Today, instead of observing the 12th Sunday of ordinary time, we celebrate the solemnity of the birth of John the Baptist, which falls on today’s date, June 24th. Ever since John’s mother Elizabeth and his father Zechariah received news about John’s birth, ever since Mary went on that special visit to her cousin Elizabeth while she had Jesus in her own womb, it was announced to the world that John would have a special role in the history of salvation. God made John’s father mute because Zechariah doubted God’s will; his voice was restored when he names his son John according to God’s will. The friends and neighbors of Elizabeth and Zechariah are astonished at what they see – they know that something special and unique is going on. John himself had a fiery, assertive personality, but he channeled his energy into serving God and speaking out as a prophet who would point the way to Jesus.
We are in the middle of Religious Freedom Week as declared by our US Bishops. We can look at the importance of religious freedom in our country in the context of today’s solemnity of the birth of John the Baptist. John proclaimed God’s word against the backdrop of a powerful Roman empire. Herod feared John the Baptist and his message so much so that John was ultimately imprisoned and beheaded for living out his faith according to God’s will. Herod did not want to hear the truth in the words of John the Baptist. As we see our religious freedom under attack in our own country right now, perhaps the honesty, diligence, and fortitude by which John the Baptist lived out his faith is a good example for all of us to reflect upon.
During Religious Freedom Week, we the faithful are to undertake prayer, education, and action in support of religious freedom. John the Baptist paid with his life as he spoke the truths of our faith. Just last Friday, we celebrated the feast of St John Fisher and St Thomas More, both of whom were beheaded by Henry VIII in 16th century England. Just like King Herod with John the Baptist, Henry VIII did not want More and Fisher to speak the truth about the Church and about the holy bond of matrimony that Henry VIII wanted to break with his wife Catherine of Aragon. More was a lawyer and chancellor of England, while Fisher was a high ranking English Bishop in the Catholic Church. For speaking out for religious freedom, both of them lost their lives became martyrs for the faith,
The Bishops have called religious freedom “our first, most cherished liberty.” Religious liberty was important to the founding fathers of our country: it was the topic of the first amendment to the US Constitution. In many ways, religious liberty is at the foundation of all the liberties we enjoy in our country, for if we Americans are not free to form and follow our consciences in our religious faith and to choose the way we live out our faith each day, then how will we be able to live in freedom in any sense of that word? When our government asks us to do something that is against God’s holy teachings, then the American tradition of liberty is being trampled upon and destroyed. We saw Dr. Martin Luther King Jr stir up the religious consciousness of our nation during the Civil Rights movement; a stirring of our religious consciousness is happening right now as well.
As we recognize Religious Freedom Week, we recognize that our religious freedom is not something that we are inventing for ourselves; it is not something that the government itself can bestow upon us or take away at its whim. Religious liberty is a grace we receive from God, a gift we receive from Him. Our country was founded on this concept of religious freedom; it is something we as Americans and as Catholics insist upon. Just as John the Baptist insisted in ancient Israel, just as Thomas More and John Fisher insisted during the reign of Henry VIII, we assert our rights as believers and followers of Christ.
We pray for the intercessions of John the Baptist, for the intercessions of St Thomas More and St John Fisher, of St Peter and St Paul. We pray for the courage and fortitude that propelled these men to action, to stand up for faith and for freedom. As we conclude this homily, please pray for me this prayer for religious liberty:
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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