Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

250th Anniversary

    First Amendment to the US Constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

   Many things make the USA an amazing country, even granting the presence of our sometimes-flawed leaders and citizenry. And I would say the first freedom of the First Amendment is among those truly great things. A federal democracy that recognizes the religious liberty of all its peoples, allows our country the prospect of authentic human liberation before God, and therefore before all mankind. We should be slow to take this natural & innate freedom for granted. It is a truly tenuous one. One not so freely shared, established, or exercised in large parts of the world. Is, and has, this freedom been misused? Certainly! Any true power & gift can be misused. But better to possess and experience its occasional misuse, than to never possess at all. Why else would our Creator God have placed that tree of knowledge of good & evil in the Garden of Eden. Truth, Goodness, Love all require freedom. Let us pray that a great number of our citizenry can come to practice publicly their innate religious freedom through worship of the One True God.

     In a 1789 Letter to the Quakers, George Washington wrote: “The liberty enjoyed by the people of these States, of worshipping Almighty God agreeably to their conscience, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also of their rights. While men perform their social duties faithfully, they do all that society or the state can with propriety demand or expect; and remain responsible to their Maker for the religion or modes of faith which they may prefer or express.” [https://www.gwirf.org/washingtons-words-and-actions]

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     On 11 June 2026, as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. bishops consecrated the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Here is a prayer to do so with your family & neighbors, as we celebrate the Fourth!

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart

      O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.

      I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee. I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants. Amen.          ~ St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

[From the book Devotion To The Sacred Heart by Fr. John Croiset, SJ]

[https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/act-of-consecration-to-the-sacred-heart-12727]

Nothing Less than saints for the Holy Family of God.

Holy Family, who worshiped God, Pray for us.

~ Fr Jeremy M. Gries