July 6: Freedom

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

For freedom Christ has set us free! And a happy Fourth of July weekend to you all. As we celebrate our nation’s independence and our personal freedoms, let us always keep in mind what freedom is for, and the price that was paid to achieve it. Freedom is always fragile; it requires virtue to protect and sustain it. May we cherish and preserve it always.

It is always good for us to keep in mind that we have been given great blessings and gifts in our country. Last week, I mentioned the situation in Nigeria, and perhaps you have heard that recently over 200 Catholics were slaughtered in a mass killing, some as young as nine months old. Since 2009, 18,000 churches in Nigeria have been destroyed, and 50,000 Christians killed. Yet, as I mentioned last week, Nigeria is the most faithfully Catholic country in the world, with 97% of Catholics attending Mass every week. For these Christians, the faith is a real and living source of strength amid great persecution. This is true freedom: The strength and courage to do what is right. May we learn from them and imitate their virtue.

In our own country, I would like to direct your admiration to people such as Laila Mickelwait, who single-handedly took on and dismantled the largest provider of internet pornography, which was making immoral and illegal content widely available for free for all viewers. She used the current legal system and leveraged credit card companies to financially disincentivize the market and shut it down. She shows how one man or woman, who is properly determined to do good, can change society and the world for the better. You can learn more and help her through her organization, Justice Defense Fund.

Yet, changing the world begins at home. St. Mother Teresa said, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” During this holiday weekend, let us learn to truly understand what real liberty is, enjoy our society and its great blessings and freedoms, resolve to defend them always, and begin to change the world for the better.

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Henry