Happy July 4th!

Fr Shaji Pazhukkathara • June 26, 2025

Happy July 4th!

Happy July 4th!

We are grateful for our country, and we want to be good citizens. Thomas Jefferson, on July 4th, 1826, wrote in a letter: “May it be to the world, what I believe it will be... the signal of arousing men to burst the chains... and to assume the blessings and security of self-government. That form, which we have substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion. All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man… For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them." The best thing we can do to become better citizens is to be better Christians. Every year around July 4th, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops invites us to pray for religious freedom. We are excited to celebrate July 4th, but we need to hold on to that spirit every day, in every aspect of our lives.


This Sunday, we are celebrating the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. Saint Augustine of Hippo wrote of these saints, “Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles’ blood. Let us embrace what they believed, their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their confession of faith.”


Simon was born in Bethsaida, near the Sea of Galilee. He was a fisherman by trade, along with his brother Andrew. After Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and completed His forty days of prayer and fasting in the desert, He went to the Sea of Galilee, saw Simon and Andrew fishing, and called to them saying, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). They dropped everything and became Jesus’ first disciples. Jesus said to Peter, “I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19). After Pentecost, Peter led the Church courageously. He began in Jerusalem and eventually traveled to Rome, where he established the Church and became its first bishop. Around the year 64, he was martyred during the persecutions of Emperor Nero. Peter requested to be crucified upside down because he did not consider himself to be worthy of dying the same way Jesus died. His tomb is located under the main altar of Saint Peter’s Basilica.


We are familiar with the story of Saul becoming Paul. Saul was born as a Roman citizen in Tarsus, modern-day Turkey. He became one of the persecutors of the early Church, being partly responsible for the death of Saint Stephen (Acts 7:58). However, as Saul was traveling to Damascus to persecute other Christians, he was knocked to the ground and struck blind. He heard Jesus say to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4). Jesus then directed him to a disciple of the Lord in Damascus named Ananias, who baptized Saul. Saul spent about three years in Arabia, where he went through an intense time of prayer and study, eventually returning to Damascus and then to Jerusalem, where Barnabas introduced him to the other disciples, testifying of his conversion. Saul began to use his Roman name, Paul, in Jerusalem, and then spent almost the next ten years doing missionary work throughout the Mediterranean. When he returned to Jerusalem, he was imprisoned for a couple of years and then sent to Rome for trial, as he was a Roman citizen. In Rome, he met up with Saint Peter. Paul was beheaded just outside the city of Rome. When his head fell to the ground, it bounced three times, each time giving rise to a spring of water. The place is marked today by the Abbey of the Three Fountains. Saints Peter and Paul are considered the foundational pillars of the Church. Peter represents the office of the Vicar of Christ. Paul represents the mission of evangelization that was entrusted to the Church by Jesus Himself. His letters are evidence of his knowledge and theology. One tradition states that they were both martyred on June 29, in Rome, making them twin martyrs. Their twin martyrdom reminds us that the Church must be both stable and mission-oriented.


The Mass: We approach the final part of the Mass, which includes Holy Communion and the Final Blessing. Every Eucharist, especially in Holy Communion, bridges: Calvary (past), Real Presence (present), and Heavenly Banquet (future). At every Mass, we are mystically participating in what will only be fully revealed at the end of time. When we receive the Holy Communion, we say “Amen”; it’s a solemn “yes” to the reality of Christ’s presence and an affirmation of being rightly disposed to receive Him.


In preparation for the Holy Communion, the Priest says, "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb." John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the Lamb who takes away sin (John 1:29). In Revelation 19:6-9, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." It’s a wedding feast, prefiguring the final union of heaven and earth. Everyone responds: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." It is from the Gospel of Matthew 8:5-11, where the centurion's profound humility and faith are highlighted. The final blessing is not just a farewell; it is a divine commissioning. Aaron blessed the people after the offering of sacrifice (Leviticus 9:22-23), and just as Christ blessed the Apostles before ascending into heaven (Luke 24:50-52), so the priest — in persona Christi — blesses the people at the culmination of the Eucharistic sacrifice. The dismissal, then, is not an end but a sending (missio): "Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord." The Mass doesn't conclude our worship; it sends us to live it. The word "Mass" itself is derived from missa, meaning "dismissal" or "sending," reinforcing that the whole liturgy culminates in mission.

We have the Eucharist Procession on this Sunday, June 29th, at 2 pm at Immaculate Conception. Pope Francis has emphasized on several occasions that Eucharistic processions are not just religious rituals but powerful public witnesses of faith. He says, “When we take part in a Eucharistic procession, we are saying: Jesus is in our streets; He walks with us and among us.”