July 4: Independence Day / Día de Independencia

Something to think about on Independence Day....

Fr. James Hamel, a Catholic priest, served as a U.S. Military Chaplain. His final deployment in the Army was from the spring until the fall of 2008 and it was to Afghanistan. During that assignment, on the Fourth of July, while the cooks in the dining tents served the traditional menu of hot dogs, hamburgers, and corn on the cob, it was the Taliban who provided the “rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air” that night. He has written that “it was a pretty scary time. I presume our nation’s founders felt the same way back in their day.” 

Fr. Hamel’s mission was to cover the spiritual needs on his base, but also 15 smaller outposts spread across a vast, ungoverned area. To get to each location he had to fly by helicopter, but only when it was safe from bad weather or enemy fire. He has recounted that “when I finally made it out to one particular base in the hinterlands, a soldier met me at the landing zone and said to me, ‘Father, I’m sure glad to see you. We haven’t had a priest here in three months.’ But I knew what he really meant was, ‘We haven’t received the Eucharist or gone to confession in three months.’ While I was there, I heard numerous confessions and we celebrated some of the most meaningful Masses of my life. I presume those soldiers felt the same way.” 

An invitation: Join us for Mass at 9am in our parish church on Independence Day. It will be a perfect opportunity to give thanks to God that we can do so freely in our country, and that our priest doesn’t just come around once every three months! 

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“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, and for all the work that still remains to be done we ask your help. As you have called us from many peoples to be one nation, grant that, under your providential care, 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 for ever and ever. Amen.”

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En la celebración del día de nuestra Independencia, estamos invitados a recordar que Estados Unidos no es una nación cuyos ideales fundacionales fueron falsos, sino una nación cuyas promesas fundacionales no se han cumplido plenamente aún. El trabajo continuo de llevar a plenitud la promesa de Estados Unidos recae en nosotros..

Estamos invitados también a ser santos y discípulos misioneros que proclamen a Cristo y edifiquen un país que viva sus principios fundacionales de igualdad, libertad, y dignidad para cada persona. Pidámosle a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, la Madre del continente americano, que ella nos ayude a suscitar un nuevo despertar en nuestro compromiso con el “credo estadounidense.” Habrá Misa el viernes a las 9am.