July 5, 2009
Independence Day
Although the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, all those living in “the colonies” didn’t experience true independence right away. There were slaves who didn’t experience independence; many native Americans were oppressed, women couldn’t vote, and it is often forgotten that Catholics were among those whose liberties were deprived. There are so many Catholics on Long Island now, that we presume that we were always here.
Yet in the early days of our country, in some places Catholics were prohibited from holding public office. And many Catholics did not speak English -- they were French. There were some notable places where Catholics were free to practice their religion -- Maryland, for example; and Pennsylvania was tolerant to Catholics. But for the most part, Catholics were on the outside of the American experience.
If we are to celebrate “Independence Weekend” this year, we ought to keep our history in mind. We give thanks to God for the freedom and relative prosperity we have now. We appreciate the sacrifices our ancestors made -- first, our ancestors in faith who put up with and overcame religious prejudice in our new country. And second, we appreciate those ancestors who more recently came to this country, bringing the Catholic faith along with their families. It wasn’t too many generations ago that our ancestors were struggling with hunger and poverty in the “old country” -- in conditions we can hardly imagine today.
And one way to give thanks for the blessings of this new country of ours is to pray for those who have more recently come. Our most recent immigrants have fled extreme poverty, wars, natural disasters -- they hope for what our grandparents hoped for: the land of the free where they could provide for themselves and their children.
As we celebrate all that is “American” this weekend, we celebrate all Americans -- north, south, central -- whether recently arrived or those here for generations. There’s something very American about being an immigrant and we celebrate this land that continues to open its arms to those who seek life and refuge here.
Happy 4th of July!!
