Happy Fourth of July!!! The 250th Anniversary of our country’s founding is an astonishing moment to witness and to live through. As we look across history, seeing other countries and their longevity we can truly appreciate how young our country is and to be in this moment to stand by her. We stand by our country as faithful Catholics and this our anthem calls for:

God bless America,
Land that I love
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with the light from above

The light from above, this is the Light of Christ. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:4-5). We need to hold up for our nation, our society, the Christ Light. We do this through our adherence to Jesus Christ. As we enjoy being out in the light of the sun and naturally our body absorbs its radiance and gives us a natural glow, the same effect happens upon our souls when we cling to Our Lord Jesus through personal prayer, the Mass, the Sacraments, and especially Eucharistic Adoration. The more we allow ourselves to receive Jesus, receive His guidance in our lives, then we will radiate for others the Light of Jesus.

In my journey as as a pastoral minister, one of my most cherished moments was taking youth on a service mission trip to the American Indian Reservations in Minnesota. Along the way, we would stop in a town where we were hosted by Benedictine women religious. For several years, this journey also happened to land on the Fourth of July and we would have first row seats to an annual small-town parade that was like every stereotype you can imagine about small-town-American-pride on the Fourth of July. It was like being in a movie that trumpets unabashed, shameless Americana. Even with the grandness of the Thanksgiving Day parades here in Chicago, or our other numerous ethnic celebrations with parades in our city, I continue to assert that I have never seen anything like it.  

The experience was always a marvel to me. It had the high school marching band, the farmers bureau processing in gigantic combines, parades of flags by veterans, and of course the politicians sitting above the seats on a top-down convertible waving at constituents. 

And then there were the children, sitting on the sides of the street, waving their own American flag and awaiting bits of candy being thrown along the parade route by floats driven by various civic groups. Of all the simple spectacle, it was the children that was most impressive. Their hope and aspiration was contagious. It made you proud to be an American.

This weekend, as we have celebrated the 250th anniversary of the United States, we have a need to renew our sense of that pride, that hope, and aspiration. I believe I would always want to offer that sentiment, but because of the significant year of 250, it feels more poignant this year. It also feels important to root ourselves in hope when, in the weeks and months (and years) leading up to this moment, the scar of division within our country feels heightened. 

Still, we must look at this in perspective. Despite all of our failings as a country, we have managed to preserve our national union for 250 years. A lot of that is in part to us having the oldest codified constitution in the world, which didn't come until 1789, so we'll look forward to celebrating the 250th anniversary of that in 2039. But in this moment of remembering our independence, it may be helpful to rise above the headlines and partisanship and return to the space that holds hope, just like the children waving flags alongside that parade I saw annually in Minnesota. 

Children have a way of seeing the world that adults sometimes forget. It is probably why Jesus said in the Gospel "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones." (Matt 11:25)

Jesus knew that children see the world with joy and hope. Yes children can be naive and inexperienced, but that isn't what Jesus is referring to. Those are the attributes of being "childish." The attributes that Jesus praises are those of being "child-like." 

And that is something that I pray we can all revisit at this 250th anniversary of our country. Not only in our assent to national pride, but also our faith. May we let go of the scars from the past, our fears and our bruises and enter into the future with the wide-eyed hope that we witness in children, who stand alongside the parade route, yearning for a better future. 

School is out for summer! ☀️ Please check out our summer offerings below: 

We are thrilled to offer summer options for our families.

• Saint Andrew Summer Adventure Camp will be offered for the majority of the remaining summer weeks. Adventure Camp Registration for SA students, their friends, and neighbors in the community is open. 

• Join us for a playdate on the school campus Ackermann lot, July 11th and August 8th at 10am. 

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