Reflection on America’s 250th Birthday Part 1

In a four-part series, I will offer reflections on America. In part one, I will share my reflection with a Catholic lens on the Declaration of Independence and how it points back to God.

America is celebrating its 250th birthday. The nation came a long way from a revolutionary war to thousands of lives vanished in the blink of an eye on a fateful September day, and many good and bad in between. Yet, America has remained strong.

How did we first get to where we are now?

Let’s take a trip to a hot summer in Philadelphia in July 1776. 56 men in the First Continental Congress debated what they must do to stand against Great Britain. On July 3rd, Thomas Jefferson drafted what would be considered the biggest breakup letter and the greatest historic document in history, the Declaration of Independence.

One of the signers was a Catholic man from Carrollton, MD, named Charles Carroll. Carroll would later become the oldest living signer as he lived to the rightful age of 96.

Reflecting on the fateful date in 1776, Carroll wrote, "Grateful to Almighty God for the blessings which, through Jesus Christ our Lord, he has conferred on my beloved country... I do hereby recommend to the present and future generations the principles of that important document, as the best earthly inheritance their ancestors could bequeath to them."

Indeed, Carroll put God first ahead of his country. This is our duty as Catholic Americans.

In 1941, Monsignor Fulton Sheen released the Declaration of Dependence. His book gives us a powerful reminder that we need God. He also reflected on the Declaration of Independence and its core pillars.

While quoting the historic document that changed the course of history, Sheen emphasized, “Notice these words: The Creator has endowed men with rights and liberties; men got them from God! In other words, we are dependent on God, and that initial dependence is the foundation of our independence.” He would continue, “When we deny God as the foundation of our rights, we shall no longer have rights. The Declaration of Independence, I repeat, is a Declaration of Dependence.”

This nation is dependent on God. Let it depend on him, not the government. The Declaration of Independence didn’t come from the 56 men who pledged their lives and fortunes. Rather, they came from God. God is the author of life and liberty that no government can replace.