From Our Pastor
This past Thursday we celebrated Independence Day. July 4th is the quintessential American Holiday. Living in a time where religion is often pushed out to the public space, it is important for us to remember the religious foundation of our great nation. Speaking of how this day would be remembered throughout history, John Adams said this: “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God the Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shows, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one end of the Continent to the other from this time forward forever more.” We live in an era where religion and faith are treated as things that should remain in the private sphere. It seems that whenever faith is mentioned in a public way, we hear cries of the importance of the separation of Church and State. I think that as we come to the end of this holiday week it is appropriate for us to remember that our faith is meant to be lived in the public sphere. The founding fathers thought that faith was essential for the survival of this experiment in liberty. To again quote Adams; “Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
Two weeks ago we did live our faith in a pubic way when we processed with the Eucharist from Saint Mary to Saint Joseph. On July 21st we will be public again when we process from Saint Mary’s to the field on Cherry Street to celebrate the Holy Ghost Festa. I thank all of those who helped to make the Corpus Christi procession such a success. I invite all of you to join us at the Holy Ghost Festa in two weeks. When we participate in these public expressions of our faith, we are evangelizing the world around us and inviting it to come to know Jesus. When we participate in the public expressions of our faith we are also helping to celebrate and strengthen the great American experiment that began 243 years ago.
God Bless, Fr. Jack Graham