Francis calls for prayer and fasting for peace in Syria

Thomas Cox

Imploring peace in Syria, Pope Francis Sunday called peace makers around the world to fast and gather for prayer next Saturday, Sept. 7th.

He said prayer services will be conducted in St. Peter’s Square beginning at 7 PM and lasting to midnight.

Matters of Faith: Interfaith prayer in times of trouble

Rabbi Brad L. Bloom

The ultimate irony after the Sandy Hook Elementary School slayings in Newtown, Conn., occurred recently when Pastor Rob Morris of the Missouri Synod Branch of the Lutheran Church was reprimanded by his national leadership for participating in the interfaith service held immediately after the shootings.

According to wire services, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod President Matthew Harrison stated "the presence of prayers and religious readings" was a violation of their policy and teachings.

Religion, readability and the presidency: A historic combination

Dan Merica

Washington (CNN) – Employing faith, whether calling for nationwide prayer or healing the nation by quoting scripture, is a presidential tradition as old as the office itself.

Presidential displays of piety, like this, are common 

and historians say they make presidents more relatable.

The nation’s first president, George Washington, was also the first to call for a National Day of Prayer, one of “fasting, humiliation and prayer” to “acknowledge the gracious interpositions of Providence.”

Prayer Without Words

Katherine Towler

In her poem "Summer Day," Mary Oliver says: "I don't know exactly what a prayer is./I do know how to pay attention..." Simone Weil saw no distinction between attention and prayer. For her, "absolute unmixed attention is prayer."

Study Shows How Prayer, Meditation Affect Brain Activity

Jahnabi Barooah

How do prayer and meditation affect brain activity? Dr. Andrew Newberg, MD, is the Director of Research at the Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomson Jefferson University Hospital and Medical College, and he has studied the neuroscientific effect of religious and spiritual experiences for decades.