Dale Earnhardt's #88 Car -- Coca Cola 600 - 2012

In honor of Memorial Day, Dale Earnhardt's #88 car was sporting a patriotic look last night at the Coca Cola 600:
 

USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) to be commisioned in October of 2012

From the US Navy: 

...The new destroyer honors the late Lt. Michael P. Murphy, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions as leader of a Navy SEAL team in Afghanistan.

Murphy was the first person to be awarded the medal for actions in Afghanistan, and the first member of the U.S. Navy to receive the award since the Vietnam War...

I should add that Lt. Murphy's story is recounted in one of the best books I have ever read, "Lone Survivor" by fellow SEAL Marcus Luttrell

Image credit:  US Navy SEALS blog.

Honor Flight: A fitting tribute to our World War II vetrerans

Honor Flight is a wonderful organization that sends WWII Vets to Washington D. C. to see the WWII memorial. 

Each veteran is personally escorted by a "guardian" who travels with them each step of the way.

The Power of a Mother's Love

A young woman  named Lacey Buchanon relates her experience as the mother of a disabled child.

An incredibly moving video:



Lacey Buchanon has a blog that be found here and a Facebook page that can be found here.

Ordination Day - Chicago - 2012

Yesterday, at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, fourteen men were ordained to the priesthood by Chicago's archbishop Francis Cardinal George.  (Profiles of the new priests can be found here.)

Each year on "ordination day," I cannot help but to reflect upon the priests that have been influential in my life, as well as the countless priests who have served the Church throughout the centuries dating back to the time of the Apostles.

In May of 2010, I attended the ordination of friend of mine, and I remember being quite moved by the whole experience.  Here is what I wrote at the time:

The day was filled with memorable moments:  my first look at the splendor of the newly renovated cathedral; the incredible entrance procession of a half dozen bishops, dozens of priests, and the fourteen ordinandi; the beautiful music and singing of the choir; the Litany of the Saints; the laying on of hands; the applause for the newly ordained; and the first blessings.  At the end, I felt renewed, and I left the church filled with joy and with great hope for the future!

Notes:

1.  My favorite video about the priesthood, "Fishers of Men" can be viewed here.

2.  A neat (and short!) video from Grassroots films:  "Ordination, 2009" can be viewed here.

3.  Information on vocations to the priesthood can be found here.

4.  A look at 7 reasons to consider becoming a priest can be found here.

Georgetown University announces HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will be one of their commencement speakers

Georgetown University just announced Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as one of their commencement speakers.

Kathleen Sebelius, of all the people they could have chosen?  Unbelievable!

What Catholic in their right mind would view her as anything but an anathema? It is as if Georgetown is blatantly poking its finger in the eyes of faithful Catholics across the country.

In Catholic teaching, there are certain moral principles that are non-negotiable, and Mrs. Sebelius is on the wrong side of a bunch of of them. Georgetown would NEVER invite a supporter of genocide or slavery or racial separatism to speak, so why should they invite one of the nation's most prominent and influential abortion supporters?

That is not even to speak of her prominent role in the issuance of the unjust HHS contraception mandate which strips religious institutions of their First Amendment religious freedom rights.

 Absolutely shocking in every sense of the word.

The Cardinal Newman Society has created an on-line petition to Georgetown President DeGioia opposing the selection of abortion advocate Kathleen Sebelius as a commencement speaker.  The on-line petition can be found HERE.

Notable Quote: Bill McGurn

...But we also bring something to those who do not share our faith. In a great historical irony that would baffle our Founders, the Catholic Church represents possibly the only institution in the world that still speaks the language of the American Declaration. In other words, in a day when the foundation of the American founding is itself either obscured or contested, we Catholics hold that there are self-evident truths about man, and that they can be discovered and understood by reason...

-- Bill McGurn, Wall Street Journal, from a speech given in New York to "friends and alumni of Thomas Aquinas College."

Bin Ladin anniversary: President Obama "spikes the football"

True heroes do not brag or draw attention to themselves: