Dear Saints,

President George Washington’s Farewell Address to the nation has been read on the floor of the United States Senate every February since 1896. In a rare display of unity, the Senate alternates parties when selecting a member to proclaim the 7,641 word statement. Even more astonishing, the archive cataloguing the names of all those who have read the address doesn’t mention political affiliation at all: members are known only by the states they represent.

Washington’s decision to retire made way for the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next, a crowning achievement for the young country and a crucial precedent for his successors. In his farewell address, Washington laid out his understanding of national survival. Among other things, he called for good faith, justice, peace, and harmony.

It can be debated how faithful Americans have been to President Washington’s vision, but in any event it should be noted that the virtues he outlined aren’t good and necessary because they’re American; Washington extolled them as American ideals because they were first good and necessary. Indeed, truth, justice, peace, and harmony transcend not only the United States, but humanity itself. They are attributes of God himself.

This Presidents Day and beyond, we would do well to remember the fundamental reality of President Washington’s words. If our nation is to survive, we must bear the hallmarks of godliness.

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ