Pope Benedict XVI Blog

America! America! God Shed His Grace on Thee

America truly is "the Beautiful," and will remain so as long as she remains imbued with "God's Good."

Thank you, Spirit Daily, for posting this excellent article from Mary Kochan, Senior Editor of Catholic Exchange:

Today we celebrate our country’s 230th birthday. We find the U.S. of A. still free, more powerful than ever and prosperous almost beyond imagination. All of these things are reasons for celebration — and cautious pause.

In This Article...
Confirm Thy Soul in Self-Control
Crown Thy Good with Brotherhood
God Mend Thine Every Flaw

Confirm Thy Soul in Self-Control

We celebrate these things because they are goods. They are blessings. That they are blessings means that they are received as gifts and with gratitude. There is nothing vague about this. The gratitude is not toward some lucky alignment of stars, nor merely toward the founding geniuses. The gratitude is toward God.

Hence the caution. For God is not a Giver indifferent to the use of His gifts. The proper use of gifts means the proper ordering of their value, and value is measured in reference to ultimate things. God is ultimately and absolutely free. From this flows the fact that freedom is a good desired by those made in His image. But though God is free, God is not freedom, and freedom worshipped becomes selfish idolatry.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 2:01 PM