Ordinary Time: July 4th
Optional Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal: Independence Day (USA)
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St. Elizabeth of Portugal was the daughter of Peter III of Aragon and was named after her great-aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, whose virtues she also inherited. In her married life with King Denis of Portugal she had to undergo a series of heavy trials which she endured with heroism. On more than one occasion she went to considerable pains to bring about peace between her children and their father. After her husband's death she became a Franciscan Tertiary and showed unfailing charity towards the poor. She died in 1336; her body has remained incorrupt.
Today is the national celebration of our Nation's independence. As we celebrate let us remember to pray that God will strengthen and bless America and make our nation a haven of liberty and justice for all — born and unborn.Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar St. Elizabeth's feast was celebrated on July 8.Independence Day
On April 19, 1775, American minutemen faced English soldiers on the village green in Lexington, Massachusetts. Someone—no one to this day knows who—fired a shot, and a battle followed which marked the beginning of the American Revolution.
- Read the Declaration of Independence and see what grievances our Founding Fathers had with England. This same site offers links to learn more about the founding of our nation.
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