday Visitor and L’Osservatore Romano. Friends of the community who frequently visit the convent will share information, too.

Sitting on a small table in the vestibule of the convent are copies of a form letter, addressed to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, urging her to rescind the health care mandate and allow organizations and individuals to offer health coverage “that does not violate their moral and religious convictions.”

Besides incorporating religious liberty into their daily prayer intentions, the nuns are planning to pray a special litany during a novena timed with the bishops’ designated Fortnight for Freedom, June 21-July 4. They will hang an American flag outside the convent, and on July 4, when all churches around the nation are asked to ring their bells at noon, “we will gather up all the bells in the convent and ring them together,” said Mother Mary. …

Mother Mary said it’s essential to remember the impact of prayer, when a community is united and “we all speak together. It’s important that we do this unanimously.”

“It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.”  ~Author unknown

No longer.  Obama has invaded and violated our religious liberty, and in doing so has awakened and engaged war on a giant.

Defend Religious Liberty! Engage! Take Action…and Pray.
This is what the Catholic church is asking of all of us.

"It's essential to remember the impact of prayer, when a community is united and we all speak together. It's important that we do this unanimously." - Mother Mary

 

Thanks for sharing!