‘One Nation under God’

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

In recent days, my thoughts have turned to the words of the Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.

I would encourage you to Google “Pledge of Allegiance.” I was surprised to learn that its history is traced back to 1892 and that, “The last change in language came on Flag Day 1954, when Congress passed a law which added the words “under God” after “one Nation.”
https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/pledge.pdf

“… ONE Nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.”

As I think about these words, it occurs to me that there may be something on which an overwhelming majority of Americans (80 or 90 percent?) could agree on at this moment in our history: that, as a nation, we are currently struggling to live up to these words and values. Can we still say that we are “One Nation under God”? I, personally, believe that we can. As we have experienced and continue to live in the midst of deep political divisions and have witnessed the events in our Capitol this past Jan. 6, it may help to recall that we have lived and somehow found our way through deep divisions at other times in our history. The original words of the Pledge of Allegiance, stating that our Republic is “indivisible” were written 27 years after the end of the Civil War. The country was divided by that war, but proved to be ultimately “indivisible.”

I wonder if this national holiday could have come at just the right time. Could it be that remembering and celebrating the life, leadership, and sacrifice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on this past Monday, can give us hope and teach us, once again, that not all is lost? Two of the many wonderful aspects of Dr. King’s life and example have always inspired me: first, that he was raised in a family of faith and, before all else, he strived to be a minister of God’s Word; second, Dr. King was committed to non-violence, believing that love, even love of enemies, was the only way to achieve victory over hate, violence, and injustice.

Many of us are familiar with the words of St. Thomas More, “I am the king’s good servant, but God’s first.” I am convinced that we must be both good stewards and servants of God and of country. We must be God’s servants first, but we also must be willing to serve and sacrifice for the good of our country. How might each of us, at this moment, follow the example of St. Thomas More, of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and of countless faithful citizens of this country, who over these almost 250 years have helped to make us “One Nation under God”?

We learn that a life of holiness, a life of loving service, is so often a life of prayer and action. In striving to follow the example of Dr. King, we should turn to and listen to the Word of God. On this past Sunday, the First Reading at Mass was from the First Book of Samuel (1 Sm 3: 3b–10, 19) in which the aged prophet Eli tells young Samuel, “… if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” Could it be that one of the best things we can do for our country at this time is turn to God in prayer and say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”? Let us ask God to speak to us and teach us how He is calling each of us to live our Faith by serving and working for the good of our communities and nation.

Let us also be guided by Dr. King’s commitment to non-violence, which was and is often misunderstood as weaknesses or a failure to fight for and struggle for what is right. Those who are truly committed to non-violence and in the struggle for “liberty and justice for all” teach us that there is no greater strength or power. As human beings, we seem to all have a tendency to fail in learning from our history. Holidays, both religious and secular, help us to remember, to express our gratitude, and hopefully, learn from our past.

In these days, like many, I am concerned and worried for our country, but I remain hopeful and optimistic because our country has been and continues to be truly blessed by people of faith, generosity, wisdom and courage. While it was not a national holiday, as Catholics we remembered and celebrated another great American two weeks before Dr. Martin Luther King Day. This past Jan. 4 was the Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the 200th anniversary of her death. Two hundred years later, the spirit of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, a woman of prayer and action, is still very much with us, in the Sisters of Charity and so many others who follow her example and pray for and through her intercession. I came across these words on a website called Franciscan Media, which has a wonderful feature for “Catholic Saint of the Day:”

Elizabeth Seton had no extraordinary gifts. She was not a mystic or stigmatic. She did not prophesy or speak in tongues. She had two great devotions: abandonment to the will of God and an ardent love for the Blessed Sacrament. She wrote to a friend, Julia Scott, that she would prefer to exchange the world for a “cave or a desert.” “But God has given me a great deal to do, and I have always and hope always to prefer his will to every wish of my own.” Her brand of sanctity is open to everyone if we love God and do his will.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-elizabeth-ann-seton

Let us pray and act, my brothers and sisters, for our country in a special way in these difficult days. Let us ask the first American Saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, to help us be and remain “One Nation under God.”