Homily – Fr. Michael Casagram – July 4, 2020

Homily – Fr. Michael Casagram – July 4, 2020

(Am: 9:11-15; Mt 9:14-17)

“You put new wine in fresh skins, then both are preserved” Jesus tell us in our gospel  this 4th of July weekend. And in our first reading from the prophet Amos we heard how Yahweh shall plant his people “in their own country and they shall never again be rooted up from the land which I have given them.” Though taken from ordinary time, these readings are entirely fitting for today’s holiday. If we are true to what the original authors of the Declaration of Independence tell us, we will indeed be new wine in fresh skins and will never to be rooted up from the land which has been given us.

The pandemic our country and the whole world is experiencing and the way we are having to face the reality of racism in this country and elsewhere, are clear reminders of the wisdom of the founders of this land. They told us of the self-evident truth that all human beings are created equal, are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights. More than ever the demands of our time are calling us to truly live as brothers and sisters created equal and made in the very image and likeness of God. It is simply a matter of seeing every living person as a member of Christ’s Body. It is this Body we are about to receive at this Altar, under the appearance of bread made of ground grain and wine made from many grapes. If we feel pressed or ground at times, let us not be surprised how we too are drawn into Christ’s redeeming love.