In the Year of Faith we have been celebrating, we have been commemorating the
50th anniversary of the convening of the Second Vatican Council and
have been discerning what the teachings of that Council mean to us in our
current day. One of the documents of the Second Vatican Council – Gaudium et Spes – which is
the Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World – states that “the
Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of
interpreting them in the light of the Gospel”. We as Christians are to dialogue with our modern world in a language that can
be easily understood, to respond to the questions that are asked about our
present life here on earth and of the eternal life that is to come. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul tells us that for freedom, Christ has set
us free. However, in this freedom, as
followers of Christ, we are not to choose to be enslaved to the things of this
world and the ways of the flesh, but are called to follow down the road of faith
according to our vocation in this life. Paul explains that through the freedom that God gives us we are to live in
the Spirit, to love and serve our neighbor, and to live in the light of God’s
love and his commandments.
Our US Catholic Bishops have asked us to recognize a Fortnight for Freedom for
the second year in a row, beginning on June 21 and ending on July 4. This Fortnight for Freedom is a time of recognizing the rights we enjoy as
citizens of the United States, and to pray for our country in light of our
religious freedom. The dates for the Fortnight for Freedom are very
symbolic for what this event represents. The
evening of June 21 is the vigil mass for Saints John Fisher and Thomas
More. Both of these saints are great
examples for us in standing up for the freedom of practicing one’s faith. Thomas More was a very spiritual and religious man, a lawyer and the
chancellor of England under the reign of King Henry VIII. More’s conscience and keen sense of morality
kept him from approving of the king’s divorce to Queen Catherine of Aragon, of
his remarriage to Anne Boleyn, and of the establishment of the Church of
England. More refused to personally
break from his Catholic faith and from denying the pope as the head of the
Church. John Fisher, a Cardinal and
Bishop of Rochester in England, also refused to recognize these same matters as
Thomas Moore. Both of them were beheaded
in London in 1535. Both of these men were canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935 400
years after their deaths. The
ending date of July 4 is our nations Independence Day.
The
Bishops are bringing certain issues to our attention that violate key
principles of our Catholic faith, some of which impede the freedom we have to
practice our faith. First is
the Dept of Health and Human Services Mandate, which requires almost all
employers, including Catholic employers, to pay for employees' contraception,
sterilization, and abortifacient drugs regardless of conscientious objections. Our Bishops
see this mandate as a clear affront to America's first freedom, religious
liberty, as well as to the inherent dignity of every human person that our
Catholic faith teaches. With the recent rulings by the Supreme Court, our government and our culture are moving toward redefining marriage as the
union of any two persons, ignoring marriage's fundamental meaning and purpose
as the universal institution in society that unites a man and a woman with each
other and with the children born from their union. These
challenges are confronting us in a very real way and are threatening the
freedom we have to practice our faith.
They call for increased awareness and formation on our part as people of
faith. These
challenge calls for us, the faithful, to have spiritual stamina and fortitude so
that we may all be effective and joyful witnesses of faith, hope and
charity.
Our
Bishops call religious liberty our first, most cherished freedom. This freedom
is enumerated in the First Amendment – it is the foundation of all other
freedoms. If we
Americans are not free in our consciences and in their religious faith, to have
the freedom to form our consciences as we see fit according to the tenants of
our faith, then all our other freedoms will come tumbling down.
St. Paul
reminds us that our liberty is not something we invent for ourselves; it is not
something that the government bestows upon us according to its will. Freedom
is from God; it is His gift to us. Yes,
Paul tells us that we are called to freedom, that we have been set free in
Christ Jesus and in the salvation we have in Him. As
Catholics and as Americans, we must insist upon that recognition of our freedom
-- to freely worship, but also to freely serve our brothers and sisters
according to the calling we have from our faith.
Let us
pray:
Almighty
God, Father of all nations, For freedom
you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1). We praise
and bless you for the gift of religious liberty, the
foundation of human rights, justice, and the common good. Grant to
our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties; By your
grace may we have the courage to defend them, for
ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land.
We ask this
through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness, and in the name of
your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, with whom you
live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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