People in general, but especially Catholics, love symbols. We wear medals, our churches are replete with statues, our homes and classrooms display crucifixes, we attach religious symbols, such as the fish (Ichthus) to our cars, our liturgies thrive on symbols. Not to be outdone, our nation proudly displays and honors our most popular symbol, our flag. June 14th, since 1949, has been our National Flag Day. A long history, beginning with a teacher in Wisconsin in the 1880's, went before this proclamation by President Harry Truman. Part of that history includes this poetic description by Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, given in a speech in 1914: "I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself." We most often think of the Flag as the symbol of our country, but Mr. Lane reminds us that our country is US! We are encouraged to be comfortable with ourselves, to love ourselves, if we are going to be effective with others, if we are going to love them. Loving ourselves means loving our flag, loving our country. We love our medals, our signs of the cross, our statues, for they are symbols of the saints, Jesus, our models in faith. May we grow in our love for our flag, ourselves, one another, our country.
Bro. Rene
I will be attending Camp Champagnat on Lake Ossipee for the next two days, so there will be no slice of Daily Bread until Sunday.
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