Wednesday of the 13^th Week in O.T. (B); 7-4-18

Amos 5:14-15,21-24   Psalm 50   Matthew 8:28-34

Deacon Jim McFadden; Historical Church/SJB

 

We hear in our first reading from the prophet Amos that if we’re going to give God right praise and worship, then “let justice surge like water and goodness like an unfailing stream” (Am 5:24). The surge of justice and the flow of goodness only occurs when the dignity of all human beings are recognized and preserved and the common good is being promoted. When that happens, the best of America is showing up.

Today, we celebrate the blessings of being a citizen of the United States of America. What makes America so special is not our $20 trillion economy which is #1 in the world, nor is it our formidable military complex, which has no peer. No, what makes the American Experiment so inspiring is our recognition of liberties and the rights of mankind.

In the 18^th century our Founding Fathers recognized that there is a stable foundation that undergirds our country. What was the source of that foundation? They discerned that the foundation of mankind’s rights and liberties as something sacred, something inherent to being a human being. No State, no political party, no dictator or demagogue gives them to us nor can they take them away. If the foundation is not a cultural or political construct that is man-made, then what is it? The foundation is rooted in God! Hence, our Declaration of Independence reads: All men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights…among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

            Notice that the key term is inalienable; that means these rights belong to the sacredness of human beings who is made in the image of God. They are not the gift of the State. In other words our right to own property, our right to have and educate children, our right to adore God according to the dictates of our conscience, do not come from the Constitution, which can be amended, do not come from either the Democratic or Republican Party, but come from God.

Therefore, no power on earth may take them away. This is the essence of Americanism and we celebrate the 4^th of July in gratitude for our country that continues to promote, preserve, and sustain our God-given liberties.

Brothers and sisters, if human dignity and liberty come from God, then it follows that loss of faith in Him means loss of faith in those liberties that derive from Him.

We Catholics are proud of our Faith and we take our religion so seriously that we don’t want God to be marginalized but to be the very center of our lives, indeed, our national life. So, we conduct 5,300 elementary schools and 1200 high schools. We do so at great expense and sacrifice because we believe that the 1.3 million children who are educated in Catholic grammar schools and 500,000 in Catholic high schools have a right to know the truth that makes them free.

In sum, true love of America is the belief that the freedom of mankind has a divine source. For that reason if the American Experiment is going to thrive, so must our religious faith. Democracy cannot rely on coercion or bullying to survive, but on freedom and liberty. But, freedom and liberty are inseparable from civic responsibility and responsibility is inseparable from conscience and conscience is inseparable from religion.

Therefore, it is our solemn duty as Catholics to be conscious of our duty to America, and to preserve its freedom for all by preserving faith in God.

Happy July 4!