May 23, 2020

As Americans, we take time this weekend as we have been doing for the past 154 years (this year being the 155th Memorial Day) to remember and give thanks to God for all of those who gave of their lives so we may live in freedom. As Catholic Americans, this is at the core of our faith and something we have been doing daily for over 2000 years every time we celebrate Mass. At the Last Supper our Lord said, "do this in memory of Me." We not only remember in our heads but make present in our hearts, our very Lord and Brother who shed His Blood so that we can live in true freedom. Jesus identified Himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. To be truly free, therefore, is to live Christ. We are grateful to that first Band of Brothers, the Apostles, and so many others after them, who also laid down their lives for the sake of this freedom in Christ. This is what it means not only to be a citizen of the United States, but ultimately, a citizen of heaven.

In the absence of services and parades this year due to restrictions related to the pandemic, we still have the opportunity to honor these heroes, as always, to the extent that we make God first in our lives. When we recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America let us pray that every citizen and every official entrusted with the authority to govern and lead may recall that it begins with and is sustained first and foremost by our pledge of faith, hope, and love for God. We give thanks for all of those who have gone before us marked with that sign of faith who have witnessed to love for God and country with their lives. Let us go and do the same.