Thursday is the Fourth of July and a long-awaited day off at the beginning of this summer season. For some people, it is a day marked by joyous celebrations with family and friends and expressions of gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy. For others it is marked by rowdy gatherings seemingly with no real patriotism. Whichever you observe, remember to fly your flag proudly and to set aside time for God who is the source of our independence and the author of peace.

On our first Independence Day celebration, held in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, when the country was still amid the Revolutionary War against Britain, citizens came together to watch their new nation’s sky illuminated in a grand display meant to raise spirits. They wanted to create a morale booster, and it worked. The news spread, and fourth of July celebrations with fireworks took hold quickly in other places. One of our Founding Fathers had even predicted that Americans would commemorate their independence with pomp and circumstance.

Massachusetts delegate John Adams once wrote, “It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

But that first fireworks spectacle was a far cry from today’s elaborate, choreographed pyrotechnic shows. Fireworks certainly have grown and not only in complexity. The American Pyrotechnics Association (APA) estimates that more than 14,000 fireworks exhibitions light up the nation’s sky each Independence Day.

So, enjoy Thursday’s historical holiday. To highlight the day, here is a prayer by Father Austin Fleming to mark the Fourth of July.