From the Heart of the Shepherd
- Church of St. Mark
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
From the bulletin for The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2026 July 05)
July 5 - 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time/Independence Day Weekend
How does one celebrate his nation’s 250th anniversary? I suppose it’s a little late to be asking the question. But there is occasion for “doing it up big” this year. Those who have lake places in the family will, indubitably, celebrate every year. And those who don’t, I imagine, will find a place to grill out and wear flip flops, perhaps this year watching soccer instead of golf, making an effort (perhaps) to adorn the place with more USA flags and expecting something extra-special at the local fireworks show that night (if they can do smiley faces now, can they do numbers?).
Is more to be desired? I’ve always admired, from a distance, those who incorporate pageantry and remembrance into their holiday observances. Family Christmas pageants. Dramatic readings of ancient documents. Retellings of legends and lore. Songs and hymns and spiritual canticles, etc. I trust such families exist. I also imagine that there might be elements within such families who wish they did not have to participate in or sit through such rituals, painful and awkwards as they must inevitably be at times. And therefore, that those who insist upon perpetuating the hallowed (or hated) custom (nine times out of ten, the father), unless they are completely oblivious to the groaning and eyerolling, insist because they are convinced that it’s important. Even, that it is something sacred.
The Jews knew how to keep a holy day. I think of the Passover prescriptions: a sacred meal with a set menu, the cessation of work, the gathering of the family on a particular date, the recitation of ancient family history, a ritual dialogue, the passing of cups, the voicing of prayers… as those very prayers expressed, this was the way that those present participated in the very realities they celebrated. It was more than just a gathering, much more than grazing on special food, or gazing at the television until it was time to go home and get back to work. It was more than remembering, more than celebrating, more, even, than giving thanks and praise to God (if there can be more than that!). It was entering into a mystery, a sacred history, that was somehow ongoing and still-unfolding. And each year, entering a little deeper.
In that sense, I think we American Catholics tend (I speak only from my experience) to leave some “meat on the bone” when it comes to our holiday observances. Even when it comes to our civil holidays which, granted, don’t have as much “meat” to their meaning. Would it be too much to have a dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence before blessing the 4th of July meal this year (too late, Father!)? A rosary in which each of the 50 Hail Marys of the mysteries are offered for a different state? For some families, perhaps. Perhaps not for yours? Perhaps there is one family at the parish capable of reenacting the deliberations of the congress that drafted and signed the Declaration, or (out in the yard) the battle of Concord and the ride of Paul Revere… at least concocts a ritual “ringing of the liberty bell” before dinner, with a homily on true freedom from the patriarch of the family?
We roll our eyes. But “blessed are they who make space for meaning in their keeping of the holidays,” say I. This is how values are signalled and handed on, identity is formed, and the structural elements of our lives (here, our country and the polity to which we belong) are incorporated within a hierarchy of truths.
Maybe with your extended family you would consider it a successful Independence Day if you can steer clear of politics and anything that would uncover the country’s ideological rift whose fault line passes through your family as well. And I suspect there are those out there in America today who do not think that “250 years of USA” is an accomplishment worth celebrating. Would they at least agree that it is an occasion for remembering? Reflecting? Giving thanks? Praying, at least? For us Catholics, though we are free from any idolizing or idealizing of our nation, its history, or its present state, we should be best positioned to love it most. To recognize both its people’s deep failings (which we lament and seek to repair) and also their unique virtues and the immense blessings which Providence has bestowed on us undeservedly (for which we give thanks and praise). And however you do that with your families or on your own this weekend, I invite you to “do that up big” this year above all.