Kneeling and standing! (Independence Day, July 4th 2019)

What we celebrate on July 4th is what all people strive for, what every heart hungers for. Freedom. That is a sentiment everyone knows. We who have enjoyed freedom our whole lives perhaps can’t appreciate it this deeply. How many people around the world share the same dream, in different ways, in different circumstances? Captives of ideologies, or causes. But we in America are living that dream. We are truly blessed. Even though 4th of July is not a liturgical festivity we come to God in thanksgiving and in joy, celebrating the life of freedom we have been given in this country. God has blessed America. Let us thank him for giving us this land, and this freedom. In January 2012, Pope Benedict XVI explained to United States bishops in Rome the challenge to our culture of a “radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres.” He went on to highlight “of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.…The seriousness of these threats needs to be clearly appreciated at every level of ecclesial life.” The Holy Father’s answer to this “radical secularism” and “denial of rights” is, as he explained, “an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity endowed with a strong critical sense vis-à-vis the dominant culture and with the courage to counter a reductive secularism.” And here we are. Our faith is a remedy for what ails our society. The mission of all of us, but particularly of the laity, is to engage the culture with the Good News that only comes from Jesus Christ. This may seem daunting, but, remember, we are a people of hope. It is why Blessed John Paul II called for the New Evangelization and why Pope Benedict XVI carried this call into the new millennium and why Pope Francis is such an example of living faith with courage and serenity. We know that while we must still defend our freedom, Christ has already won the final victory. At each Mass, we remember and celebrate who we are as Catholics. We gather around the table of the Lord to receive the gift of the Eucharist, just as the apostles gathered around Jesus at the Last Supper. The paschal mystery of Jesus’ suffering, death on the cross and resurrection is made real to us, here and now, and then we go out to the world to share that gift of Jesus’ new life and his love. That new life in Christ, that living out of our faith, is reflected not only in our worship and in our personal acts of charity, but in our Church’s educational, health care and social-ministry outreach. Those works, those acts of faith, are threatened whenever our religious freedom is eroded. When the priest elevates the consecrated Host and the chalice of Jesus’ blood, we are all on our knees together. Let us thank Our Lord for the gift of life and for the freedom to love and worship our God. Let us pray that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we may be his witnesses. In the presence of Our Lord, we will kneel. There is a time to be on one’s knees. There is also a time when we need to stand — to stand up • AE