Memorial Day - history and prayer for the day

Memorial Day is one of those holidays that Americans get the day off for but do not really "use" the day as it was meant to be, mostly because public displays of patriotism and memorialization are not as popular as once was. But as Catholics, I think we need to try to keep the history of Memorial Day intact and instill in our friends and family a time during this weekend and especially on Monday to reflect on those who served and died in the Armed Forces of America so that we can live in this land of the free. Here is a history and a prayer from a website
from the Association of the Miraculous Medal (webpage here) :

HISTORY OF MEMORIAL DAY:

After the bloody war between the States, citizens of the North and the South felt a need to honor those fallen in the war. On various days people from different communities would place flowers at the graves of those they wished to honor. The day came to be known as Decoration Day. By 1868, the northern states were keeping the day on May 30. In 1882, the day was renamed Memorial Day and extended to honor the fallen in other wars. Since 1950, Congress has designated Memorial Day as a day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer for permanent peace. In 1971, President Nixon declared it a national holiday and designated the commemoration for the last Monday in May. Besides honoring those Americans from the armed forces, it is also a day for personal remembrance of all loved ones. Flowers on graves, church services, visits to the cemetery are all ways to mark the day with dignity and solemnity. In this spirit it is only fitting to make this day one of prayer in our Catholic faith with its long tradition of remembering the faithful departed.

Scripture Reading Judas Maccabeus then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view. II Maccabees 12: 43

Prayer Lord God, you are the glory of believers and the life of the just. Your Son redeemed us by dying and rising to life again. Since our brothers and sisters believed in the mystery of the resurrection, we join our prayers to those of the Blessed Virgin Mary as we ask that they share the joys and blessings of the life to come. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

I heard this poem on Dr. Laura's radio show last week, I think it is a refreshing reminder of
what soldiers do for us:

Thank a Soldier

It is the soldier, not the reporter,

Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,

Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,

Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, not the lawyer,

Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier,

Who salutes the flag,

Who serves under the flag,

And whose coffin is draped by the flag,

Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

To all the brave men and women who have dedicated or given their lives to protecting this country and it’s freedoms:

Thank you. You are hero’s in our eyes and forever in our hearts.

If you can read this message thank a teacher,

If you are reading it in English of your own free will THANK A SOLDIER!

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!

“It is better to fight for something, than to live for nothing”-General George S. Patton

Although the above is not really for the dead soldier, as Catholics, we believe in life after death and the Communion of Saints, so there definitely are soldiers in Heaven that we can thank and ask for their prayers. The military gets a bad rap these days but if you think about it, if the U.S. did not get involved in World War I, II and the cold war, it may have been possible for dictators from Germany or Soviet Union to conquer the United States and we would not have the rights and privileges we have now. Time to tell if our ongoing War on Terrorism will be seen in the same light or not, especially due to the enemies using new and unorthodox methods of warfare.

Hopefully soon, we will have a world where war will be a thing of the past, that peace will
reign over the whole Earth so we can concentrate on sheltering the homeless, feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked.

Great story about Fr. Tom, priest for 64 years, still going strong

I read this story in the online Arizona Republic today ( I lived in Arizona for almost 10 years while in High School and College) about Fr. Tom who is still working as a priest after 64 years. This was a heartwarming story and I wanted to share it with others. This seems unique now but I bet in the future we will see more priests working in their late 70s and early 80s just because of the priest shortage and also because some men are not becoming priests until their 40s or 50s so I am sure the Church will ask them to continue in working until they can not due to health. At my parish, there is a mature priest that comes to say daily Mass once a week and the daily Mass attenedants love him like a grandfather, he gets a little flustered some times but his mind is pretty sharp and his homilies are very nice. Back to the article, I liked the fact that Fr. Tom listens to confessions every day and I think that would be a great trend that should continue, older priests concentrating on listening to confessions (as long as they can hear well :)
If people knew that a priest was available every day for confession, I think there would be more people coming in for confessions.

Here is the story in the Arizona Republic (I used to deliver that paper when I was in high school on my bike):
Fr. Tom article

Pope says Marriage is good for Society

The Pope spoke to participants of a Catholic Marriage conference and he stated very clearly that Marriage is good for society and is a copy (albeit imperfect) of the love between God and his people. Here is the Link:
Pope's address on Marriage

encouraging more priestly vocations thru TV and college campuses

I saw the "God or the Girl" series on A&E a week ago and I thought it was pretty good, it was a good peek at what some men go through in their discernment process and I was glad that the producers treated the men with respect and dignity. I was glad with the results, I thought all made the right decision but there is hope that a change in their decisions could happen later in life, I have a friend who was in his late 30's when he decided to be a priest and with the increasing life expectancy, he could be a priest for over 30 years which is a long time I think.

Also, I saw this news on EWTN web site, a new group called FOCUS that encourages and promotes Catholic beliefs in College students by having them form Catholic communities within the college campus life. I think this is a great idea as it is my belief that modern day men should not discern priesthood until either after college or after several years in the real job market (I would even say a man that has both non-seminarian college and work experience is a better priestly candidate than a man that doesn't). And during that time, they should feel free to date and discern marriage also, I would say foregoing dating should only happen when you are in the final stages of discernment for the priesthood. As priests need to know about their parishioners, the college and work years will be a help for this knowledge. Here is the EWTN link: College campus Catholics

We all need to pray for more vocations especially for the priesthood and we all need to encourage men and boys to consider the priesthood especially those who have an inclination to the Catholic faith - but even Catholic men that are not excited about the faith now can change over time and if they have been encouraged to think of priestly vocations, it may be the opening the Holy Spirit needs to start that process in motion.