Dear Friends in Christ,
This weekend our nation celebrates Independence Day. On July 4, 1776, the fathers of our nation signed the precious document that contained these words: “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.” There is an important discussion that is going on discussing if we all are treated equally. It is always good to go to the source of what believe and renew ourselves in living out what we declare in a true and noble way. A danger is present in the destruction of statues and especially the call for the smashing of the pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ contained in stained glass! Statues of the great St. Junipero Serra have been torn down and even an image of St. Michael is to be eradicated because he is standing on the head of the devil! This is iconoclasm, which is a heresy in our Catholic faith. The destruction of images of people we love and admire even with their flaws, is condemned by the Church. The renaming of St. Louis, Missouri is being called for by some: a city named after the only king of France who is canonized. There is a lot going on right now and we can put our heads in the sand believing that is not as bad as they say. Concern is dismissed as false conspiracy theories. The unrest is reaching into the very courtyards of our houses of worship. This weekend, let us pray for our country…really pray. May all that our country is based, inspired by Judeo Christian principles be defended. We certainly do not live out our principles with total fidelity, but to throw it all the window for something else will be the end of a nation that with all its flaws and all too often, misguided activates on the world scene is still the defender of what is good. I for one will step back and offer gratitude for our freedoms which were given and protected at an unthinkable cost in the lives of brave men and women. Freedom is not licentiousness. There is a big difference. Happy Independence Day! God bless and protect these United States.
In Christ,
Father Szolack