Parishes in the Diocese of Harrisburg prayed for the United States of America as the 250th anniversary celebration of the founding of the nation commenced this past weekend.
St. Joan of Arc Parish in Hershey invited all to Mass and a Holy Hour on Friday, July 3, and St. Francis Xavier Parish in Gettysburg invited all to a Civil War Mass on Saturday, July 4. At the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Hanover, Mass was celebrated on July 4 and the graves of Revolutionary War veterans buried in the parish cemetery were given a blessing. And at the Cathedral Parish of St. Patrick in Harrisburg, Bishop Timothy Senior celebrated Mass on July 5 as the celebratory weekend concluded.
At all four parishes, gratefulness for the sacrifices of our ancestors, steadfastness in the current work that needs to be accomplished and hopefulness for the future of our nation permeated the celebrations.
From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the people of St. Joan of Arc have been praying and will continue to pray for our nation. As part of that commitment to prayer, Father Alfred Sceski concelebrated Mass for the nation with Father Clark Stiteler and an unexpected guest from the Vatican – Bishop Krzysztof Nykiel, regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Apostolic See.
The Holy Hour after Mass focused on peace. Father Sceski said, “The peace Jesus gives is not the peace the world gives.”
On a human level, people strive for peace, but it oftentimes ends in division and rancor. Father Sceski told his parishioners and visitors that the peace Christ offers “is that kind of peace that brings us closer and into an intimate relationship with God our Father, with Jesus our Lord enflamed by the Holy Spirit.”
Our nation is good and mighty but not better or mightier than God. The only way for true peace to prevail, Father Sceski said, is to “ask the Lord that we will be open, that our hearts will be open, that our country will be open, that our world will be open to the peace of Jesus Christ, which only He can give.”
The only path to real and lasting peace is by the grace of God. “Are we asking for His peace that leads us to be reconciled to one another, that leads us to love our enemies, that leads us to pray for our persecutors? As I said, that is not a human sentiment. Without God’s grace, we cannot do it,” Father Sceski counseled.
During his homily at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Gettysburg, Father Timothy Marcoe read a 1791 prayer attributed to Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore. In his reflection, Father Marcoe said, “[The prayer] speaks of everything they needed then, and everything we need now, when it comes to the preservation of our great nation.”
Those things are for the Church to proclaim Christ’s name, for Church leadership to assist the faithful in the ways of salvation, for the leaders of the United States of America to act righteously, mercifully and virtuously, for Congress to preserve peace, for governors and state leaders to act with honesty, for the people of the nation to bring about the peace that the world cannot give, and for all those who died, that they may rest in peace.
Father Marcoe encouraged everyone to enjoy the fun and food to be had on the 250th anniversary of the nation, but to take to heart the prayer of Archbishop Carroll and to never forget those who died in defense of all the things Archbishop Carroll once prayed, to, “not forget where freedom comes from, and who gives it, and the price paid for it: the blood of our faith-filled American ancestors, and the precious blood of Jesus Christ.” Our Diocese honors those who fought to obtain our freedom.
In Hanover, Father Dwight Schlaline offered a blessing of the graves of Revolutionary War veterans who are buried in the cemetery of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus after Mass on July 4. The Basilica was founded in 1730, and the cemetery is a testament to the faithful service of our nation’s ancestors. Jesuit missionaries founded the parish and Jesuit priests ministered to Revolutionary War soldiers. Much like the history of St. Francis Xavier Parish during the Civil War, the Basilica brought the love of Christ amid the atrocities of war. Our Catholic faith is integral to the growth of our American Nation.
A day after Independence Day, members of the Cathedral Parish of St. Patrick in Harrisburg gave thanks for God’s blessings upon our nation during morning Mass celebrated by Bishop Senior, who encouraged the congregation to focus on the commonalities we share as a nation rather than on our divisions.
“So much of the vision of who America is called to be and who our founding fathers and mothers envisioned it would be really aligns with the building of the Kingdom of God,” Bishop Senior said.
The Mass’ first reading from Zechariah is helpful in showing us how to live that vision, the bishop said, as it reveals a Savior who is gentle and humble of heart, and who comes to bring peace. “We are called to live that in the world, even though it might not be easy,” he said.
“May our nation continue to be strong, such that future generations will know this vision…and may the peace and freedom that are embodied in our Declaration of Independence and in our Constitution continue to be beacons of hope for humanity,” Bishop Senior said. “May we always reflect the life of the Spirit that will help us as Christians to reveal the tenderness of our God who invites us to come to him, all who labor and are burdened, and find rest in his love.”
(Hershey, Gettysburg and Hanover photos by Laura Loose; Harrisburg photos by Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness.)
By Laura Loose and Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
