He Dwells Among Us

Liberty is more than a political ideal: above all, it is spiritual.

History fascinates me, and every year as Independence Day approaches, my thoughts turn to the events that formed us as a nation. Of course, I love to celebrate baseball and hotdogs—two things that have come to define us as Americans—but there is something unique about our country and our liberty that sets us apart as a nation.

The first visit of Pope John Paul II to the United States in 1979 is etched in my memory. I had recently graduated from St. Louis University and was discerning God’s calling to the priesthood. I could not have imagined then that in 20 years’ time I would be in charge of coordinating the pope’s last visit to the United States, when he came to St. Louis in 1999.

I still recall the words of John Paul II when he visited Ellis Island, standing beneath the Statue of Liberty where these words are inscribed:

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Commenting on this great symbol of our nation and these words of hope, John Paul II challenged us not to forget that without the truth that comes from God alone, liberty loses its foundation—and that it is Christ who truly sets us free (cf. John 8:32).

Traveling to Philadelphia that same day, John Paul II highlighted the words of our Declaration of Independence, which he called a most “remarkable document” in the history of man: “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.”

Although this is the most commonly quoted part of the Declaration, I am struck by the words it closes with, expressing the commitment of the 39 men whose signatures would immediately follow: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

Unfortunately, our nation has not always been committed to applying these rights to all people. Two examples in our history are the Dred Scott decision of 1857 and Roe v. Wade in 1973. As any student of history can see, some of the most tragic events in the world have been preceded by an abandonment of the sacred truths about man and his relationship with God. Sadly, the Civil War, the most costly war in our nation’s history, with more casualties than all of our other wars put together, followed in the wake of the first court decision. How I pray that we will be spared a similar fate of deadly division as a result of the second court decision.

In one of the great ironies of history, Robert E. Lee, who commanded the Confederate forces during the Civil War, first turned down an offer extended by President Lincoln to command the Union Army. Two years later, on July 4, 1863, General Lee withdrew his forces from Gettysburg, following the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Many saw in this event what they believed was a divine sign that our nation would once again be united.

But though at this time of year we celebrate the struggles and sacrifices, both political and of the battlefield, that have helped preserve our freedoms, we mustn’t forget that liberty is above all spiritual and involves a constant struggle against what truly enslaves: sin.

On those Sundays of the Fourth of July weekend when we often close Mass with the hymn “America, the Beautiful,” I try to make a special prayer of one particular verse, when we sing, “America! America! God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law!” I pray also that all of us may experience the freedom that best helps us to be the face of Jesus.