Last month the Sisters of Mercy, an international Roman Catholic order founded in the 19th century by Catherine McAuley in Ireland, prayed for the then pre-inaugural Donald Trump.
Their prayer included these words: “We, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, offer our prayers for President Donald Trump…We pray for guidance and wisdom for this new administration. We hope and pray this new administration will seek to unite the nation and work for the good of all…We pray his administration will choose to denounce violence, racism, and hateful rhetoric…we pray he will use his authority to find a humane approach to immigration. No matter our country of birth, we are all God’s people…We are also committed to care for the Earth and pray [Mr. Trump] will join us in finding ways to protect our common home.
We will continue to work for the values of the Gospel…which calls on us to welcome the stranger and protect women and children and those in need. May all know and experience God’s love and peace and act accordingly.” The good sisters did not name the LGBTQ+ community, but if the QGS offered such a prayer, it would of course do so.
The Queer God Squad asks: Do such beautiful sentiments serve mostly to keep us inspired to do what we can during an administration that doesn’t care about the things highlighted in the prayer. Can such prayers actually change the stone heart of a narcissist with dictatorial ambitions? Either way, do we believe in the power of prayer to achieve either goal?
