“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, he has come to his people and set them free” My dear sisters and brothers, these words proclaiming freedom were spoken by Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, on the birth of his son. Momentous words at a tremendously important birth, for John would be the one who went before the Messiah, announcing his coming and preparing his way.

It was freedom that Jesus, the Messiah, proclaimed to all who would listen. Jesus said that those who are his disciples will come to know the truth and the truth will set them free. Of all the benefits that we celebrate on this Canada Day, benefits which come to us from being citizens of this great and beautiful country in which we live, none is prized more highly, none is held with greater value than our individual freedom which is enshrined in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is sung in our National Anthem as we repeat: “O Canada, glorious and free, O Canada we stand on guard for thee.”

Few countries in the world enjoy the glorious freedom that we enjoy here in this country. I believe that history shows that the exceptional and exemplary freedom which we enjoy in Canada finds its roots in the Christian beliefs and values which were part of the foundation upon which Canadian Society was built. Indeed the Charter of rights and freedoms states that it itself proceeds from the fact that “Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.”

Why is freedom such an important value for Canadians? We will go to far off places in the world and lay down our lives, fighting for the freedom of other people. Why is it of so great a value for us when much of the world does not place upon personal freedom the same value that we do?” We can legitimately ask: What is there in the Christian heritage upon which our country was built that gives us such a strong sense that freedom is of the essence of who we are as human beings.

Certainly the great value that we place on the people’s freedom rises from our belief in their dignity as human beings. That dignity comes from the fact that every human person is created in the image of God and therefore has immeasurable value and worth just because they are a human being. Therefore they have the right to live that dignity free from oppression in human society.

As Christian people, the principal of Christian freedom contains the principle of social and political freedom. It is our belief that through our baptism we have all become one in Christ and so we are all equal in Christ. That equality of being one in Christ dissolves all the social and political barriers. There are no distinctions in our Christian community, no political distinctions, no racial distinctions, and no national distinctions. All are equally free in Christ. These concepts of equality and freedom have greatly influenced the political process in our Country.

And so, we as people of faith, we as disciples of Jesus, upon whose truth freedom flowers, give thanks to God for the freedom we enjoy, in particular for the freedom which we enjoy in our country. For all freedom has its roots in God and in his Son, Jesus our Risen Lord, in whom we are all one body.

In his Gospel, Luke places before us this image of the lepers whom Jesus healed. These were human beings enslaved by a terrible illness which robbed them of their freedom to live with dignity and equality. One of these men, realizing that he was liberated from this affliction, returned to Jesus, prostrated himself at his feet and thanked him. And Jesus commended him and assured him that his faith, which was expressed in his gratitude, had truly made him well and restored his freedom.

The reminder to us is that our faith as Christian citizens of Canada compels us to express gratitude for all the good things that God has given to us, including the gift of freedom. Here we see the true meaning of stewardship. We need to recognize the gifts that God in his love has bestowed upon us. Freedom is a quality of our political and social society in our Country, but we as Christians know that true freedom comes to us not from any political system but from God. And like the man healed of leprosy, we need to kneel at the feet of God’s Son and say thank you. Stewardship is forming hearts filled with gratitude. Gratitude is the quality of a true disciple of Jesus. Gratitude compels us to turn to God and proclaim our thanks. Being disciples of Jesus compels us to proclaim our gratitude clearly to all around us in witness to God’s love in Jesus.

We live now in a society which in its secularism, seeks to find the foundation for our freedom and our rights in places other than God. It seeks an authority other than God. But what authority can replace the religious faith upon which our country was founded? Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, raised this question when he spoke to the representatives of British society during his visit to Great Britain last September. He asked:By appeal to what authority can moral dilemmas be resolved?We can extend this to ask “By appeal to what authority can we ground our belief in the freedom of the human being if the laws of God are no longer that authority.

We see the risk of this in the example of one such authority that is put forward now to replace God, that of “political correctness” which has replaced many of our moral principles in political and social life. Indeed we see that political correctness is imposed by some in positions of authority with a rigor and rigidity which far surpasses the traditional call to obey the laws of God. And we have seen how political correctness, with all its aim to ensure equality and freedom for people, often disintegrates into silliness and impinges upon true freedom because it has no firm foundation in true moral authority.

And so Pope Benedict went on to say:If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident – herein lies the real challenge for democracy.

We then as Catholic citizens have something to say in this matter in our country. We are not out to force our views on anyone, but by proclaiming our beliefs in the political forum we can, as Pope Benedict said, “shed light” on the political process as we in Canada struggle to develop sound moral principles to guide our mixed and varied Canadian society.

As the Prophet Isaiah said in the first reading of Mass today, we are to “recount the gracious deeds of the lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord” to all around us because of all that the Lord has done for us, and the great favour that he has shown us according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. We have Good News for our Canadian society and Jesus, the Saviour, has called us to proclaim this Good News to our country. When we do this, we show our thanks to God for all that God has given us.