Fourth of July

BY ARCHBISHOP THOMAS J. RODI

We will soon celebrate Independence Day. It is indeed a time to celebrate the freedoms which we enjoy. This day was envisioned by our Founding Fathers on the first Independence Day when in 1776 John Adams wrote this about the Fourth of July:

It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with shews, games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

It is of importance that this first manner in which John Adams felt the day should be celebrated would be "by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty." This would do us well to remember this fact. Our Founding Fathers had just signed the Declaration of Independence. They did so at grave risk to their welfare for they knew that, if caught, they would be executed for such an act. However, with the courage of principle, they declared to the King of England that their rights did not come to them from any monarch or parliament, nor did their rights come to them by being free-born Englishmen. Instead they wrote that:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Boldly they proclaimed that our most fundamental rights come to us from God our Creator. We forget this at our own peril. Our most fundamental rights do not come to us from any president, congress, court, or even from the fact that we are Americans. Our most basic and important rights come to us from God. We give thanks that we live in a country where so many have sacrificed so greatly so that we may enjoy these rights, but we cannot lose sight of the source of these rights: God alone to whom we owe of first and highest allegiance. God spoke to the people of Israel through Moses and reminded them of this very fact:

Therefore, keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, by walking in his ways and fearing him. For the Lord, your God, is bringing you into a good country, a land with streams of water, with springs and fountains welling up in the hills and valleys, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, of olive trees and honey, a land where you can eat bread without stint and where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones contain iron and in whose hills you can mine copper. But when you have eaten your fill, you must bless the Lord, your God, for the good country he has given you. Be careful not to forget the Lord, your God, by neglecting his commandments and decrees and statutes which I enjoin of you today, lest when you have eaten your fill, and have built fine houses and have lived in them, and have increased your herds and flocks, your silver and gold, and all your property, you then become haughty of heart and unmindful of the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt....Otherwise, you might say to yourselves, "It is my own power and the strength of my own hand that has obtained for me this wealth." Remember then, it is the Lord, your God, who gives you the power to acquire wealth, by fulfilling, as he has now done, the covenant which he swore to your fathers. But if you forget the Lord, your God, and follow other gods, serving and worshiping them, I forewarn you this day that you will perish utterly. Like the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so shall you too perish for not heeding the voice of the Lord, your God. (Deuteronomy 8)

As we celebrate this Fourth of July, let us be mindful of our need of God and his goodness to us. Perhaps this prayer, often attributed to George Washington, helps put this celebration into a proper focus:

Almighty God, who has given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech you that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of your favor and glad to do your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom your Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to your law, we may show forth your praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness and in the day of trouble, do not allow our trust in you to fail; all this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Most Reverend Thomas J. Rodi is the Archbishop of Mobile