Happy 4th of July!

We have been in two different churches for two Masses and one wedding today...we're celebrating our religious freedom! How blessed we are to have a nation that allows us to worship inside and out of our churches; to speak the Gospel and pass on the graces of God wherever we roam. There is so much more left in the day but I wanted to let you read the Pastor's Message from a local church. It is so well done.

True Freedom
As our nation observes Independence Day this weekend, we call to mind all of the ideals that have made and continue to make the United States a great nation. Perhaps the principle we treasure and guard the most is that of freedom. From the time we were young children we have been taught that our nation's founders came to America precisely to establish a society based on the principle that every person ought to be free. However, we must also remember what freedom really is and what it is not. Freedom does not consist in merely doing whatever one may feel like doing; rather, true freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to do what is just and right and the opportunity to exercise that power. So, as we celebrate the Fourth of July this weekend, may we be grateful that in our nation we have the power and rights necessary to exercise our faith and practice the virtues inherent therein. And may we also renew our pledge to defend and promote this true notion of freedom with maximum determination.

False Freedom
The recent decision of the Supreme Court on marriage serves as a sad reminder of how freedom can be abused and is an affront to those husbands and wives who struggle each day to hold their marriages together and raise upstanding and virtuous children. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput's comments on the situation are worth repeating:

'The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision on marriage is not a surprise. The surprise will come as ordinary people begin to experience firsthand and painfully, the impact of today's action on everything they thought they knew about marriage, family life, our laws and our social institutions. The mistakes of the court change nothing about the nature of men and women, and the truth of God's Word. The task now for believers is to form our own families even more deeply in the love of God, and to rebuild a healthy marriage culture, one marriage at a time, from the debris of today's decision.'

There is a reason he is an Archbishop. Be not afraid.

We are blessed.