House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) called prayer “the hotline to Heaven” at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast this morning, and said that “when faith is ruled out of bounds, then happiness itself is put out of reach.”

Ryan’s speech was one of three key addresses examining religious liberty and life and family issues. The Catholic politician was followed by Sister Constance Veit, Communications Director for the Little Sisters of the Poor, and Cardinal Robert Sarah.

Speaking to 1,300 attendees about faith and religious liberty, Ryan said, “What people of faith understand is there is more to life than what we can see and hear. And there is nothing more life-changing than coming to know the Lord.”

“Once you realize that there is a God, and He is good, and He loves you — not just humanity at large, but you the person — you realize that you are not alone,” Ryan said. “You are not just a body. You are body and soul. And life is not just a tale ‘full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.’ Life is full of meaning. … And that is why we object when government restricts religious liberty.”

“We are witnessing the next stage and the consummation of efforts to build a ‘utopian paradise’ of a world without God.” Cardinal Robert Sarah

In January, as a way of showing support for the Little Sisters of the Poor, Ryan invited Sister Constance to hear President Obama’s State of the Union address. The Little Sisters were among various religious groups who fought the Obamacare abortion and contraception insurance mandate, and recently won a partial victory at The Supreme Court.

Constance, who spoke to The Stream after the breakfast, focused on faith in her comments to the attendees. “A kind archbishop told us early on, ‘Don’t let anything rob you of the joy of the Gospel. Dare to be of good cheer.’ Second, an adviser with our legal team who was giving us some media training encouraged us to be happy warriors, and to look upon each person we encounter as Christ would.”

After the breakfast, Constance told The Stream that as part of her group’s effort to rely on God, “we haven’t really set down and made a plan.”

“To have an elaborate contingency plan, what does that say about your confidence in God’s Providence?” she said. “Also, I have huge confidence in our legal team and the people supporting us.”

The keynote speaker at the 12th annual breakfast was Sarah, who is the Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The African-born bishop spoke of the importance of strong families in order to combat spiritual and physical poverty. He condemned the killing of the unborn, the use of contraception, redefining marriage and creating human life artificially. He also spoke about the transgender push.

“All manner of sin is not only tolerated and accepted today in advanced societies, but even promoted as a social good,” said Sarah. “The result is hostility to Christians and, increasingly, religious persecution. Nowhere is this clearer than in the threat that societies are visiting on the family through demonic gender ideology, a deadly outburst that is being experienced in a world increasingly cut off from God by ideological colonialism.”

“Today,” continued the famously orthodox Cardinal, “we are witnessing the next stage and the consummation of efforts to build a ‘utopian paradise’ of a world without God.”

“Good becomes evil, beauty is ugly, love becomes the satisfaction of sexual human instincts and truth all relative.”