This American Independence Day found me perusing the Missal and reflecting on the propers that are provided for today in the diocese of the United States. I am struck that, for each of the orations, two options are provided that present two quite distinct approaches to celebrating July 4th. For example, the first opening prayer reads:
God of justice, Father of truth,
who guide creation in wisdom and goodness
to fulfillment in Christ your Son,
open our hearts to the truth of his Gospel,
that your peace may rule in our hearts
and your justice guide our lives.
Through our Lord…
This prayer is relevant to the commemoration of American independence in its petition for an increase of peace and justice in our hearts—virtues that are impoortant for any well-functioning political entity—but it doesn’t make any explicit mention of the events of July 4, 1776, and could be use on any number of other occasions in any number of places. Not so the second prayer:
Father of all nations and ages,
we recall the day when our country
claimed its place among the family of nations;
for what has been achieved we give you thanks,
for the work that still remains we ask your help,
and as you have called us from many peoples
to be one nation,
grant that, under your providence,
our country may share your blessings
with all the peoples of the earth.
Through our Lord…
In this prayer, the founding of America is drawn into a theological narrative of God’s providence. This is not itself problematic, since Augustine saw the Roman Empire and even its persecution of Christians as part of God’s providence. Somewhat confusingly, however, the many peoples who become one nation are neither the eschatological Israel, as in Isaiah 2, nor the Church, as 1 Peter suggests, but the United States. It is also implied that America is somehow uniquely blessed by God, and given a correlative mission by God to share those blessings with the world. The sense of moral responsibility is, of course, commendable, but it seems to prejudge the nature of America’s role in God’s providence as a positive one.
For the prayer over the gifts, the first option reads:
Accept, Lord God,
these gifts we bring to this altar
and, having taught us through the wisdom of the Gospel,
lead us to true justice and lasting peace.
Through Christ our Lord.
Again, this is a prayer that could be used on any number of occasions, whether connected to a national holiday or not. It also identifies the Gospel as the source of justice and peace. The second option, however, is explicitly tied to the founding of the United States:
Father, who have molded into one our nation,
drawn from the peoples of many lands,
grant, that as the grains of wheat become one bread
and the many grapes one cup of wine,
so we may before all others be instruments of your peace.
Through Christ our Lord.
This prayer asks, unobjectionably, that we might became instruments of God’s peace. It also echoes a statement of Augustine: “In the visible object of bread, many grains are gathered into one just as the faithful (so Scripture says) form ‘a single heart and mind in God’” (Sermon 272). But, for Augustine, the symbolism of the many grains making the one bread applies to the Church, not the nation. Again, we see language usually applied to the Church is usurped by the nation state, in this case in a way that almost makes the nation an alternative source of unity to the Church.
For the postcommunion prayer the first option reads:
By showing us in this Eucharist, O Lord,
a glimpse of the unity and joy
of your people in heaven,
deepen our unity and intensify our joy,
that all who believe in you
may work together to build the city of lasting peace.
Through Christ our Lord.
Again, there is no indication that a national holiday is being celebrated, aside from the petition that we might “build the city of lasting peace.”This is a potentially confusing reference since it can only refer to the heavenly city, since no earthly city has lasting peace, but might be heard by listeners as referring to the earthly city. The second option, however, is explicit in its national reference:
May the love we share in this Eucharist,
heavenly Father,
flow in rich blessing throughout our land
and by your grace may we as a nation
place our trust in you
and seek to do your will.
Through Christ our Lord.
Here we don’t really see any problematic theologizing of America’s providential role in history, nor any usurpation of the Church by American in that history. Still, the nation remains the focus of our concern, rather than the peace and justice of individual citizens.
So it seems that there is a fairly clear choice in how we commemorate July 4. On the one hand, we can pray for an increase of the peace and justice that is needed for any human society, letting the connection to Independence Day remain implicit. On the other hand, we can thank God for our nation’s providential founding and pray that she fulfill her God-given mission in history. I think the second option carries with it certain potential perils, reinforcing the tendency of American Catholics to conflate their identity as Catholics with their identity as Americans and to see the actions of America on the world stage as uniquely providential in carrying out God’s will.
Alas, my real preferred option—celebrating the memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal—no longer seems to be an option, since her feast day now gets transferred to July 5.
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