Rededicate 250: National Repentance and the Solemnity of the Ascension

On this day, May 17, as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, we are invited to look back 250 years to a moment when the foundational seeds of our nation were watered with prayer, fasting, and a humble plea for Divine Mercy.

A Legacy of Penance: May 17, 1776

Two months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress recognized that a nation built on self-governance must first be governed by God. On March 16, 1776, a resolution was passed designating Friday, May 17, 1776, as a day of "Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer."

The delegates, led by the initiative of William Livingston of New Jersey, urged all citizens to:

"...confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and by a sincere repentance and amendment of life, appease his righteous displeasure, and through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain his pardon and forgiveness."

In an act of spiritual defiance against earthly tyranny, the Massachusetts colony ordered this proclamation read in every "religious Assembly," replacing the customary "God Save the King" with the bold cry, "God Save This People."

The Ascension: Our High Priest Enters the Heavenly Sanctuary

It is interesting that in 2026, this national anniversary coincides with the Solemnity of the Ascension. While the founders sought a temporary "Day of Atonement" for a fledgling nation, the Ascension of Jesus Christ fulfills the biblical Day of Atonement.

In the Old Testament, the Old Covenant High Priest (Lev 16) passed through the cloth veil of the earthly temple. He stood before the golden Ark and offered the blood of animals. It was a finite, imperfect sacrifice performed annually as a symbol of the forgiveness of sins. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest (Luke 24:50-53). passed through the veil of the heavens and sits at the right hand of the Father. He offers His own Body and Blood. A perfect, infinite, and divine Sacrifice. Offered once and for all for all time for the actual, perpetual and efficacious atonement for the world.

Rededicate 250: Catholics at the National Mall

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of that first national call to prayer, prominent Catholic voices are joining the 'Rededicate 250' festival in Washington, D.C., to remind us that our freedom is a gift from God that requires a corresponding commitment to virtue.

Notable Catholic speakers include:

• His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop Emeritus of New York.
• Most Reverend Robert Barron, Bishop of Winona-Rochester and founder of Word on Fire.
• Jonathan Roumie, the acclaimed actor known for his portrayal of Our Lord in The Chosen.

On this national 'Day of Atonement' these leaders gather on the National Mall, they echo the call of 1776: that for a nation to endure, it must remain "under God," seeking His pardon through the "merits and mediation of Jesus Christ" which, coincidently, is exactly what we celebrate on this Solemnity of the Ascension.

"God Save This People" indeed.