Skip to main content

Fortnight for Freedom, Forefathers, and Father Felix


For almost a full fornight, Catholics across the United States have been in solidarity praying and fasting for the intention of Religious Liberty.   Last week, I was assigned to a summer program in Rapid City, South Dakota which afforded me the chance to once again visit Mount Rushmore.  I had seen the monument two years ago, but during this visit, there was more time to take in the museum and hike the ‘Presidential Trail.’  As I took it all in, I could not help but think of the special significance of visiting this great monument during the Fortnight for Freedom and my time there became less a tourist moment and more of a pilgrimage.  I felt the Holy Spirit moving my heart to intercede for each state individually as I passed by its respective flag and in a particular way, to pray for a return to the spirit of liberty and justice which was so alive in the hearts of our forefathers.

The very reason that sculptor Gutzom Borglum chose Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln was to symbolize the principles of liberty and freedom on which our nation was founded.  As I took in the museum that accompanies the monument, I was struck by the video presentation and plaques that included quotes from each of these great forefathers which highlighted the importance of Religious Liberty and the meaning of the human person.

Whether from George Washington’s Inaugural Address, the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address or Teddy Roosevelt’s 1912 address at Carnegie Hall, it was clear that each of these men recognized freedom as the heart of who we are as a nation and as human persons. 

When I returned to Alton, I was introduced to Father Felix, a missionary priest from Kenya who has been staying with our sisters and preaching at nearby parishes.  His experience in Africa is far different from ours.   He knows a great deal about our history and government as he learned it as a child not only in school, but also from his father who was a teacher.  He pointed out to us that America is the only nation that mentions God and that we must not lose that.  While he may have seemingly been preaching to the choir, it was a reminder that the whole world is looking to us.  So many come to our country desiring freedom, and yet that very freedom is at stake in so many ways.  We are so blessed, but we cannot be complacent.

When I learned last Thursday of the Supreme Court decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act, I have to admit, I felt defeated, like all of our efforts were in vain, and that we could just end the observances of the Fortnight then and there.  At the same time, I was fired up.  Here I was, in the midst of a summer program during which we focussed on sacrifice, laying down our lives, and learning the lives of great martyrs.  God’s providence once again inspired and encouraged me to keep fighting the good fight for the sake of true freedom. 

As we wrap-up this “Fortnight for Freedom,” let us continue to walk with courage, speak boldly and pray intensely, living our earthly citizenship so as to gain our heavenly citizenship.
-Sister M. Karolyn, FSGM

Comments

CAS said…
Wonderful reflection! Reminder that we can't take all we have for granted. And if we are called "bigot", our Savior was called worse. Thank you. I shared on Facebook :)

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to our Family, Postulants!!!

Today, on the Feast of the Birth of Mary, our new postulants entered the postulancy of our American Province of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George! We thank God for the gift of these vocations. Pictured above - on their very first full day in the convent - are (from left) Ashley Vola, Samantha Goodson, Miranda Edgar, Jennifer Clark and Erin Leis. Welcome, Postulants! We Sisters are grateful that you have accepted Christ's invitation to belong totally to Him in our Franciscan community, and we support you wholeheartedly with our prayers and help! If you would like to send a word of welcome and encouragement to these new postulants, we will pass the greetings along to them. Just leave them as a "comment"!

Looking Back with Gratitude

“Christ is calling you; the Church needs you; the Pope believes in you and he expects great things of you!” My life would never be the same as the words of John Paul II coursed through my mind and beat with fervor in my heart. Me? Could he possibly mean me? Like many others, I felt Pope John Paul II was speaking directly to me as I sat behind him in the nose-bleed section of the stadium in Saint Louis. Throughout my high school years after this encounter, the idea of having a possible vocation to the religious life shocked and bewildered me, but at the same time brought me such peace. As each year came and went, my relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church grew with greater depth, understanding, and love. Through daily mass, Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary, Scripture and God’s divine intervention through his priests and religious, I soon realized that, yes, the Pope did mean me. Christ was calling me and how could I say no? After one year of college, I soon came to the realizatio

Journey with Mary: Sacrificial Love of Spiritual Motherhood

                Recently, I found a reflection I had written during my first retreat as a postulant. The last conference that had been given was on Spiritual Motherhood. As I approached the 4 th Station where Jesus meets His Sorrowful Mother, this is what struck my heart:                 What is the sacrificial love of a mother? It is the self-sacrifice made to love her children. Mary’s self-sacrifice to be there with Christ, her Son, in His passion was the selfless love that united her with Him. Her heart was pierced with 7 swords in the agony of watching her beloved Son endure a cross that He did not deserve, but which He embraced for the love of the Father and mankind. Could she not have said to Jesus, “You don’t have to do this, there are other ways. Do you know how much pain You are causing me and those who love you?” She knew He could have chosen any other way to save us, but this was the Father’s will, and so in silent love Mary trusted. If the world is suffering, why do y