Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Fourth of July
In the spirit of this holiday, and gathered as we are here, as Catholic faithful, I’m going to use my homily to see how well you know the intertwining of our nation’s history and our Catholic faith. If you get at least 8 correct, you will be permitted to leave after Mass. Otherwise, there each will be assigned a section of the parish grounds for an hour of pulling weeds.
1. Name the first Catholic diocese in the United States?
The first Catholic diocese in the United States was the diocese of Baltimore, established in 1789.
2. There are 39 signatures on the U.S. Constitution. How many are from Catholics and if any, can you name at least one?
There were two: Daniel Carroll and Thomas Fitzsimons. Carroll was the brother of John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop in the U.S.A. Fitzsimons was a member of Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
3. Who was the first pope to visit the United States?
On Oct. 4, 1965, Pope Paul VI became the first reigning pope to visit the United States: a whirlwind 14-hour trip to New York, which included an address to the United Nations, a meeting with President Lyndon Johnson and a Mass at Yankee Stadium.
4. True or false: George Washington was Catholic?
Our first President, George Washington, while he lay on his deathbed in the year 1799, sent servants across the Potomac to bring back his close friend, Father Leonard Neale. The priest spent some time alone in the President’s sick room. When he returned to the Jesuit house, his fellow religious asked him the outcome of his visit and he simply answered, “Everything has been taken care of.” The entire story was attested to by his servants and was recorded in the Jesuit archives. It’s said that George Washington always kept an image of Our Lady in His living room and that he contributed funds to the building of the historic St. Augustine’s church in Philadelphia.
5. Who is the patron saint of the United States?
In 1846, the United States bishops unanimously chose Mary under the official title, Our Lady, The Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of the United States of America.
6. An American was instrumental in writing one of the sixteen documents of the Second Vatican Council. Can you either name the document or the author?
American Jesuit, John Courtney Murray contributed greatly to Dignitatis Humanae: the Declaration on Religious Freedom.
7. What was the first Catholic Church to be built on any lands that are now part of the United States?
The original chapel of the old San Miguel missions in Santa Fe, New Mexico, dates to about 1620.
8. True or false: the second oldest archdiocese in the United States is the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon?
The Archdiocese of Portland (formerly the Archdiocese of Oregon City) is the second oldest archdiocese in the United States.
9. Who is the patron saint of fireworks?
St. Barbara born in what today would be Lebanon, in the mid-third century. It’s said that on the occasion that she was tragically killed, her murderer was struck by lightning.
10. True or false: President Teddy Roosevelt was cousin to Pope Pius X?
False.
11. As we know, the Bald Eagle is symbol for the United States. Which evangelist is associated with an eagle and why?
Often in art we see the four evangelists given identities to match the figures in chapter 4 of the book of Revelation. St. John is said to be represented by the eagle, because his theology soars into regions beyond what was written by the other evangelists.
In thinking about our Catholic faith, but also on this Fourth of July, our nation, I bear in mind that both represent high ideals, even if we don’t necessarily bring those high ideals to reality. Both are to be instruments of good, even if we people stifle that purpose.
I think about how we stand for the Creed, belief in our Catholic faith and what it teaches, even as we acknowledge that it’s a church full of sinful people who don’t necessarily do what our faith teaches—present company included. Likewise, I think of the recent trend to protest during the playing of our national anthem, as a way of making a statement about problems in society. I want to suggest that even as we stand for the anthem, we acknowledge that our nation has real problems that need to be addressed, nonetheless, we express gratitude for the higher ideals to which our citizenship would call us.
And while as Catholics, we don’t profess a manifest destiny view of our nation—we don’t believe that God established this nation or any other, to be the instrument of His holy will, like the people of Israel—still we see from the perspective of faith, the value and importance of organized human society, to be a means of enabling the flourishing of the human person, that society should give way to peace, a fraternal spirit, justice and good will for all. Even as we stand during the anthem, our hearts desire for our beloved nation to advance in those societal virtues, to overcome the divisions and injustices that genuinely exist.
In a few moments, as we kneel, shoulder to shoulder, before our one Lord, fully present to us in the Eucharist, may our vision of him and receiving him in our bodies, strengthen us, unite us, and fill us with joy. May it help us to advance the beautiful—though not fully realized—ideals on which this human society, our nation, was founded, that it may be ever more a reflection of God’s heavenly kingdom, where our true citizenship resides.