14th Sunday A
250th Anniversary of the United States
Basilica of the Assumption
July 5, 2026
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: There is an old saying: All roads lead to Rome. For Catholics, Rome is the center of unity, the place where the Church remembers the witness of Saints Peter and Paul, and the place from which the Gospel has gone forth to the nations. But as our nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, I would suggest another saying today – at least for American Catholics: All roads lead to Maryland.
That is not simply local pride. It is a recognition of history. If you want to understand the story of Catholicism in the United States, sooner or later you find yourself in Maryland. You find yourself among the first Catholic settlers who arrived seeking religious freedom. You find yourself in the chapels and manors houses where the faith was preserved when Catholics were often viewed with suspicion. You find yourself in the story of the family of Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, and in the life of the first bishop of the United States, John Carroll. You find yourself at the roots of a Church that helped shape a nation while remaining faithful to a kingdom not of this world.
As America marks 250 years, it is tempting to focus on power, achievement, and worldly success. Yet today’s Gospel points us in a very different direction. Jesus says: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to little ones.” The Kingdom of God is not built by the powerful alone. It is revealed to the humble. The deepest truths are often received, not by those who know the most, but by those who trust the most.
That insight helps us understand the Catholic story in Maryland. Not all the first Catholics here were powerful. They were often a minority. They lived with uncertainty. They experienced periods of toleration and periods of discrimination. Yet they carried something stronger than political influence. They carried faith. They carried hope. They carried the conviction that Christ is the Lord of history. The Church in Maryland survived and flourished, not because Catholics controlled events, but because they trusted the One who does.
That is also the message of St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans in today’s second reading. Paul reminds us that we do not belong merely to the flesh, to the passing things of this world. We belong to the Spirit. The very Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells within us.
Think about that for a moment. Empires rise and fall. Political movements come and go. Constitutions are amended. Cultures change. Yet the Spirit of God remains at work in every generation. The same Spirit who sustained the Church in the days of John Carroll sustains the Church today. The same Spirit who guided Catholics through persecution, civil war, economic depression, and social upheaval continues to guide us now.
As we celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday, that should give us both gratitude and perspective. We can be grateful for the blessings of our country, for the freedoms we enjoy, and for the opportunities that generations before us secured through sacrifice. But our ultimate hope is not in any political system, any ideology, or any historical achievement. Our hope is in Christ.
That brings us to the most beautiful words of today’s Gospel: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not promise victory in every struggle. He does not promise that life will be easy. He does not promise that nations will never experience division or difficulty. Instead, He promises Himself. “Come to me.” The answer to our burdens is not a program or a policy or a strategy. The answer is a Person.
Perhaps that is the greatest lesson Maryland’s Catholic history offers the Church and the nation. The men and women who built the foundations of the faith here understood that Christianity is not primarily about winning arguments or securing influence. It is about belonging to Christ. It is about taking His yoke upon ourselves and learning from Him. The yoke of Christ is paradoxical. It is demanding, yet it is light. It calls us to conversion, sacrifice, and holiness. Yet it is also the only burden that truly frees us.
As America enters its 250th year, perhaps the Church’s mission today is not unlike that of those first Maryland Catholics: to remind our fellow citizens that freedom without truth becomes confusion, power without virtue becomes dangerous, and prosperity without God leaves the human heart restless. The future of our nation will not be secured merely by economic strength or political success. It will be secured by men and women who allow the Spirit of God to dwell within them and who hear anew the invitation of Christ: “Come to me.”
So yes, all roads may lead to Rome. But for American Catholics, all roads eventually lead to Maryland – to a story of faith, perseverance, and hope. And all those roads ultimately lead somewhere even greater: to Jesus Christ, the Lord of history, the source of our freedom, the rest for our weary souls, and the destination toward which every faithful pilgrim journey is directed. Sacred Heart of Jesus – have mercy on us! St. Margaret Mary Alacoque – pray for us!