Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance

From the Red Skelton Hour, January 14, 1969
When I was a small boy in Vincennes, Indiana, I heard, I think, one of the most outstanding speeches I ever heard in my life. I think it compares with the Sermon on the Mount, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and Socrates’ Speech to the Students.

We had just finished reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and he [Mr. Lasswell, the Principal of Vincennes High School] called us all together, and he says, “Uh, boys and girls, I have been listening to you recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester, and it seems that it has become monotonous to you. Or, could it be, you do not understand the meaning of each word? If I may, I would like to recite the pledge, and give you a definition for each word:

I -- Me; an individual; a committee of one.

Pledge -- Dedicate all of my worldly good to give without self-pity.

Allegiance -- My love and my devotion.

To the Flag -- Our standard. “Old Glory”; a symbol of courage. And wherever she waves, there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts “Freedom is everybody's job.”

of the United -- That means we have all come together.

States -- Individual communities that have united into 48 great states; 48 individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided by imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common cause, and that’s love of country, of America.

And to the Republic -- A Republic: a sovereign state in which power is invested into the representatives chosen by the people to govern; and the government is the people; and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.

For which it stands

One Nation -- Meaning "so blessed by God."

Indivisible -- Incapable of being divided.

With Liberty -- Which is freedom; the right of power for one to live his own life without fears, threats, or any sort of retaliation.

And Justice -- The principle and qualities of dealing fairly with others.

For All -- For All. That means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.

Now let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance
to the Flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic, for which it stands;
one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: Under God. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said, "That is a prayer" -- and that be eliminated from our schools, too?

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

July 4 is the memorial of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati! He was born to a rich and politically influential family and his mother was the painter. His father was an agnostic and the founder and editor of the liberal newspaper La Stampa. He later became the Italian ambassador to Germany. Pier Giorgio was a pious boy, average student, outstanding athlete and mountain climber. He was extremely popular with his peers, known by the nickname "Terror" due to his practical jokes. He was tutored at home for years with his younger sister Luciana. He studied minerology in an engineering program after graduating high school. He worked often with Catholic groups like Apostleship of Prayer and the Company of the Most Blessed Sacrament that ministered to the poor and promoted Eucharistic adoration, Marian devotion, and personal chastity. He became involved in political groups like the Young Catholic Workers Congress, the Popular Party, the Catholic Student Federation, Catholic Action and Milites Mariae that supported the poor, opposed Fascism and worked for the Church's social teachings. He enrolled as a Dominican tertiary on 28 May 1922, taking the name Girolamo (Jerome). He was especially devoted to the teachings of Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Thomas Aquinas. He spent his fortune on the needy and visited the sick; during this ministry he contracted the disease that killed him.

Blessed Pier Giorgio's human remains were found incorrupt in 1981 and were transferred from the family tomb to the Cathedral of Turin. His remains will be brought to Sydney, Australia to be venerated by the young people for World Youth Day2008.

Medal Of Honor's Youngest Recipient Dies

I had the chance to make a visit today to the National World War II Museum here in New Orleans! If you are ever in New Orleans be sure to include the museum in your plans. One of the many things I learned about was the heroic life of "Jack" Lucas. Jack was the youngest Medal of Honor winner of World War II. Sadly Jack passed away early last month and you can read more about Jack here.

CBS News has a story here about Jack:Jack Lucas, who at 14 lied his way into military service during World War II and became the youngest Marine to receive the Medal of Honor, died Thursday in a Hattiesburg, Miss., hospital. He was 80.

Lucas had been battling cancer. Ponda Lee at Moore Funeral Service said the funeral home was told he died before dawn.

Jacklyln "Jack" Lucas was just six days past his 17th birthday in February 1945 when his heroism at Iwo Jima earned him the nation's highest military honor. He used his body to shield three fellow squad members from two grenades, and was nearly killed when one exploded.

"A couple of grenades rolled into the trench," Lucas said in an Associated Press interview shortly before he received the medal from President Truman in October 1945. "I hollered to my pals to get out and did a Superman dive at the grenades. I wasn't a Superman after I got hit. I let out one helluva scream when that thing went off."

He was left with more than 250 pieces of shrapnel in his body and in every major organ and endured 26 surgeries in the months after Iwo Jima.

He was the youngest serviceman to win the Medal of Honor in any conflict other than the Civil War.

"By his inspiring action and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice, he not only protected his comrades from certain injury or possible death but also enabled them to rout the Japanese patrol and continue the advance," the Medal of Honor citation said.

In the AP interview, written as a first-person account under his name, he recalled the months he spent in a hospital.

"Soon as I rest up, I imagine I'll run for president," the story concluded. "Ain't I the hero, though?"

Big for his age and eager to serve, Lucas forged his mother's signature on an enlistment waiver and joined the Marines at 14. Military censors discovered his age through a letter to his 15-year-old girlfriend.

"They had him driving a truck in Hawaii because his age was discovered and they threatened to send him home," said D.K. Drum, who wrote Lucas' story in the 2006 book "Indestructible."

"He said if they sent him home, he would just join the Army."

Lucas eventually stowed away aboard a Navy ship headed for combat in the Pacific Ocean. He turned himself in to avoid being listed as a deserter and volunteered to fight, and the officers on board allowed him to reach his goal of fighting the Japanese.

"They did not know his age. He didn't give it up and they didn't ask," Drum said.

Born in Plymouth, N.C., on Feb. 14, 1928, Edwards was a 13-year-old cadet captain in a military academy when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

"I would not settle for watching from the sidelines when the United States was in such desperate need of support from its citizens," Lucas said in "Indestructible." "Everyone was needed to do his part and I could not do mine by remaining in North Carolina."

After the war, Lucas earned a business degree from High Point University in North Carolina and raised, processed and sold beef in the Washington, D.C., area. In the 1960s, he joined the Army and became a paratrooper, Drum said, to conquer his fear of heights. On a training jump, both of his parachutes failed.

"He was the last one out of the airplane and the first one on the ground," Drum said.

He was diagnosed with a form of leukemia in April and spent his last days in the hospital with family and friends, including his wife, Ruby, standing vigil.

The Battle of Gettysburg: The 145th Anniversary

July 1-3 is the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Thousands of visitors and re-enactors will be gathering there these days to remember this important moment in our history. The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War and the Union victory there in the summer of 1863 ended General Robert E. Lee's second and most ambitious invasion of the North. It is often referred to as the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy" and it was the war's bloodiest battle with 51,000 casualties. Gettysburg also provided President Abraham Lincoln with the setting for his most famous address.

Blessed Damien of Molokai Moves Toward Canonization

Update: The website CVSTOS FIDEI is reporting that Blessed Damien is soon to be Canonized! After the verification of two medical miracles, after decades of investigation into the life and works of Damien De Veuster, the Consisterie at the Vatican has at long last voted to elevate the Martyr of Molokai to its Pantheon of Saints. The measure now awaits the signature of Pope Benedict XVI.

Honolulu, Apr. 30, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Vatican theological consultors have recognized a miracle attributed to Blessed Damien of Molokai, the Honolulu diocese has revealed.

Audrey Toguchi, who saw cancerous tumors disappear from her lungs after she prayed to Blessed Damien, has disclosed that a Vatican official told her that the cure had been recognized as a miracle. Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu confirmed that theological consultors for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints had approved the miracle. Upon review by the full Congregation, that miracle could fulfill the requirement for Blessed Damien's canonization.

Father Damien was a native of Belgium who served as a missionary in a leper colony on Molokai, eventually contracting the disease himself. He died in Hawaii in 1889, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

A Salesian of Don Bosco shot dead

I ask your prayers for Fr. Johnson Moyalan, SDB. Let's pray for him and for his family and for all those who mourn his loss. The following story is from the Salesian News Service:
(ANS – Dharan) - Fr. Johnson Moyalan, a 60 year old Salesian Priest of the Province of Kolkata was murdered at Sirsia (Nepal) in the wee hours of this morning by a group of men, presumably armed robbers.

The tragedy struck the quiet Mission of the Salesians at Sirsia, about 15 kms from the Indo-Nepal border, at about 1.00 am. A group of 4 to 5 armed men intruded into the Mission premises and forced the watchman to take them to the Presbytery. Hearing the commotion the newly arrived Assistant Parish Priest, Fr. Mathew Puthuppallil, came out of his room.

Seeing the armed men he withdrew into his room and started calling for help by mobile phone. The armed men meanwhile broken open the grill and locked Fr. Mathew in his room from the outside. They proceeded to Fr. Johnson Moyalan`s room. He too had meanwhile opened his door hearing the commotion. The men entered his room. What transpired in the room is anyone`s guess. The men left the place after about 15 minutes, throwing a couple of bombs. Once the attackers had run away, some residents from nearby came over and freed Fr. Mathew from his room. When they went to Fr. Moylan`s room they were shocked to see him lying on the floor with blood oozing from beneath. He had received two gun shots - one on the chest and the other in the stomach. Fr. Mathew immediately informed his confreres in Kolkata about the tragedy, and the Police at Dharan, about 45 kms from Sirsia, were also contacted. The police were able to come only in the morning hours for investigation. The motivation of the killers is yet to be ascertained.

Fr. Johnson Moylan was an enthusiastic and active Salesian engaged in the socio-pastoral works of Sirsia, under the Dharan Community in Nepal. He was born at Ollur, Kerala, in 1948, and became a Salesian in 1967. He was ordained a priest for the Province of Bangalore in 1977. For many years he ministered as an Assistant parish Priest in different parts of Andhra Pradesh. After the division of the Bangalore Province he became a member of Hyderabad Salesian Province. From 1986 to 1994 he served as Rector in different houses of Pezzonipet, Cudappa and Hyderabad. In 1996 he came to Nepal and began ministry in Dharan, and later in Sirsia from 2000.

Sirsia mission was officially started in 2000. The Salesians have Primary school there catering to the poor children of the locality. There is also a newly established Parish to take care of the many catholic families of the area. The people whom the salesians serve are mostly Santhals and low caste Hindus, who are badly in need of education and over all development.

The funeral will take place in Bandel basilica in a few days` time once the body has been brought down to Kolkata from Nepal.

Best Baseball Game Ever!

It is the summer time and the Cubs are in first place so I thought I would share this baseball post! I came across this video of a group of people who decided to make a regular little league game into the best game ever! Tell me what you think!