(LifeSiteNews) — Before squaring off against pro-abortion Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota in this week’s vice-presidential debate, Republican U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio said a prayer asking God to help him find the rights words to say.
Vance, a Catholic, shared the prayer with his X followers on Wednesday morning. He said that a priest sent it to him as he was trying to calm down before going on stage.
A friend asked me how nervous I was on a scale of 1 to 10. The answer? 11.
A priest friend sent me this prayer before I went on stage. I share it in the hopes someone will find it as meaningful as I did.
“O Ineffable Creator, who, from the treasures of Your wisdom, have…
— JD Vance (@JDVance) October 2, 2024
“A friend asked me how nervous I was on a scale of 1 to 10. The answer? 11,” Vance explained. “A priest friend sent me this prayer before I went on stage. I share it in the hopes someone will find it as meaningful as I did.”
The prayer is as follows:
O Ineffable Creator, who, from the treasures of Your wisdom, have established three hierarchies of angels, have arrayed them in marvelous order above the fiery heavens, and have marshaled the regions of the universe with such artful skill. You are proclaimed the true font of light and wisdom, and the primal origin raised high beyond all things.
Pour forth a ray of Your brightness into the darkened places of my mind; disperse from my soul the twofold darkness into which I was born: sin and ignorance.
You make eloquent the tongues of infants. Refine my speech and pour forth upon my lips the goodness of Your blessing.
Grant to me keenness of mind, capacity to remember, skill in learning, subtlety to interpret, and eloquence in speech.
May You guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress, and bring it to completion, You who are true God and true Man, who live and reign, world without end.
Amen.
Most pundits agree that Vance won the debate as Walz’s bizarre body language and repeated misstatements made him appear anxious.
Pro-lifers have generally praised Vance’s performance as well, as he not only exposed Walz’s signing of the so-called Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act, a measure that guarantees a “fundamental right” to effectively unlimited abortion, but his approval of an omnibus bill that repealed most of Minnesota’s born-alive protections for babies that survive abortion attempts.
“That is fundamentally barbaric. Do you want to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions against their will?” Vance asked.
Vance accurately points out that Tim Walz repealed Minnesota’s requirement that measures be taken to preserve the “life and health” of a baby who survives an abortion, replacing it with a nebulous requirement for “care.”
Vance: “That is fundamentally barbaric.” pic.twitter.com/KukWZS2lRL
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 2, 2024
At the same time, pro-lifers criticized Vance for soft-pedaling the evils of abortion and defending Donald Trump’s position on the matter, which Trump doubled down on by sending out a post on social media during the debate stating that he would veto a federal abortion ban because abortion is now “up to the states.”
EVERYONE KNOWS I WOULD NOT SUPPORT A FEDERAL ABORTION BAN, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, AND WOULD, IN FACT, VETO IT, BECAUSE IT IS UP TO THE STATES TO DECIDE BASED ON THE WILL OF THEIR VOTERS (THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE!). LIKE RONALD REAGAN BEFORE ME, I FULLY SUPPORT THE THREE…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2024
Trump, a Presbyterian, has increased his outreach to Catholic voters over the last month despite moving to the left on in-vitro fertilization and abortion. On September 4, his campaign announced the relaunch of Catholics for Trump. On September 8, he wished Mary, the Mother of Christ, a “Happy Birthday” on social media. He also shared a prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. LifeSiteNews co-founder John-Henry Westen has said that, given the contradictory messaging, Trump is “not making it easy” for Catholics to vote for him.