As we enter into the new year 2026, we find ourselves, as Catholics and as Americans, between two great events. We have just concluded the Jubilee Year 2025. It officially ended with the closing of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 6, 2026, at the Holy Father’s Mass celebrating the Epiphany of the Lord.
We were encouraged to spend this past year reflecting on true hope, not mere optimism. In Jesus Christ and the story of His birth, death and resurrection, the world has been given not wishful thinking but rather the hope of eternal life with and in God. Unlike the passing things, ideas and moments of this world, this hope will not end, will not disappoint.
The second great event is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, in essence the birthday of our country. This will be an opportunity to reflect deeply on the history, government and society in which we share as citizens and as faithful Catholics.
That Declaration was issued at a tumultuous moment in world history. A mere 13 years later, another cry of independence, the French revolution, began with some of the same intellectual currents and hopes, but soon descended into bloodshed, tyranny and the suppression of religion.
In our country, however, the basis was laid for what President Abraham Lincoln would describe 87 years later as “a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” The Declaration itself went beyond that assertion to state that not only are all created equal but that all are “… endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” These principles of freedom were further explained in our Constitution whose First Amendment guarantees the freedom of religion.
Through many struggles as well as successes over the last 250 years, the American experiment has allowed
us as Catholics to flourish in our faith as witnessed by the presence of our Catholic churches and schools and our participation in the government and society. For
this we need to be grateful to God and resolved to continue our participation in the democratic process in
a manner that brings the light of faith to our society.
At the same time, we need to fill out our self-understanding as Americans by reflecting on the sins and omissions that are also part of our national history. In a way this “purification of memory,” which was called for in his time by Pope St. John Paul II, also reflects the wisdom we encounter at every Mass. Even before entering into the great joy of meeting the Lord in the Scripture and the Eucharist, we first prepare ourselves by calling to mind our sins.
As Americans, we need to recall, for example, the presence and toleration of slavery that was a sad part of our nation’s beginning. It contributed to the horror of our Civil War. And despite many undeniable improvements, its roots are still with us in our own time. Similarly, we cannot overlook the distortion of freedom that has brought about millions of abortions of our young.
Nevertheless our celebration of the Semiquincentennial Anniversary is worthy of prayer and gratitude to God. He has placed us here in His wisdom and His love. We can look back on the many contributions Catholics have made to our country, and desire to offer more going forward. In a time when our society is marked with intense division, destructive rhetoric marking all sides of our political spectrum, and diminishing respect for life, marriage and family, our contributions are needed more than ever.
Our Catholic faith is a font of grace, of human good and of reconciliation. May our celebration this year and the next 250 years make ever more present the face and love of God for all our citizens.
