Memorial Day

Today is a day of opportunity to honor those brave men and women who have defended our freedoms and made the ultimate sacrifice. Many will host cookouts and gatherings with family and friends to celebrate, yet let's be sure to remember the reason for this holiday and offer a moment of silence for those lost. Enjoy the day off and offer a prayer for all those who have died in the defense of our freedoms that we experience today.

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." - John F. Kennedy

Grace

Recently I have experienced frequent moments of overwhelming calm - it is a rare and welcome experience in my rather frenzied life. I can not quite pinpoint the source of this beautiful stillness but I consider it just another instance of grace. Sometimes it feels like I can't breathe, can't speak, can't fight anymore, and I am buried beneath a substantial and unavoidable world that neither understands nor cares for my personal journey. It is in these most damned of moments that I close my eyes and ask, humbly and simply, for intercession. During this period of separation and deployment I find I most often turn to the Holy Virgin Mary and St Michael the Archangel, patron saint of soldiers. Whatever my worries, their prayers calm me and I am able to regain my strength and forge on through this frantic and crazed world with just a touch of grace. 

Hail Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard against the wiles and wickedness of the devil. Restrain him, O God, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin and destruction of souls. Amen.