Legislators begin this year’s session with prayer at diocesan Mass

From left, Senator James Risch, Representative John Shirts and Weiser Memorial Hospital (Weiser, Idaho) CEO Beau McNeff. (ICR photo/Emily Woodham)

By Emily Woodham

Staff Writer

More than 70 people, including approximately 20 legislators, attended the annual Mass and breakfast for Idaho legislators just hours before the opening of the 2026 legislative session.

The Mass, held on Monday, Dec. 12 and celebrated by Father Dennis Day at St. John’s Cathedral, is intended as a time of prayer and reflection for public officials as they seek God’s guidance heading into a new session of lawmaking.

“My brothers and sisters, you face complex and often volatile issues,” said Father Day, a retired priest of the Diocese of Boise and a former board member of the National Right to Life Committee, in his homily. “You work under intense scrutiny and carry heavy burdens. This work is not easy. It was not easy for those first disciples either.”

Father Dennis Day, retired priest of the Diocese of Boise, celebrated the Mass for legislators at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Boise. At the end of Mass, he blessed the legislators and prayed for their new session. (ICR photo/Emily Woodham)

To weather the difficulties of the session, it is important for legislators to appreciate the friendship of colleagues and remember that the Church is praying for them.

“God’s people pray continually for you and ask the Holy Spirit to grant you wisdom, courage and consolation,” Father Day said. “Rely on those prayers, but nurture your own prayer life as well, for that is essential.”

Father Day encouraged all those present that American citizens should never feel self-conscious about praying, even in public.

The Founding Fathers of the United States secured religious freedom by clearly distinguishing religious authority from state power, “but their intent was never to exclude people of faith from the public square,” he explained.

“Their intent was having a public square where people of all religious traditions could participate freely. Separating Church and State was never meant to separate religion from society or to prevent faith from flourishing.”

Just as Jesus called each of his disciples to a vocation, each legislator is called as a minister of the law, Father Day said.

“In the ancient world, law was inseparable from justice. In that sense, legislators are ministers not only of law, but of justice and truth. Today, the Church honors that vocation and invites you to remember why you first chose to serve and to reflect on how you can continue to grow as servants of truth and justice for the common good.”

Their mission includes “protecting the sacredness of all human life, upholding the dignity of every person without exception, safeguarding religious freedom, defending marriage and family and being a voice for the poor, the vulnerable and the weak.”

Following the Mass, the Diocese of Boise hosted a breakfast for legislators in the cathedral’s parish hall.