On civic holidays it is a very laudable practice to sing a patriotic hymn, usually at the conclusion of Mass. Nearly everyone, in tune and out of tune, proudly joins us. No one would dare move from their place until the end of the song. When the hymn is something like, “Holy God we Praise thy Name,” many people have no problem heading for the door.
This may be because we fail to consider Our Lord’s teaching in today’s Gospel. “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Our Lord is teaching us that we have a dual citizenship—that we should be “Pro Deo et Patria” [For God and Country]. We might say that we are to be both faith-filled and patriotic. They are virtues that should live side by side.
Patriotism means supporting the State in its pursuit of the common good, justice, security, and peace. St. Paul enjoins us to pray for all civil authorities, who for their part, should be upright servants of the people.
Patriotism involves fulfilling our duties toward God. For us Catholics, this involves observing the Commandments, prayer, and living a sacramental life. It may also mean having the courage to challenge proposals and laws that are contrary to God’s law.
Is our nation faultless? True patriotism is not blind to a nation’s errors and challenges. Blind patriotism cries out, “My country…right or wrong.” True patriotism would affirm, “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right, if wrong to be set right.”
True patriotism also celebrates the greatness of our nation, the generosity of its people and to other nations, and the ultimate sacrifices made by so many in its defense.
Today we take pride in our country, “the land of the free and the home of the brave” realizing that the work of building upon her greatness can be hard. Preserving and protecting our rights and freedoms is a work in progress. It requires constant vigilance. We must educate ourselves about what our leaders at every level are deliberating and proposing in the halls of government. We should not take our civic life for granted. Without this education, life would become very scary! Winston Churchill keenly observed, “The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.”
The distinction that Our Lord made was not intended to relegate religion to the sanctuary—so that civic life would develop apart from natural and divine law. Our rights and freedom do not come from the State or even from the consent of the majority. If they did, they could be taken away. But our nation’s founders recognized that our rights and freedoms have their origin in God. If we lose that mooring, we can easily drift off into turbulent seas.
May we allows appreciate what it means to be a part of these United States. May we always fulfill our duties to God and to our country. Only when we are faith-filled and patriotic will our country continue to be a great and good country.
