By John Horvat II
This year, we celebrate the 250th year of our nation’s birth. Over all those years, we have lived, suffered and triumphed together. We have known good times and bad. Overall, we have much to show for our efforts. Never has a more prosperous nation existed in history. It helps that God gave us a richly endowed nation. We have a vast and bountiful land full of natural resources and fertile soil.
He also created us as a practical people. We have many natural skills that help us to exploit this God-given bounty. Our people are industrious, resourceful and organized. Add daring, courage and persistence, and you have a formula for success. We are a generous people willing to share the fruits of our labor with those in need, here and abroad. We have even shed our blood, fighting around the world to defend good causes and to suppress evil and injustice.
More importantly, we are a very religious people. Perhaps we don’t think of ourselves in these terms, but we like religious matters. Those outside America marvel at our appetite for spiritual things. Perhaps our excessive materialism makes us feel our spiritual impoverishment more. Thus, we crave spiritual fulfillment. The topic of God resonates with us.
Despite our many falls and sins, God has blessed America. His Blessed Mother has looked with favor upon us, since through her, we have received so many graces and gifts. All these factors come together to give us reason to celebrate our 250 years. We can present our accomplishments and generosity to Our Lady on the spreadsheet of our good stewardship. We have been given much, and have used it well.
The Other Column
However, another column on our report sheet is not so good. Our time together has not been without its problems. We suffered through the Civil War and the Great Depression. We are shackled today in political and other strife. Individualism has made us lonely. A sexual revolution overturned our morals. The profound crisis inside the Church emptied our churches and suffocated vocations. A culture war now erodes what remains of our wholesome values. A new digital wasteland devastates our souls. Today, we find ourselves in a great crisis, unlike any we have seen before.
As we celebrate our 250th year, we find ourselves a disunited and polarized nation. There is no consensus about what we should do or where we should go. Thus, we must also present these afflictions to Our Lady on this august anniversary. She will not despise these petitions, but in her mercy will “hear and answer us.”
A Child’s Right
The key to being heard and answered is to ask, even if it seems that we do not have the right to do so in light of our many sins and failings. On special occasions like birthdays, we have a certain right to ask our mother for anything. We can invoke this child’s right and ask for everything. We should not limit ourselves to a few requests out of an ungrounded fear that we will disturb her or that our urgent and numerous needs will overwhelm her generosity. Like any mother, she takes delight in aiding those children who are most needy, especially if we present ourselves truly repentant and show her our love. Indeed, when kneeling before the Mother of Mercy, the more we ask, the better.
“A mother delights in answering the requests of her children. How much more does Our Lady delight in answering our prayers?”
Thus, we should ask her to join us in celebrating our joy at reaching this milestone, of being together as one nation, under God, for so many years. We must thank her for so many blessings. However, we must also present the seemingly insurmountable problems we face with childlike simplicity. We must ask her to come urgently to help unite our shattered nation. We must appeal to her wisdom to show us a way out of our affliction.
Invoking this child’s right, we have a window of opportunity to correct and straighten our ways. We must remember that she is not only our mother but the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Her power is not figurative but real. She can change things, not just for Catholics, but for the nation as a whole. She can better represent our interests before her Divine Son than we can.
