Fulton J. Sheen - Fulton Sheens Wartime Prayer Book

WARTIME

PRAYER BOOK

SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS'

Manchester, New Hampshire

WARTIME

PRAYER BOOK

Fulton Sheen composed this prayer book in 1943, during a time of great danger and suffering for the United States and the world. Our world has fallen again into the shadow of war, and terror stalks souls in many lands. May these prayers that brought holiness and comfort to an earlier wartime generation bring goodness and consolation to ours.

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Mother Immaculate, gracious protectress of the United States, in humble petition that thy land, which was violated on the eve of thy great feast, may be victorious and inviolate again on that same feast day, when the false god of a rising sun sets, and the double cross untwists itself, and we, who fought to make others free, are ourselves made free with the glorious liberty of the children of God.

This prayer book is for soldiers, sailors, marines, coast guard, for all fighting forces at home and abroad - on land, on the sea, and in the air - and for civilians at home: for all who live in a world at war, that through our prayerful lives God may grant us victory and give to the world His peace and justice.

This book is not made up exclusively of prayers, because prayer consists not in the saying of words but in the lifting of our heart and mind to God.

Our divine Lord Himself warned us: "In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words" (Matt. 6:7). In the same spirit, St. Augustine said: "We may pray most when we say least, and we may pray least when we say most."

When love of God reaches a peak, it almost becomes too deep for words. For that reason this prayer book is made up of reflections which it is hoped will provoke us into meditation and communion with God, so that we will not only speak to Him, but also listen to Him when He speaks to us. So these reflections are not only to be read, but are to be thought about. Each thought should serve for a considerable period of time.

Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you' (James 4:8).

The joy of a Christian comes not from intermittent devotions and vocal prayers, but by living the Christ life intimately and to such an extent that even in our failings and weakness we may still betray our familiarity with Christ, as did Peter in the moment of his weakness: "You also were with Jesus the Galilean.... Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you" (Matt. 26:69, 73).

(Reasons to believe in God)

Then you have seen a world without God!

Remember the wise words of the soldier at Bataan: "There are no atheists in foxholes."

`Tam an atheist: I do not believe in God "

Would there ever be prohibition unless there was something to prohibit? Would there ever be anti-cigarette laws unless there were cigarettes? How could there be atheists unless there was something to atheate?

Atheism is not a doctrine; it is a cry of wrath. "By night an atheist half-believes there is a God."

Before you deny God, ask yourself why you deny Him. Is it because of the way you live? A poem of Arthur Hugh Clough satirized those who wish there were no God because He interferes with their dishonesty, their lawlessness, or their license:

`Christ is a good man: a great humanitarian. "

If Christ is not all He claimed to be, the Son of the living God, then He was not a good man! A good man never lies; but He lied if He was not God, for He said He was God.

A good man never leads others into false belief. But He asked that men die for belief in His divinity, which they are doing even in this day.

If Christ was not God, then He not only was not a good man, He was the most villainous impostor and scoundrel the world has ever seen.

If Christ is not God, He is the antichrist.

"I have no need of religion. "

No man has need of religion who is selfrighteous, who is all he wants to be and all he ought to be.

Anarchists have no need of law: they are a law unto themselves.

Hitler had no need of God: in his own conceit, he was a god.

The man who never made a mistake has no need of an eraser; just so, the man who has never done anything wrong has no need of a Redeemer.

Our Lord Himself has said: "Those who are well have no need of a physician."

"We have no freedom; our wills are determined "

Then why do we say "Thanks" for a favor?

"There is no right or wrong: it all depends upon your point of view. "

If there is no difference between right and wrong, how can Hitler be wrong and how can we be right? Why are we at war, if it is not because right is more precious than life?

`It makes no difference what you believe; its how you act. "

It makes no difference whether you have any rules in football; it depends upon how you play. It makes no difference whether you believe triangles have three sides; it depends on how you draw. Can we not see that if we believe wrongly, we will act wrongly?

The trouble with Hitler and other tyrants is that they practice what they preach. Because their doctrines are wrong, their deeds are wrong. Because Nazism as a creed is wrong, its workings are wicked.