Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day, 4th of July! Today, we remember the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Written by Thomas Jefferson with the input of others that included John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, this document clearly defines that all men "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights". He also references "the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them". This speaks directly to what we call "natural law".

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph 1955, quotes Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, Libertas praestantissimum, "The Nature of Human Liberty".

The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin . . . But this command of human reason would not have the force of law if it were not the voice and interpreter of a higher reason to which our spirit and our freedom must be submitted.

To read the full encyclical, you can click here.

The year 1776 is also very significant for us here at St. Landry Catholic Church: our church parish was founded in that year.