Thomas Griffin 7/4/25 (For National Catholic Register)
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Let Us Begin: New Book on the Life and Power of St. Francis
July 4 is Independence Day. It is also the feast day of one of the most popular Catholic saints, Pier Giorgio Frassati. The United States declared its liberty from Britain on this day in 1776. Pier Giorgio entered eternal life on this date in 1925. As Providence will have it, there is much to connect these two celebrations and much that Americans can learn about true freedom from this holy witness.
Understanding the concept of authentic freedom and true liberty is essential on July 4. First, it is important to define what true freedom is not. Freedom is not the ability to do whatever you want, whenever you want. This is the notion of unhindered liberty. This belief grounds much of contemporary American reasoning. “No one should be able to tell me what to do,” many claim. “Because America is built on freedom.”
This is contradictory to the mindset of Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Thomas Griffin is the chairperson of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island where he lives with his wife and three children. He has a masters degree in theology and is a masters candidate in philosophy. Thomas is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine. He is the author of Let Us Begin: Saint Francis’s Way of Becoming Like Christ and Renewing the World.
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