Let’s join together in praying 250,000 Holy Hours for the renewal and blessing of the United States of America!

This July, our country will celebrate our nation’s semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation. In preparation for this celebration and in a wonderful way of praying for our country, the folks behind the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage have begun a prayer initiative for our nation.

In addition to the Eucharistic pilgrimage that will travel through the original thirteen colonies from May 24 to July 4, Catholics across the country are being invited to participate with that pilgrimage in prayer. The goal is to pray 250,000 Holy Hours for the renewal and blessing of the United States of America.

“This campaign will be a quiet but powerful witness: a declaration that Christ is not on the margins of our lives or our nation, but at the center. These prayers will be gathered and offered as a sign of our shared dependence on God and our desire for His guidance in the life of our country.”

It is worth noting that this is absolutely not some political program or endorsement of one party or another. It is a prayer, for renewal, yes, but also a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings we have received in our country. Prayer is a humble recognition of our gifts, not our triumphs or power.

We hear in the Psalms, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Ps 33:12). That is our prayer. That God is the Lord of our nation, homes and hearts. Our prayer is for a conversion of hearts, not a vanquishing of enemies. Our prayer is for authentic peace and a true and righteous effort to spread the kingdom of God, not a political agenda.

Imagine the power of hundreds of thousands of hours of prayer, spent before our Lord, asking for this renewal, in joyful thanksgiving, and in praise of our generous God.