Memorial Day: Patriotism and Sacrifice

For many of us, this weekend brings a blessed extra day of rest and recreation. Yet while we celebrate, we will be remembering the heroes who bought us this freedom with their lives. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord... and may they rest in peace! May we carry on the quest for freedom in their names.

This well-known poem, written during World War I, reminds us that patriotism is not only for the fallen, but for the living, in our own times.  A blessed day of memorial to you and your families!

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

~John McCrae (1872-1918)

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