Celebrating Our Freedom

Today (July 4th) we celebrate our country’s independence.  It is a good day to think about the principles our country was founded on.

The Declaration of Independence, the founding document of our country, states

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.

The source of these rights and truths was obvious to our Founding Fathers.  They knew God made us so.  Why does it seem like many people are forgetting God, or even rejecting the idea of a “god”.

As we read in paragraph 17 of Gaudium Et Spes from the Second Vatican Council, we have freedom but that freedom does not mean we can do whatever we want.  God has given us ‘free will’ to do whatever we want.  We make good use of our ‘free will’ when we choose to do good.

What do you do with the freedom you have?

For more on this topic check on my articles “Faithful Citizenship” and “Rights and Responsibilities”.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff