Fortnight For Freedom
In solidarity with dioceses throughout the United States, we kick off our second annual Fortnight for Freedom, continuing to ground the principles of justice in truth and charity. To this end, we must be first and foremost committed to a life of prayer. From this commitment of prayer flows an appreciation for our need to engage in a lifelong process of conversion that underlies the call to New Evangelization throughout the Church in the U.S. and the World.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has prescribed a plan, both pastoral and spiritual in nature, for purposes of prayer and advocacy for the dignity of Life, Marriage and Family, and Religious Liberty. The Church believes these to be inherent to the sacredness of the human person as created in the image of God. This plan includes regular forms of prayer and penance on behalf of parishes, families and individuals to mark our conviction about such dignity and sacredness as core tenets of our Catholic faith. It is from this stance that we join with persons and communities of all faith traditions throughout the globe in solidarity for what we believe to be right and just.
The Church, established by Jesus Christ, was founded for a very unique purpose. It does not exist as an end in itself. Rather, the Church has been mandated by God as the means to the ultimate end; namely, the Kingdom of God & Salvation of Souls. We do well in this Year of Faith to keep this reality before us in striving to grow in intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, Savior of the World.
We join in prayer and solidarity for the Dignity of Life, the Safeguarding of Marriage & Family, and the Right of Religious Liberty not only for religious communities and individuals of this great nation of ours, but for individuals, families and religious communities throughout the world. The right of conscience in carrying out one’s duties in life to God and neighbor must be preserved for persons and communities of all faith traditions in every culture. We should take particular note of those who are persecuted, exiled and even killed for the sake of religious freedom. Likewise, we must reject all heinous crimes against any individual or segment of humanity carried out in the name of religion.
Promoting the dignity of the human person, in defense of the sacredness of life, is one of the key principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Such promotion and defense remain inherent to the very fabric of the Church’s mission. Complimentary to this focus is another key principle of the Church’s Social Teaching; namely, “the Call to Family, Community and Participation.” Intricate to this particular principle is the sacred institution of Marriage, which in accordance with the divine plan as noted in Sacred Scripture, is defined as being between a man and a woman. The health and wellbeing of the family, often referred to as the “domestic church,” is essential to the very fabric of stable living. The inherent constitutional right of Religious Liberty, of course, permeates the rights and responsibilities of our dual citizenship. As Catholic Christians, we maintain our membership in the Church, the Body of Christ, while making contributions to society as faithful citizens. While taking seriously the role of earthly citizenship, we dare not lose sight of the fact that we are pilgrims on the way to fully realizing our ultimate citizenship in the Kingdom of God.
In a letter he wrote in 1789, George Washington commented, “If I could have entertained the slightest apprehension that the Constitution framed in the Convention, where I had the honor to preside, might possibly endanger the religious rights of any ecclesiastical society, certainly I would never have placed my signature to it.” Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter, in 1809, stating, “No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority.”
The scripture readings for this evening, Thursday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time, speak to us of the need for bold proclamation, authentic prayer and actual forgiveness. Like St. Paul, writing to the Church at Corinth, we boast of Jesus Christ as Savior of the World. In Him, we stand firm on our right and duty to preach the gospel in word and deed. Underlying our daring embrace of such a calling is the discernment of God’s Will, marked by the Lord’s Prayer as taught by Jesus Himself in the passage from the Gospel of Matthew.
In the spirit of St. Paul, through his inspiration and intercession, may we never tire of proclaiming the gospel by the witness of our very lives. May we never have cause to apologize or make excuses for carrying out the mission as entrusted to us by the mandate of Jesus Christ in announcing the Kingdom of God at hand through the Church’s ministries and services.
Daring to live in this manner requires that we take Jesus’ gospel teaching on prayer to heart in such a way that we seek to please God rather than one’s own desires or the unjust demands of mere human beings and institutions. While no mere mortal is above the law, we must never forget that law was created for humanity and not vice-versa. Jesus’ emphasis on forgiveness beckons us to set the command of love before all others. All ministries and services of the Church are motived by love of God and Neighbor, with preferential option for the poor in the safeguarding of dignity and life of every human being. At the heart of the Lord’s Prayer, the demand of forgiveness and the commandment of love is Salvation of Souls. With these in mind, we must stand firm against any and all unjust opposition to anything that might compromise our notion of faithful discipleship, including citizenship, and the nature of the Church. This is true freedom. Indeed, we boast of our demand for such freedom, dignity, goods of marriage and family, and sacredness of life.
