Many will celebrate the independence of our nation this fourth of July weekend. Flags of celebration will be flying all over this land of freedom, but will the real significance of that star spangled, red, white, and blue banner be fully understood. The following is an excerpt about the flag of the United States of America from a writing by Francis Cardinal Spellman. May his words be remembered each and every time we are blessed to see Old Glory flying on this Independence Day.
What America Means to Me
What does America mean to me? My heart is drenched with desire adequately to express the great gratitude to God which swells my soul for the manifold glories with which He has graced America, santuary of liberty, democracy and faith.
...America means our flag, red with charity for all men and all nations of good will; red too, with courage to achieve the liberties of man by personal sufferings and sacrifice. White for the basic righteousness of our national purpose. Blue for our trust and confidence in God, our Heavenly Father, to whom our forebears long ago dedicated this land of loviness.
I have seen our flag flying aloft in all corners of the world, the flag of freedom that symbolizies justice and love of man for God and his fellowmen, stark contradiction to the red flag of tyranny, symbol of serfdom and pagan opression. I have seen our American flag in wartime and peacetime; and, as a loyal son of America, I am testament to the truth that even in the time of war the message of that flag means peace. With rapt heart I recall the sight of our flag at the masthead of a ship, weaving bright colors above the turbulent waters beneath a sullen gray sky, which seems to reflect the world of today, dark with forebodings of disasters yet to come, gray with the accumulated clouds of evils and errors of the past.
Suddenly a gust of wind enfolds the listless standard at the masthead and there streams Old Glory, challenging the somber colorings of the sky.
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