Reflection Starter from Norman Vincent Peale

“In every difficult situation is potential value. Believe this, then begin looking for it.” – Rev. Norman Vincent Peale

Notre Dame Folk Choir: "Day is Done" ("All Through the Night")

As we continue to live this week, I offer this version of the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir presenting "Day is Done" ("All Through the Night"):

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of the water of Baptism.

Br. Cyril Stola, O.P., on Water in Sacred History

"Scripture is full of recurring images and themes. God uses the physical - bread and wine, light and darkness, water and blood - to reveal the spiritual. Consider water. Water flows through the pages of Scripture, making many different appearances. Like a theme in a symphony, one mention of water recalls its earlier appearances, yet each recurrence adds something new. Water's symbolic meaning grows throughout sacred history, beginning with water's natural properties. God then uses these properties to reveal himself and ultimately gives it a role in our salvation."

In a recent commentary, Brother Cyril Stola, O.P., reflected on the meaning of water in sacred history.

To access Br. Cyril's complete post, please visit:

Dominicana: Water (9 JUN 21) 

Reflection Starter from St. John Henry Newman

"God knows what is my greatest happiness, but I do not. There is no rule about what is happy and good; what suits one would not suit another. And the ways by which perfection is reached vary very much; the medicines necessary for our souls are very different from each other. Thus God leads us by strange ways; we know He wills our happiness, but we neither know what our happiness is, nor the way. We are blind; left to ourselves we should take the wrong way; we must leave it to Him." - Saint John Henry Newman

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Tuesday, 15 June, is being observed as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, an observance initiated in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic, and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect.

For more information on this observance, please visit:

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Background information:

National Center on Elder Abuse

International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Community Living

Denver and the Mile High Orchestra: "You're a Grand Old Flag"

As we continue our observance of Flag Day, I offer this version of Denver and the Mile High Orchestra presenting "You're a Grand Old Flag":

Flag Day

Today, 14 June, is Flag Day, which marks the anniversary of the adoption by Congress of the Stars and Stripes as emblem of the nation (in 1777). The week beginning 14 June, is also being observed as National Flag Week.

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"I am the Flag"

by Ruth Apperson Rous

I am the flag of the United States of America.

I was born on June 14, 1777, in Philadelphia.

There the Continental Congress adopted my stars and stripes as the national flag.

My thirteen stripes alternating red and white, with a union of thirteen white stars in a field of blue, represented a new constellation, a new nation dedicated to the personal and religious liberty of mankind.

Today fifty stars signal from my union, one for each of the fifty sovereign states in the greatest constitutional republic the world has ever known.

My colors symbolize the patriotic ideals and spiritual qualities of the citizens of my country.

My red stripes proclaim the fearless courage and integrity of American men and boys and the self-sacrifice and devotion of American mothers and daughters.

My white stripes stand for liberty and equality for all.

My blue is the blue of heaven, loyalty, and faith.

I represent these eternal principles: liberty, justice, and humanity.

I embody American freedom: freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the sanctity of the home.

I typify that indomitable spirit of determination brought to my land by Christopher Columbus and by all my forefathers - the Pilgrims, Puritans, settlers at James town and Plymouth.

I am as old as my nation.

I am a living symbol of my nation’s law: the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

I voice Abraham Lincoln's philosophy: "A government of the people, by the people,for the people."

I stand guard over my nation's schools, the seedbed of good citizenship and true patriotism.

I am displayed in every schoolroom throughout my nation; every schoolyard has a flag pole for my display.

Daily thousands upon thousands of boys and girls pledge their allegiance to me and my country.

I have my own law - Public Law 829, "The Flag Code" - which definitely states my correct use and display for all occasions and situations.

I have my special day, Flag Day. June 14 is set aside to honor my birth.

Americans, I am the sacred emblem of your country. I symbolize your birthright, your heritage of liberty purchased with blood and sorrow.

I am your title deed of freedom, which is yours to enjoy and hold in trust for posterity.

If you fail to keep this sacred trust inviolate, if I am nullified and destroyed, you and your children will become slaves to dictators and despots.

Eternal vigilance is your price of freedom.

As you see me silhouetted against the peaceful skies of my country, remind yourself that I am the flag of your country, that I stand for what you are - no more, no less.

Guard me well, lest your freedom perish from the earth.

Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand: "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

I was created in freedom. I made my first appearance in a battle for human liberty.

God grant that I may spend eternity in my "land of the free and the home of the brave" and that I shall ever be known as "Old Glory," the flag of the United States of America.

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Background Information:

The History Of Flag Day

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of and blessings on families who pray together.

Bishop Tobin on 'Nipping It in the Bud'

"Fans of the venerable TV program, the 'Andy Griffith Show' will immediately recognize the names of the principal players . . .

"Perhaps the most lovable character was Barney Fife. Barney was hilarious, as inept as he was sincere. Barney was excitable, prone to high drama. He was the caped-crusader railing against bad habits and social evils, real or imagined. And whenever he sensed danger coming down the road, he warned one and all: 'You've got to nip it; nip it in the bud.'

"Barney's famous battle cry has become a fixture in pop culture, often found on t-shirts, posters, film clips, memes and now, even face masks."

In a recent commentary, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, of the Diocese of Providence (RI), reflected on some of the spiritual aspects of "nipping it in the bud." 

To access Bishop Tobin's complete essay, please visit:

The Imitation of Christ: Nip It! Nip It In The Bud! (3 JUN 21)

"The best way to succeed in life is to act on the advice we give to others." – Source Unknown

Congratulations, David and Kristi

Congratulations to brother David and his wife Kristi, who married today in Parsonsfield, Maine. May your life together be filled with the Lord's special blessings!!!