I’m almost too late for this, since the meeting is probably only twelve hours or so away, but I wanted to ask people—people who pray, of course, which means most but not all the people who read this blog— to pray for Obama’s heart to be touched by his meeting with Benedict. I did not vote for Obama and am appalled by much of what he’s done and would like to do, but I still think he is a man honestly trying to do the right thing. And he seems genuinely open to much of the Church’s social teaching; perhaps that will lead him further. As it happens, Thursday is my Adoration night, and I will certainly be praying for both Obama and Benedict.

(And to those who don’t pray: think a good thought; wish these men well. I often think that’s a kind of prayer. And you don’t have to be Catholic to want to see the Pope’s vision of peace and justice advanced.)