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FORTNIGHT
FOR FREEDOM 2017:
FREEDOM FOR MISSION
Does
it seem like the rights of freedom which we once took for granted are slipping
away? Do the new "laws"
seem backward to you? Immorality is the new morality, and "freedom"
leaves the most vulnerable of our society unprotected. "Tolerance" has
become a one-way street...
On
July 4, 2017, America will "celebrate" 241 years of freedom and
independence.
Yet it seems like every time we turn on the news, the definition of
freedom has come to mean "anything goes" and we must respect another
person's right to do as they please, even if it puts another individual or group
in harm's way.
Fortnight
for Freedom 2017: Freedom for Mission
Each
year dioceses around the country arrange special events to highlight the
importance of defending religious freedom. The Fortnight for Freedom starts on
June 21 (the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More) through
July 4 (Independence Day). During this time, we
are called to participate in fourteen
days of prayer and action for religious freedom. We
celebrate a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of
persecution by political power - St.
Thomas More and St. John Fisher, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and
the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, to name a few.
Let
us unite our prayers to these saints who inspire us for their bravery and
commitment to the faith as we struggle to preserve our precious freedoms...
According
to the USCCB, "Religious freedom has recently become one of the major focal
points in the conversation on how Americans can pro-mote the common good. Our
Catholic tradition has much to offer this conversation. In this time of
increasing polarization in our culture, we can contribute to a better
understanding of this issue in a way that respects all people. We can speak with
friends and neighbors about religious freedom and work to clear up
misconceptions about it."
Please
log onto the USCCB
web site for a short guide that will help us talk about religious freedom
and clear up misconceptions about it.
USCCB
also invites us to take
action. Make your voice heard by using an
automated service to contact your designated political representatives based on
your zip code.
If
ever there was a time and a need for action and prayer for the United States, the time is now!
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"Americans
share many blessings and strengths, including a tradition of religious
freedom and political participation. However, as a people, we face
serious challenges that are clearly political and also profoundly moral
in nature.
"We
are a nation founded on 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness,' but the right to life itself is not fully protected,
especially for unborn children, the most vulnerable members of the
American family. We are called to be peacemakers in a nation at war. We
are a country pledged to pursue 'liberty and justice for all,'
but we are too often divided across lines of race, ethnicity, and
economic inequality.
"We
are a nation of immigrants, struggling to address the challenges of many
new immigrants in our midst. We are a society built on the strength of
our families, called to defend marriage and offer moral and economic
supports for family life. We are a powerful nation in a violent world,
confronting terror and trying to build a safer, more just, more peaceful
world. We are an affluent society where too many live in poverty and
lack health care and other necessities of life. We are part of a global
community facing urgent threats to the environment that must sustain us.
These challenges are at the heart of public life and at the center of
the pursuit of the common good."
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/ |
RESOURCES
FOR PRAYER:
Prayer
to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the
Americas
We
can also pray the Novena
for the Persecuted Church & Religious Freedom.
connect
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