This Tuesday is July 4th, and
our country will celebrate its 241st birthday. In the year 1776, the
founding fathers of this country signed the declaration of Independence in the
city of Philadelphia on the fourth of July. On that day, the United States of
America was born. Originally, the United States was made up of 13 colonies.
These colonies were settled by the British in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. Before that, the United States was not a country, but rather it was
land that was occupied by pagan-indigenous of different tribes, who would later
become known as Native-Americans in a single ethnicity.
The country that we celebrate
on the Fourth of July was founded principally by individuals who descended from
the country of England. Why did they come? In the 16th century,
England broke away from the Catholic Church and created a new Church called the
Church of England. Everyone in England had to belong to that new church or they
were persecuted and often killed.
Not wanting to be killed or
persecuted, a group of puritan separatists, individuals who had broken away
from the Church of England, set sail on the famous ship called the May Flower
in the year 1620.
They landed in what is now
the state of Massachusetts, after a very harsh journey, in a place they called
Plymouth. There, they established the first settlement of Europeans, and they
governed themselves under a document called the Mayflower Compact; women were
not allowed to participate in government at that time. The puritans practiced a
very strict form of Protestantism, that was even more anti-Catholic than the
Church of England. In fact, they left England to escape persecution from the
King, only to reform the version of the Church in England to be more pure and
free from the influence of Catholicism which they thought had too much
influence on the Church of England.
Sadly, this led them to a
very strict interpretation of the bible which pushed them father away from the
Christianity practiced and passed down from the Apostles. There is a very small
number of puritans that remain today. Their influence is seen more in fundamentalist
versions of Christianity and is still important in understanding our history.
Eventually, more and more
people came from England for many reasons, but chief among them was to be able
to practice religion in ways that were different than what was allowed in
England.
By the time the founders signed
the declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies were made up mostly of
Protestants individuals who did not want the government to tell them what
Church they could or could not belong to.
In fact, the citizens of the
colonies were tired of England altogether, especially the practice of taxing
them without allowing them to have any representation in the British Parliament.
So, they set up a new form of government, a Democratic Republic, which would be
based upon certain principles, mainly that all men and women were created equal
under God, endowed with certain God-given rights, principally the right to
pursue happiness without the over-burdening practices of a federal government.
This government was meant to be by the people, and for the people, at the
service of a free country. The founders of the United States wanted to make
sure that religious practice was protected and allowed to grow without the
threat of persecution.
That was their intent. There
was a great war between the colonists and England, but in the end, the idea of
America won and the constitution of the United States was put into practice. Of
course, that document has been tested in many ways in our history, and still is
today.
As time passed, more
individuals came into this country from various parts of the world. Although
there were a small number of Catholics from England in the time of the
settlements, the biggest influence of Catholicism in the United States didn’t
happen until large numbers of immigrants came from Spain, and France, and later
Italy and Ireland, and other parts of Europe during the late eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries.
Spain had great influence on colonizing
the indigenous of Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, California as well as Florida,
while the French had a great influence on Mobile and New Orleans and
surrounding areas. This is why those areas have large numbers of Catholics,
because immigrants and missionaries from those countries brought the Catholic faith
to those lands. The Catholics that came into New York and spread throughout New
England and across the Midwest were largely from Ireland and Italy, France and Germany,
Russia, Poland, and Austria.
While it was not always peaceful,
and certainly the history of this country has had some ugly moments to say the
least, especially during the time of slavery, the idea of America has always
been that people could come here seeking freedom and a better way of life. As
time has passed, women, African-Americans, Native-Americans, immigrants from
all over have seen their rights grow, and that has been a good thing, and needs
to continue. We must respect each other, and allow growth, while still
maintaining a proper understanding of morality and human dignity created under
and defined by God. We must if we are to remain a civil society and keep the
ideal of America.
We are a great mixture of
different cultures, nationalities and religions, and what makes us great, when
we are at our best, is our acceptance of each other’s ethnicities, cultures and
religions.
Together, we form an American
Culture, and every generation of immigrants that has come here, from England to
Africa, South America, Middle America, and beyond, has brought with it
practices which make up an American Culture as one. We are not Mexican, or Japanese,
we are not Irish, we are not British or Spanish, we are Americans. At the same
time, we come from those heritages and we should not reject where we come from
or throw it all away. Those heritages, native and foreign, are what make this
country great. At our best, we welcome
all to share in the American dream, and be free to practice their faith as they
see fit, so long as it respects the laws of the land and the abilities of
individuals to be able to do so. At our best, we are all one as Americans.
However, the United States of
America is not the perfect ideal. It has flaws of course. Only Heaven is the
perfect ideal, because Heaven is what endures forever, the Kingdom of God. But
to live in peace and to prosper, we must be free to do so. America has given us
that chance to be free when she keeps to her principles. We must reflect in an
imperfect way, the perfection of Heaven, where all are one in Christ Jesus, who
is freedoms perfect reality, who loves everyone regardless of where they come
from or what language they speak.
God Bless each of you, and may
God Bless our country and may we always defend her even despite our differences,
and may we pray for the United States and especially for those who we elect to
govern us under the constitution, that we may all be free to grow in virtue no
matter where we come from, in the pursuit of happiness, in love of God and our neighbor,
and may this country continue to be a beacon of light and charity for the
world. Amen.
