FROM THE DESK OF THE PASTOR

Dear friends in Christ,

This weekend, we celebrate the 250^th Anniversary of our country. July 4, Independence Day, marks an important milestone in the life of our nation. It provides us with an opportunity to reflect, to give thanks, and to celebrate the rich history of our country and our people. Our nation was founded with great idealism. The Declaration of Independence held up this shining truth that all are “created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This among many other ideals raised up by our ‘founding fathers,” have not always been lived out, but they have been what has caused this nation to grow and prosper. When these ideals have been lived well, they have enabled our country to become a beacon of hope to a great multitude.  This Independence Day is indeed one to celebrate, but is also an opportunity to be renewed in these ideals, that we may be “a more perfect union,” and “one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”  Let us pray that we might pursue all that is right and good in the sight of the Lord that we may secure the blessings of liberty for future generations. The US Bishops invited a number of theologians to write essays for the 250^th. Today I would like to share excerpts from one on patriotism: M.T. Lu, an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He begins:

“Our country, right or wrong.” So Commodore Steven Decatur famously declared his loyalty to the United States in celebration of his victory over the Barbary Pirates in 1815. This notoriously American sentiment has long been regarded as an expression of unthinking nationalism. Reflecting on it many years later G. K. Chesterton would acidly remark that it was “a thing that no patriot would think of saying. It is like saying, ‘My mother, drunk or sober.’” How should American Catholics think about patriotism today? Is Chesterton right, and Decatur’s boast just a slightly more eloquent version of the “USA! USA! USA!” chants that so offend the sensibilities of the sophisticated? Or, is Decatur’s heart in the right place, even if open to misinterpretation?

As is so often the case, we can find clarity by turning to St. Thomas Aquinas. In fact, he is unambiguous in holding that patriotism is a virtue—it is a part of piety and, therefore, of justice. He explains that we owe honor to our parents and country (patria) because they are “principles of our being and government.” With this he grounds our duties of piety and patriotism in the fact that who we are, and our understanding of the good, substantially derives from our parents and country. Obviously, each of us owes a great debt to our parents. Not only did they beget us, but the vast majority of us were also raised and formed by them. Just as a good ruler governs the state for the sake of the common good, good parents “govern” their children by shaping them to desire and pursue what is authentically good. Our obligations to our parents, expressed through the virtue of piety, involve acknowledging their rightful authority, which exists for the sake of that same good. Even as adults, when we have passed out of their direct authority, we still owe them honor and respect, which is perhaps why the Fourth Commandment is actually the first concerned with human morality….

Like our parents, God is a “principle of being and government” for each of us. Of course, God is the primary principle, and so our obligations to Him outweigh any other, including even our duties to our parents….We are now ready to see how patriotism fits into this. As already noted, we actually have two secondary principles of being and government: our parents and also our country. We owe our existence as the kinds of people we are not only to our parents but also to our civil community. Our nation, through its laws and institutions, educates and shapes us in much the same way that our parents form us. Therefore, just as we have natural duties to God and our parents, we have analogous duties of patriotism to our civil communities. Of course, it is one thing to see that we have duties of patriotism in general, and quite another to know exactly what they require… So where does that leave us? From the perspective of natural reason, we can unambiguously say that patriotism is a virtue and a requirement of natural justice. In our day and age, it is difficult to see anything other than the Constitutional Republic in which we live as the proper object of that patriotic duty. At the same time, we also know that many of our country’s laws and policies are contrary to that same natural justice, from legalized abortion to euthanasia and much more. And yet, for all her flaws, America remains a principle of our being and government. So, in one very important sense, Commodore Decatur was correct: as Americans, she is our country, right or wrong, and we are called to honor her much as we are called to honor our parents. However, Chesterton’s concern was not unfounded; we cannot let a legitimate love of country blind us to injustice. As Catholics, then, we are called to the hard work of making her more right than wrong, even while knowing that task will never be complete.

WE WELCOME FR MICHAEL WILLIAMS, SJ

I will be on vacation from July 6 through until July 25. While I am away, Fr. Raphael and Fr. Michael Williams will be covering for me. Fr. Williams will mainly be at St. Jude and Fr. Raphael mainly at Holy Innocents and St. Anthony. Fr Williams is a Jesuit priest and a professor of English at Spring Hill College in Alabama. Last Summer he filled in for us and was a great blessing to our parishes. Please join me in welcoming him warmly.  I will be keeping you in my prayers while I am away traveling. Please pray for me too! I will look forward to seeing you again rested and rejuvenated. Once of the things I most enjoy while being on vacation is the ability to attend Sunday Mass in different places. I hope that as you travel this Summer, you too will make it a point to participate in Sunday Mass where-ever you are. It reminds us of our shared faith with so many other people around our nation and our world.

Wishing you every blessing!

Fr. Johnson