JD Vance has published a prayer that was sent to him by a priest before he went on stage for the vice-presidential debate on 1 October in New York.
Both the religious and non-religious may well agree that, whether an answered prayer had anything to do with it, Vance’s speech was indeed “refined” during the debate with Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz that Vance is roundly judged to have won. And that, as per the invocations of the prayer, Vance demonstrated “keenness of mind”, “skill in learning” and “eloquence” that has unnerved both the Democratic ticket and much of the mainstream media that is supporting it.
“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 Republican vice-presidential nominee said in a post shared on the social media platform <em>X</em>.
The prayer reads as follows (adjusted for British spelling):
"O Ineffable Creator, who, from the treasures of Your wisdom, have established three hierarchies of angels, have arrayed them in marvellous order above the fiery heavens, and have marshalled 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."
Vance, a Catholic convert not shy of speaking his mind on hot-button topics and the role of his faith in forming his political consciousness, has drawn withering fire both from his Democratic opponents and the mainstream media since he became the running mate for former President Donald Trump on the Republican ticket.
During the debate, though, he appeared to pull off what in the modern vernacular is known as a “vibe shift”, offering a very different demeanour, and one that Walz had not been expecting (not to mention the mainstream media who have been scrambling to try and make sense of it – and downplay it; the <em>New York Times</em> ran an article about the debate titled “Walz Failed to Expose Vance’s Debate Masquerade”).
“Tim Walz turned to stare at JD Vance and his eyes grew very wide. He looked shocked at what he was hearing. Senator Vance was being nice,” Will Pavia <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/jd-vance-debate-winner-tim-walz-6nwbclf69"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">writes</mark></a> in his sketch for <em>The Times</em> of London about how the night and debate proceeded.
At the same time, a more conciliatory Vance was not shy of going on the offence, putting to Walz the following regarding abortion and freedom of conscience:
“Do you want to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions against their will, because Kamala Harris has supported suing Catholic nuns to violate their freedom of conscience,” Vance said.
“We can be a big and diverse country where we respect freedom of conscience and make the country more pro-baby and pro-family.”
That said, Vance's performance in the debate has drawn criticism from some conservatives and religious for his not being more outspoken against abortion and appearing to offer a middle ground on the issue, with some accusing him of “defending abortion”.
Rod Dreher, the conservative commentator and best-selling author of the 2017 <em>The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation</em>, responded to that accusation on <em>X</em>, describing how Vance was having to deal with the “world as it is” in his capacity as a politician in a democracy.
Dreher said: “No. Vance made it clear that the American people are not where prolifers are. He’s a politician in a democracy. Politicians have to respond to the world as it is, not as we wish it were. We prolifers can’t let the perfect become the enemy of the achievable good.”
While most commentators seem wary of suggesting that the debate could have a tangible impact on the election on 5 November, it has also been acknowledged that Vance's impressive performance could have an influence further down the line.
“Parties remember past debates when choosing candidates,” Freddie Hayward <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/us-election-2024/2024/10/jd-vance-won-the-vp-debate">writes</a> in the <em>New Statesman</em>. “Vance’s performance will shore up his position within the party, making a run for the nomination in 2028 more likely.”
If that happens, might it be said by some that it started with a prayer...
<a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/catholic-converts-can-be-nice-too-jd-vance-charms-and-wrongfoots-walz-during-vice-presidential-debate/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><strong><em>RELATED: JD Vance charms – and wrongfoots – Tim Walz during vice-presidential debate</em></strong></mark></a>
<em>Photo: Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) participates in the vice-presidential debate at the CBS Broadcast Centre, New York, USA, 1 October 2024. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.)</em>
