Ave Maria! On this glorious Fourth of July, I've been profusely thanking God for the many freedoms we Americans are so blessed to have. The list is endless, and so is my gratitude.
Today I've also been especially honoring and praying for the "heroes proved / In liberating strife" whom Katharine Lee Bates immortalized in her much-loved patriotic song "America the Beautiful": those brave men and women with "pilgrim feet, / Whose stern, impassioned stress / A thoroughfare for freedom beat / Across the wilderness!" These individuals lived boldly and freely, utterly convinced of the self-evident truths that "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Rightly are they described as noble persons "Who more than self their country loved, / And mercy more than life." They number among us even today, some even risking their lives to keep alive the "patriot dream / That sees beyond the years" as they work tirelessly for the true brotherhood that has its beginning and end in our Loving Creator. I salute each one of them! And I ask God to shed His grace on them until they leave this world for a better country, the heavenly homeland He has prepared for us, the city to come, "Undimmed by human tears!" (cf. Hebrews 11:16 and 13:14)
Father of all nations and ages,
we recall the day when our country
claimed its place among the family of nations;
for what has been achieved we give you thanks,
for the work that still remains we ask your help,
and as you have called us from many peoples to be one nation,
grant that, under your providence,
our country may share your blessings
with all the peoples of the earth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
~The Roman Missal, Collect for Independence Day
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