By Fr. Justin Fulton
Friends, let me share with you the only homily I will ever give on the 4th of July. It is actually a song. I feel it reminds us of the blessings our good God has given us and it helps us remember those who have died in sacrifice for a cause bigger than themselves.
As we celebrate the 4th of July this year it is our prayer that all peoples may live in peace and freedom under the dominion of He who is Justice, Freedom, and Peace: Jesus Christ. May we always remember that even before we are called American... we are first called by our names as Catholic sons and daughters loved into existence by our gracious Heavenly Father.
Stay safe this 4th of July. Thank you for your prayers and monetary support of Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska. May God shed His grace on thee!
America, Why I Love Her
You ask me why I love her? Well, give me time, and I’ll explain...
Have you seen a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain?
Have you drifted on a bayou down Louisiana way?
Have you watched the cold fog drifting over San Francisco Bay?
Have you heard a Bobwhite calling in the Carolina pines?
Or heard the bellow of a diesel in the Appalachia mines?
Does the call of Niagara thrill you when you hear her waters roar?
Do you look with awe and wonder at a Massachusetts shore...
Where men who braved a hard new world, first stepped on Plymouth Rock?
And do you think of them when you stroll along a New York City dock?
Have you seen a snowflake drifting in the Rockies... way up high?
Have you seen the sun come blazing down from a bright Nevada sky?
Do you hail to the Columbia as she rushes to the sea...
Or bow your head at Gettysburg... in our struggle to be free?
Have you seen the mighty Tetons? ...Have you watched an eagle soar?
Have you seen the Mississippi roll along Missouri’s shore?
Have you felt a chill at Michigan, when on a winters day,
Her waters rage along the shore in a thunderous display?
Does the word “Aloha”... make you warm?
Do you stare in disbelief When you see the surf come roaring in at Waimea reef?
From Alaska’s gold to the Everglades... from the Rio Grande to Maine...
My heart cries out...
my pulse runs fast at the might of her domain.
You ask me why I love her?... I’ve a million reasons why.
My beautiful America... beneath Gods’ wide, wide sky.
As Narrated by John Wayne
Songwriters: Billy Liebert / John Mitchum
