Though we may gainsay the characterization, we Americans are romantic. Perhaps our sesquicentennial is an opportune time to remind ourselves of this feature. We are romantic because we demonstrate and celebrate the mysteriously symbiotic relationship between freedom and purpose. We understand that together they are like a fruitful marriage in that they sustain, nourish and cultivate each other. Imagine, for instance, purpose without freedom to pursue it, or freedom with no purpose to pursue.
In a way, a pledge is a romance, a romance where freedom and purpose combine. Our nation is founded on a pledge. In the closing sentence of the Declaration of Independence, the signers “mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor”. They claimed freedom to do so, and their purpose was political autonomy. The opening lines of the Constitution – a document composed by recently ‘freed’ men – confirms the purpose of the founders’ pledge: “in order to form a more perfect union”. Freedom and purpose. What a foundation on which to build a nation.
But, in our sesquicentennial introspection, perhaps we Americans should ask ourselves: are we losing our freedom and is our sense purpose suffering etiolation? Is our understanding of this fruitful romance waning? And, if so, shouldn’t we be admonished by the words of the prophet Hosea that “a people without understanding comes to ruin”? (Hos: 4:14)
We are of course free, although one might posit we fail to appreciate the value of this blessing. One might also contend that we are in fact losing our sense of purpose. Are we increasingly ignorant of the understanding that freedom entails responsibility?
The expression ‘free as a bird’ comes to mind. It implies liberty unfettered by obligation. However, when Jesus speaks of ‘the birds of the air,’ he makes the point that they are supported by the care of the heavenly Father. They are free to fly, but within the limits of their Creator’s solicitude. The ‘free as a bird’ image is also countered by the charming legend of the swallows of Capistrano. Every spring, swallows having hibernated in Argentina migrate six thousand miles back to their home in the mission of San Juan Capistrano in California. Even with ‘limited’ freedom, they follow the path of purpose.
As the story goes, the return date of the swallows is always March 19th, the feast of Saint Joseph. Is it coincidence that Joseph himself is a paragon of the romance of freedom imbued with purpose. Joseph was a man who pledged his own ‘fiat’. In response to a divinely inspired dream, he willingly dedicated his own unfetterd freedom to a purpose which would change the world.
Catholic philanthropy exemplifies the symbiosis between freedom and purpose. In a variety of ways – financial and otherwise – donors freely contribute their God-given ‘talents’ to the purpose of ‘Thy will be done’. Dare we hope that with the advent of Artificial Intelligence and the expected increase in wealth and leisure, our freedom and our purpose will mutually enrich each other so that we experience more deeply the romance of the advance of the Kingdom.
Leave a comment