Happy Fourth of July!
As we prepare for the festivities this coming Friday, we
call to mind the importance of our hard-won rights and freedoms and the sacrifices
that so many have made to preserve them. We give thanks to God who is the author of human dignity and source of all our benefits.
In 1630, long before the American Revolution, John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, gave a sermon before the settlers arrived in New England. Knowing that rights and responsibilities go together, he drew upon the words of Jesus, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden... Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:14-16).
The governor was there to defend their God-given rights, but the colonists would have to embrace their Christian responsibility: to be light to the world.
To this end, he warned them against the false gods of pleasure and profits: “If our hearts shall turn away, so that we will not obey, but shall be seduced, and worship other gods, our pleasure and profits, and serve them; it is propounded unto us this day, we shall surely perish out of the good land whither we pass over this vast sea to possess it.”
Unlike many (though not all) who came to the New World as conquerors seeking gold and silver and profitable trade routes for imperial expansion, the founding mothers and fathers of the New England colonies sought first to practice charity and spread faith.
Appealing to their sense of charity and missionary zeal, the original seal of the colony depicted a Native American saying, “Come over and help us,” a reference to St. Paul’s vision: “During the night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us’” (Acts 16: 9).
Almost 400 years later, the seal of Massachusetts has long since changed. Were the colonists able to live up to Governor Winthrop’s exhortation to be a city on a hill, a model of Christian charity? Were they able to avoid the false gods of pleasure, profit, and imperial power? Are we? How will history and history’s God judge us?
This is my last weekend at the parish this summer. I’m grateful for the time we’ve shared. Next weekend, please warmly welcome Fr. Bryan Garcia, vice-rector and dean of men of St. John Vianney College Seminary.
Father Oscar is in Venezuela and is safe and having a good time. We ask for the continued prayers for his journey and his return to San Pablo Church.
Blessings,
Fr. Daniel Martin
Visiting Priest