Reading Francis

“As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free.” 

– Battle Hymn of the Republic, adapted from Julia Ward Howe’s 1861 poem

Of all I’ve seen and heard over the last weekend, in which the United States of America celebrated the 250th anniversary of its independence, the line above continues to command my attention. I was fortunate to get to hear an amazing rendition of the Battle Hymn on July 4th by Disney’s a capella group the Voices of Liberty (I’ve posted my unprofessional floor-view video), and while the entire song is powerful, it’s really just that one line that I can’t shake.

Pope Leo celebrated this anniversary with a few different messages. On July 3rd, he sent an address in acceptance of the National Constitution Center’s Liberty medal. He also sent a letter to the People of the United States to mark the 250th. And, while not directly related to America’s birthday, the pope’s choice to spend the actual 4th visiting Lampedusa, the Italian island that serves as gateway to Europe for so many migrants crossing the Mediterranean, makes his homily there a compelling part of his message to his homeland. If you only have the attention to read one of these, start with that one, because it is beautiful and powerful.

As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free.

The reason that line sits with me, I think, is that it calls me to question how we are measuring up as a country. 

Are we, in fact, living (and dying, per the original poem) to make others free?

Pope Leo, like many of his predecessors, would argue that freedom is not just the ability to do whatever we want. In his Liberty Medal address, he says, “Though frequently understood as the ability to act as one would like, authentic freedom runs much deeper.  It is founded upon the human person’s capacity to know the truth and adhere to what is good, even at great cost”. 

That truth, which defines what is good and sets a course for all our actions, is that we are loved by God and called to love of God and neighbor. 

The first words of Leo’s homily in Lampedusa are “God always loves us first.” He later connects that love with freedom, drawing on the Parable of the Good Samaritan: “The parable tells us that love is always rooted in freedom, and freedom lies in the decisions we make.” He follows that with a clear statement about the intertwining of the two loves for which we should make all free: “There is no love of God without love of neighbor, and there is no neighbor if I do not draw near. To pause, to be moved, to bend down, to weep before another’s pain — as Jesus did — means entering into the dynamic of love, the very movement in which God has revealed himself.” 

As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free.

In his letter to us, Leo underscores that the teaching of his papal namesake Leo XIII a century ago underscored that Catholics are called to be faithful citizens, and in the current Leo’s letter, he identifies in particular that Catholic values like the dignity of every human life and the commitment to work together for the common good are wholly compatible with the American experiment. He closes by hoping that this anniversary will “renew the shared commitment to the promise of freedom, justice, opportunity and democracy. May Americans honor the courage and vision of those who came before them by strengthening their communities, respecting their differences and working together toward a more perfect union.”

Are we working together to build a society that offers freedom, justice, opportunity and democracy to all? 

It was striking, sitting on the floor listening to the Voices of Liberty, that, if you looked hard, you could tell that the people in the pavilion had plenty that could divide them. I saw people of all races, ages, classes, gender and ethnicity. There were people wearing MAGA gear and people wearing No Kings buttons. And on July 4th, at least there, they were all cheering for the country they loved. “U-S-A! U-S-A!” they all shouted. All these folks might not all love each other individually, but together they loved the USA.

In a culture beset by division, we need chances to remember that words like “shared” and “together” are essential. If we are to live to make all free, we need to remember how to pair independence and interdependence, how to pair liberty and love. If we need more civic celebrations, let’s get the choir back together for Constitution and Citizenship Day on September 17th to recall that those patriots who declared independence had to come together and agree on how to make that declaration a reality. Because we Americans cannot live to make all free if we do not remember that you can’t spell “U-S-A” without “us”.

As He died to make men holy, let US live to make men free.