Dear Friends,

As we celebrate 250 years of Independence and existence of the United States of America, allow me to wish each and everyone a blessed, peaceful, happy and fulfilling Independence Day Anniversary. May this auspicious celebration promote equality, uplift human dignity, and empower the lives of all people to align with God's Kingdom which is established not by coercion but by the gentle authority of humility, righteousness, and peace.

Divine greatness is expressed in compassion and faithfulness. Gods power is exercised in service to the weak. God "upholds all who are falling,"(Psalm 145:1-2, 8-11, 13-14) demonstrating that His authority is directed toward restoration, not domination. In his letter to the Romans St. Paul wrote that "those who belong to Christ live not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells within believers, enabling them to overcome the self-enclosed mode of living that seeks control rather than surrender. True strength emerges when the believer abandons the autonomy of the flesh and submits to the Spirit's guidance.

This weekend Jesus Christ extends an invitation to us: "Come to me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." Jesus begins with a declaration of divine revelation: God reveals His mysteries not to "the wise" and "the learned", but to "the little ones," literally "infants". This does not disparage intelligence; it condemns the self-sufficiency that closes one off from God.

With the words, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am meek and humble of heart," Jesus describes His identity and mission in this Sunday's Gospel: He exercises authority without coercion and rules through humility rather than domination. Divine truth is accessible only to those who are willing to receive it rather than control it. The yoke that Christ is offering to us is not a burden, but a form of discipleship that leads to rest. Having consecrated our nation and ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are invited to invoke Him to help us become mature Christians who recognize that the deepest transformation occurs not through power but through humility.

Christ does not offer us relief from responsibility, but freedom from self-reliance. He teaches that human life finds its proper form only when it participates in His way of humility. To follow Him is to accept that divine strength manifests not by overpowering others but by submitting to the truth that God is the source and end of all things.

May the Lord teach us the strength of humility, free us from the burdens we impose on ourselves through self-reliance, and lead us to the rest that comes from taking His yoke and form our hearts in the gentleness and truth of Christ, whose Sacred Heart is a vessel of Justice and love. Amen.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Star of the Sea, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
St. Maria Goretti, pray for us.
St. Andre Bessette, pray for us.
Jesus, I trust in you.

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