Today is the National Celebration of our Nation's Independence
“All the nations you havemade shall come to bow before you, Lord, and give honor to your name. For you are great and do wondrous deeds; and you alone are God” (Psalm 86:9-10).
Most Holy Trinity, we put the United States of America into the hands of Mary Immaculate in order that she may present the country to you. Through her we wish to thank you for the great resources of this land and for the freedom which has been its heritage. Through the intercession of Mary, have mercy on the Catholic Church in America. Grant us peace. Have mercy on our President and on all the officers of our government. Grant us a fruitful economy, born of justice and charity. Have mercy on capital and industry and labor.
Protect the family life of the nation. Guard the precious gift of many religious vocations. Through the intercession of our Mother, have mercy on the sick, the tempted, sinners—on all who are in need.
Mary, Immaculate Virgin, our Mother, patroness of our land, we praise you and honor you and give ourselves to you. Protect us from every harm. Pray for us, that acting always according to your will and the will of your divine Son, we may live and die pleasing to God. Amen.
(Excerpt from a prayer attributed to Archbishop John Carroll, first bishop of the United States)
Today is the National Celebration of our Nation's Independence. As we celebrate let us remember to pray that God will strengthen and bless America and make our nation a haven of liberty and justice for all — born and unborn.
Happy Independence Day to us all who have the privilege to live in this Beautiful Country.
I like to share with you and meditate with you on the words of Saint John Paul II to America.
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II, Saturday, September 19. 1987
America the beautiful!. So, you sing in one of your national songs.
Yes, America, you are beautiful indeed, and blessed in so many ways:
- in your majestic mountains and fertile plains;
- in the goodness and sacrifice hidden in your teeming cities and expanding suburbs;
- in your genius for invention and for splendid progress;
- in the power that you use for service and in the wealth that you share with others;
- in what you give to your own, and in what you do for others beyond your borders;
- in how you serve, and in how you keep alive the flame of hope in many hearts;
- in your quest for excellence and in your desire to right all wrongs.
Yes, America, all this belongs to you. But your greatest beauty and your richest blessing is found in the human person: in each man, woman and child, in every immigrant, in every native-born son and daughter.
For this reason, America, your deepest identity and truest character as a nation is revealed in the position you take towards the human person.
The ultimate test of your greatness in the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless ones.
The best traditions of your land presume respect for those who cannot defend themselves. If you want equal justice for all, and true freedom and lasting peace, then, America, defend life! All the great causes that are yours today will have meaning only to the extent that you guarantee the right to life and protect the human person:
- feeding the poor and welcoming refugees;
- reinforcing the social fabric of this nation;
- promoting the true advancement of women;
- securing the rights of minorities;
- pursuing disarmament, while guaranteeing legitimate defense; all this will succeed only if respect for life and its protection by the law is granted to every human being from conception until natural death.
Every human person - no matter how vulnerable or helpless, no matter how young or how old, no matter how healthy, handicapped or sick, no matter how useful or productive for society - is a being of inestimable worth created in the image and likeness of God. This is the dignity of America, the reason she exists, the condition for her survival-yes, the ultimate test of her greatness: to respect every human person, especially the weakest and most defenseless ones, those as yet unborn.
With these sentiments of love and hope for America, I now say goodbye in words that I spoke once before: Today, therefore, my final prayer is this:
that God will bless America, so that she may increasingly become - and truly be - and long remain one Nation, under God, indivisible.
With liberty and justice for all.
May God bless you all. God bless America!
APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND CANADA
FAREWELL CEREMONY, ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
Airport of Detroit Saturday, September 19, 1987
Until Tomorrow
fr. george