Stars and Stripes Forever

Nothing is free in this world. Usually the things of most value come at the greatest cost. We know that from fashion, cars, homes, even alcohol...the higher the quality, the higher the price. Even non-tangible things cannot escape this most basic principle.

Love has a price. Sometimes we are forced to look at ourselves and acknowledge our shortcomings, and we end up making changes...but we don't mind doing it, because its love...and at the end of the day we are in fact grateful. In friendships, we often may have to eat crow a little bit, or sacrifice something...but again we do it with joy, and we don't mind doing it, because its for a friend. We prioritize things in our lives. We decline a night on the town, in favor of putting a hundred more dollars towards that vacation we want to go on. We opt to dine at home to put an extra fifty bucks towards that special night next week. We may stay in a cheap hotel on a weekend getaway, so we can have some extra money to spend while we are away. We make career choices that may mean less weekly income, but better long term results.

Our faith is no different. Monday was the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, two men who valued the Christian Faith of greater value then their own lives, and paid the ultimate price for the sake of the Gospel. Without their sacrifice, the Gospel message would have died with Christ, but they kept it alive, and carried to all corners of the Earth. Two thousand years later, men enter the Seminary, and pay a high price. They hand over their freedom, their opportunity to find love, and start a family, they hand over the possibility of living a life of worldly success, all in the name of that same goal...that same High Price Item...Faith.

The same is certainly said of Freedom. Saturday is the Fourth of July, and we remember the centuries of men and women who ever single day put their lives on the line, and so many have paid that ultimate price...for freedom. For our freedom.

What about us? What price is too high for us to be willing to pay? President Obama called on students at Notre Dame University to consider this very question. He reminded them that 163 graduating classes sat in the same seats as them. Many did so in years of great prosperity, and many others did so in years of great peace. He reminded them;

"You, however, are not getting off that easy. Your class has come of age at a moment of great consequence for our nation and the world - a rare inflection point in history where the size and scope of the challenges before us require that we remake our world to renew its promise; that we align our deepest values and commitments to the demands of a new age. It is a privilege and a responsibility afforded to few generations - and a task that you are now called to fulfill."

The president's words to the graduating class of Notre Dame can be spoken to any American today. Not only in the view of our National challenges, but even in our everyday lives. What price are we willing to pay for the things that we want? I don't mean just the cars, computers, novelties, and dinners either. How much are we willing to pay for happiness? How much are we willing to sacrifice? For the ones we love, that answer is easy. We are willing to sacrifice anything, even our pride, for the ones we love. Just like it was a no brainer for Peter and Paul, and those men and women of the Military, it's a no brainer for us to give 110 percent for the ones we love. But what about the more difficult decisions?

What price are we willing to pay to achieve our goals? How much are we willing to spend, of our very selves, to see our dreams come true. My mind wanders to another hero who is honored this week. Father Bert Richman was the priest at my home Parish during my very formative High School years. I have spoken of him before. He was the reason I entered the Seminary. He was like a second father to me. We talked about nearly everything that ever passed through my mind. He taught me my faith, but he did so through his daily life. When I was in my first year of Seminary his fight with Cancer became insurmountable. The treatments had destroyed him, and even when his feet were numb, and he could no longer stand, he sacrificed his pride and allowed us to hold him upright so that he could celebrate the Sacraments. On July 3rd, 2000 Almighty God relieved him of his torture, and called him home to Himself. The day he entered Seminary he gave his life to the Church, for the sake of the Gospel, and his faith...and every moment that he lived until his final breath that fateful day, was a monument to his faith, the Gospel, and the Christian life.

The lesson that Father Bert, Peter and Paul, and the men and women of our Armed Forces teach me is that no price is too high for something that really matters. We are the ones who have to decide what matters, and what is worth a price that high. Are our goals, our hopes, our dreams...are they worth that much? Are they so highly valued that we cannot place a price on them? That was the way I felt when I was in Seminary, that's why I worked so hard to reach my Ordination Day, until little by little it felt like I was chasing a shadow, instead of a goal. That's when we loose hope, that's when our hearts turn to despair, and depression...when the value of these things drop, and we are willing to spend less and less...and we start to settle.

Nothing in this world is free. As we push towards the hope of Summer (even though it should be a third of the way over already), I hope none of us ever forget that. It's only been recently that I have started to discover these high priced things in my own life. It's only in the last 6 months or so, that I have a drive again...for the first time since seminary...to achieve a goal, to reach for dreams, and to be willing to pay those prices for what matters. In realizing these things in ourselves, we can find hope, energy, and a strong drive for what matters. It drove Peter and Paul to persevere through persecution, a fight they did not abandon even when faced with execution. It drove Fr. Bert in his battle with Cancer. It drove, and continues to drive, our Armed Forces. The words of our President are true, each moment of our lives is "a rare inflection point in history", in our history. Each challenge, each speed bump, each reward, and every downfall, is an opportunity to move closer, to take a step. Every moment of everyday we make another payment on that price tag...because nothing in this world is free.