 
|
You have set us freePosted: 07.03.09 At this time of the year, we celebrate the birth of our great nation and the freedom that we enjoy as its citizens. The Declaration of Independence, the foundational document of our country, is more than a declaration of America as an independent nation. It also declares the moral principles that respect the laws of God and nature, and grounds true freedom in them. It understands that freedom is not the ability to do whatever we want. That is the sin of tyranny from which this nation asserted its independence. Freedom is the ability to do good in accord with the laws of God and to avoid evil which is a determent to freedom. Reflections on USCCB Meeting The meeting was a very good and productive one. The full support that the bishops gave to Bishop D’Arcy regarding his position on the Notre Dame situation was a strong affirmation of their policies regarding the sanctity of human life, which can never be compromised. In this vein, the approval of the Mass in Thanksgiving for the Gift of Human Life underlines the power of prayer in regard to all efforts to protect the sanctity of life. The bishops’ approval of a Spanish Sacramentary for our county was another important result of the meeting as this will be a further assistance to ministering to the Hispanic population which is such a vital part of the faith life of our country. The giving of a significant time of the meeting for prayer, reflection and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament sets the entire meeting in the context of prayer. This helps the bishops to focus on what is essential to their ministry, and also to dispel the notion that their meeting is a “business one,” similar to that of any corporation. It is a meeting dealing with faith and its transmission in our day and age. Again, the meeting was a very good and productive one. In his visit to our nation last year, Pope Benedict XVI praised the principles upon which America was founded and expressed his high esteem for it. He emphasized, “Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility.” In this vein, he went on to say, “Americans know this from experience – almost every town in this country has its monuments honoring those who sacrificed their lives in the defense of freedom, both at home and abroad. The preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good and a sense of responsibility towards those less fortunate. ... In a word, freedom is ever new. It is a challenge held out to each generation, and it must be constantly won over for the cause of good.” True freedom is that which liberates us from the selfishness of sin. It is sin that enslaves us and frustrates freedom. It is sin that causes others to be enslaved by adherence to a selfish manner of life. It is Jesus Christ who has brought us true freedom by sacrificing his life to conquer the evil of sin which destroys freedom. Christ’s freedom is truly the one that is ever new. Christ’s sacrifice has brought the possibility of a true democracy as envisioned by the founders of our nation. The ability to overcome the willfulness that seeks good only for oneself is the spiritual freedom of Christ. His freedom enables us to embrace the personal responsibility to sacrifice ourselves for the common good. In the Mass we celebrate on Independence Day, we recall in the preface that Christ’s “message took form in the vision of our fathers as they fashioned a nation where men might live as one.” Our forefathers who came to this land were much like the Israelites who came to the promised land from Egypt, seeking an ever new freedom in the Spirit. The freedom celebrated by the Israelites in the Passover is fulfilled in the Passover of Christ, who became the lamb of sacrifice and gave his body and blood for our freedom from sin. We celebrate true freedom in the Eucharist. Christ again sacrifices himself to the Father for us. His body and blood are given to us as the ever new covenant of his life and freedom. This saving action of Christ is the foundation upon which “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” can be realized as the Founding Fathers of our nation had envisioned. However, their vision is one that, as we again recall in the preface of Independence Day, “lives on in our midst as a task for men today and a promise for tomorrow.” Freedom is still a task for our nation as long as the rights and dignity of all persons, from the moment of conception until natural death, are not respected and realized. We still have a ways to go and it is the freedom of Christ that lights our way. We can never underestimate the power of Christ’s sacrifice and its continuation in the Eucharist to transform the world and the society which inhabits it. The power to be free from sin is the power that opens the way to a truly just and free society where everyone’s rights are truly respected. The fourth eucharistic acclamation after the consecration makes this abundantly clear. Here, we proclaim, “Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world.” One of the many festivities that are part of a celebration of Independence Day is the watching of fireworks. These displays, and the music that sometimes accompanies them, exhibit an explosion of dazzling light that symbolizes the power of freedom. It is appropriate to say that the power released in the celebration of the Eucharist is analogous to these fireworks. However, what happens in the Eucharist is not symbolic – it is real. The celebration of the Eucharist explodes with the loving power of Christ’s sacrifice, which transforms the universe at its very core. Pope Benedict XVI is fond of stating this analogy in another way, which he has done on several occasions. One of them is in his apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, “Sacramentum Caritatis.” Here he says, “The substantial conversion of bread and wine into his (Christ’s) body and blood introduces within creation a principle of a radical change, a sort of ‘nuclear fission,’ to use an image familiar to us today, which penetrates to the heart of all being, a change meant to set off a process which transforms reality, a process leading ultimately to the transformation of the entire world, to the point where God will be all in all” (cf., 1 Cor 15:28). As we celebrate our country’s foundation and the gift of freedom which we share in this great nation, let us also appreciate more the sacrifice of Christ that makes true freedom possible. This we celebrate in the Eucharist. By freeing us from the tyranny of sin, Christ enables us to live the freedom which respects the rights and dignity of all people as our Founding Fathers had envisioned. On Independence Day, as we watch the beauty of fireworks fill the sky, may we give thanks for our nation, renew our efforts to preserve its true freedom and also proclaim, “Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world.”
|
Advertisement
|