God Bless America

I sought for the greatness

and genius of America

in her commodious harbors

and her ample rivers,

and it was not there.

in the fertile fields

and boundless prairies,

and it was not there;

in her rich mines

and her vast world commerce,

and it was not there.

Not until I went

into the churches of America

and heard her pulpits,

aflame with righteousness,

did I understand the secret

of her genius and power.

America is great

because she is good,

and if America ever ceases to be good,

America will cease to be great.[1]

That poem, which is attributed to the 19^th Century French historian Alexis de Tocqueville, summarizes perfectly what makes America great.  And our Gospel message suggests how it got that way.

          In our first reading we hear the familiar creation story of Genesis where “God looked upon everything he had made, and he found it very good.”  (Genesis 1: 31) And in our Gospel reading we find another familiar passage, the Beatitudes, where Jesus teaches us how to do and to be good.  Through the Beatitudes, Jesus teaches us that blessedness moves the mourning toward comfort; the meek toward inheritance and the hungry and thirsty toward satisfaction.  He teaches us that blessedness overcomes negative situations and inspires us to the task of bettering our lives.  And he teaches us to confront evil by doing good.[2]

          So why do I think that the Beatitudes tell us how America became a great country?  Well, I believe that the core values upon which this country was founded reflect the teachings of the Beatitudes.   We value human dignity, peace, justice and freedom of conscience.  In short, we value doing good, and we consider ourselves blessed with the opportunity to do good.  That’s what the Beatitudes are all about.  America’s not perfect, and we haven’t always lived up to our values.  But Americans try to do good.  And when Americans try to good, we are good.

+ America is good when we embrace and support the tired, the poor and the huddled masses yearning to breathe free;

+ America is good when we honor our dead and all who have sacrificed to promote and protect the freedoms we cherish;

+ America is good when we acknowledge that all that God created was good, and it’s our job to keep it that way;

+ America is good when we promote life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all;

+ America is good when we respect religious freedom, the right to live in accordance with our conscience, the right to practice the religion of our choice and the right not to practice any religion at all;

+ America is good when we promote peace and justice at home and abroad;

+ America is good when we confront evil, and when we forgive our enemies and help them live a life dedicated to doing good;

And when America is good, it is great.  And when America is good, we are truly blessed.

          Today marks the close of the Fortnight of Freedom, the two-week period during which the U.S. Bishops have encouraged us to acknowledge, celebrate and protect our most cherished liberty – freedom of religion.  Many of our parishioners have marked this period with a pledge to prayer, fasting and almsgiving in support of religious freedom, and we’re grateful for your sacrifices.  Our freedom of religion has been challenged over the past few years, but I have faith that through our persistent efforts with government leaders and in the courts, freedom will prevail.  The Fortnight of Freedom and our celebration of Independence Day today remind us of how blessed we are to live in this great country.  And so I offer this familiar prayer for our country and the freedoms we cherish, a prayer that we sing openly and publicly because we enjoy religious freedom – our most cherished liberty:

Our father’s God to Thee,

Author of liberty,

To Thee we sing.

Long may our land be bright,

With freedom’s holy light,

Protect us by Thy might,

Great God our King.[3]

Click here to listen to America sung by the Morman Tabernacle Choir

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[1] Alexis de Tocqueville, “America is Great Because She is Good,” reprinted in William J. Bennett, The Moral Compass (New York, Simon & Schuster, 1995) at 694-695.

[2] John Shea, The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers:  On Earth as It is in Heaven, Matthew, Year A (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2004) at 70-71.

[3] America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee), lyrics by Samuel F. Smith (1831)