On this, the morning of the first day of our Nation’s 251st year, we gather as we are called to do, to give thanks and praise to our God, be fed by the Body and Blood of His Son Jesus Christ, and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to move forward into our world to share the Good News of salvation and lend a helping hand to those in need.
Back on June 11th our US Bishop’s consecrated the United State to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. They seized an opportunity to bring the Sacred Heart of Jesus into our lives. The freedom and the independence that we have been blessed with must include our Faith. We must celebrate our freedom in the spirit of that which allows us to choose Christ! We must celebrate our freedom in a way that allows us to live out our faith freely and with confidence, for we are a people sacred to the Lord, and God has chosen us to be his own, for it is the Lord that redeems our lives, and it is through his Sacred Heart that he brings us a love that is not dependent on how we have loved God, but that he has loved us and has sent his Son to us to heal and protect us all.
Generally speaking, during this time of our Liturgical Year, the Word focuses us on how to be a Disciple, and today’s readings offer us a template of sorts. As a Disciple let’s begin this and every day by REJOICING for the gift of God’s creation. Next, let’s make a true commitment to LIVE out the life given to us at our Baptism. Finally, let us SERVE others so as to relieve their burden, and help carry their cross.
Today we join Zechariah as we “rejoice heartily [and] shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! [God’s] dominion shall be from sea to, [dare I add shining] sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As proclaimed in our Psalm and supported in a popular Patriotic Song: “Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, for this land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the New York Islands. From the redwood forests to the Gulf Stream waters… This land was mad FOR you and me!”
Ours is a land of the living and a land of the free, and we the people are called to be alive in Christ, for as St. Paul tells us in the Second Reading, “the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you…” So let us throw ourselves into his loving arms as he invites us to "Come to [him], all you who labor and are burdened, and [he] will give you rest. Take [his] yoke upon you and learn from [him], for [he is] meek and humble of heart; and [in him] you will find rest for yourselves. For [his] yoke is easy, and [his] burden light.”
Therefore brothers and sisters, we are called to live with a purpose, empowered by the love of the Sacred Heart. We are invited to allow Jesus to help carry our burdens, and follow him as he blesses our lives and our relationships, our families and our homes, and our land and our Country.
Our Holy Father offered his good wishes to our nation in his Letter marking the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of the United States of America: “May this milestone renew the shared commitment to the promise of freedom, justice, opportunity and democracy. May Americans honor the courage and vision of those who came before them by strengthening their communities, respecting their differences and working together toward a more perfect union.”
My friends, we pledge that we are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all, and we know that we are One Body in Christ ready to care for and feed one another… So in that vain and in a spirit of our Patroness, the Blessed Mother, let us ask for her intercession as we pray,
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death. Amen
Back on June 11th our US Bishop’s consecrated the United State to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. They seized an opportunity to bring the Sacred Heart of Jesus into our lives. The freedom and the independence that we have been blessed with must include our Faith. We must celebrate our freedom in the spirit of that which allows us to choose Christ! We must celebrate our freedom in a way that allows us to live out our faith freely and with confidence, for we are a people sacred to the Lord, and God has chosen us to be his own, for it is the Lord that redeems our lives, and it is through his Sacred Heart that he brings us a love that is not dependent on how we have loved God, but that he has loved us and has sent his Son to us to heal and protect us all.
Generally speaking, during this time of our Liturgical Year, the Word focuses us on how to be a Disciple, and today’s readings offer us a template of sorts. As a Disciple let’s begin this and every day by REJOICING for the gift of God’s creation. Next, let’s make a true commitment to LIVE out the life given to us at our Baptism. Finally, let us SERVE others so as to relieve their burden, and help carry their cross.
Today we join Zechariah as we “rejoice heartily [and] shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! [God’s] dominion shall be from sea to, [dare I add shining] sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As proclaimed in our Psalm and supported in a popular Patriotic Song: “Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, for this land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the New York Islands. From the redwood forests to the Gulf Stream waters… This land was mad FOR you and me!”
Ours is a land of the living and a land of the free, and we the people are called to be alive in Christ, for as St. Paul tells us in the Second Reading, “the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you…” So let us throw ourselves into his loving arms as he invites us to "Come to [him], all you who labor and are burdened, and [he] will give you rest. Take [his] yoke upon you and learn from [him], for [he is] meek and humble of heart; and [in him] you will find rest for yourselves. For [his] yoke is easy, and [his] burden light.”
Therefore brothers and sisters, we are called to live with a purpose, empowered by the love of the Sacred Heart. We are invited to allow Jesus to help carry our burdens, and follow him as he blesses our lives and our relationships, our families and our homes, and our land and our Country.
Our Holy Father offered his good wishes to our nation in his Letter marking the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of the United States of America: “May this milestone renew the shared commitment to the promise of freedom, justice, opportunity and democracy. May Americans honor the courage and vision of those who came before them by strengthening their communities, respecting their differences and working together toward a more perfect union.”
My friends, we pledge that we are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all, and we know that we are One Body in Christ ready to care for and feed one another… So in that vain and in a spirit of our Patroness, the Blessed Mother, let us ask for her intercession as we pray,
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death. Amen
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