The Way, the Truth, and the Life

My British friend Father Benedict Kiely will be visiting over Independence Day. He frequently bemoans, tongue-in-cheek, that this is a day of mourning for a Brit: loss of the Colonies, and so forth. And to think he scheduled himself to be here in the Colonies for this Holiday makes it all the more delectable for me, finding vicarious pleasure in his suffering. (I'll go to Confession soon.) He’ll have a front-row seat for the fireworks from our back yard. And although I’ll be preparing an All-American barbecue for our supper, I’ll be certain to have plenty of Gin and Tonic on hand to ease the poor bloke’s pain.
 
Independence Day is foremost among our American holidays, with Thanksgiving, in my opinion, coming in second place. Freedom and independence are at the core of our democracy, and Freedom of Religion is certainly at the core of our practice of the Faith. Our nation was founded by those who were seeking religious freedom. This desire never waned from the Landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620, to the penning of the Constitution in 1787, and the addition of the Bill of Rights in 1791. The First Amendment of the Constitution, known as the Establishment, or Free Exercise Clause, proclaimed that the government would not establish a state religion, would maintain an attitude of neutrality toward religion, and, indeed, guarantee the free exercise of any and all religions in our nation.
 
The First Amendment of the Constitution says nothing of a separation of Church and State. This idea finds its first usage by then-President Thomas Jefferson in a letter written to a Baptist Church in 1802. While the First Amendment separates Church from State, it doesn’t necessarily separate religion from public life. One would expect an elected representative to follow his/her conscience, not solely any party line, when considering various bills and positions. And one would also expect the electorate to keep one's own conscience in mind when casting their vote.
 
Further, the very idea of separation of Church and State does not suggest that we become a Godless, irreligious society. It means searching for the common good in a manner that doesn’t send society off the rails into false notions of personal freedom. In our desire to protect freedom, we as people of Faith, should never wander from the Truth, by which I mean divinely-revealed Truth as proclaimed when Christ Our Lord said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6) Freedom is not to be understood as mere license; it involves responsibility and personal sacrifice, perhaps the sacrifices engendered when speaking of eternal and universal Truth when confronted by what Pope Benedict XVI described as the “Dictatorship of Relativism”.
 
So, let’s celebrate our freedom and independence today, and enjoy the parades, the speeches, the picnics and the fireworks. It’s a time to be grateful for the great nation we call the land of the free, and the home of the brave.