JFK Funeral

I didn't know why this came to mind today, but it just did, unbidden. I think perhaps it has something to do with aging and old memories that seem to arrive without notice. This particular memory is very vivid.

Over 50 years ago, on Monday, November 25, 1963, the entire nation -- Democrats, Republicans, and citizens of every other political stripe -- mourned the tragic loss of our young 35th president and watched his funeral on their televisions. At the time I was a lowly 19-year-old plebe (aka, freshman) at the United States Naval Academy and was also a member of the academy's Catholic Choir.

As it turned out, Jacquiline Kennedy, the president's widow, requested that our Catholic Choir take part in the funeral by singing several hymns at the White House North Portico shortly before the funeral procession began its long march to the cathedral and then to Arlington National Cemetery. The three requested hymns were:  Above the Hills of Time the Cross Is Gleaming (Londonderry Air); Eternal Father, Strong to Save;  and Dona Nobis Pacem.

JFK's funeral procession leaves the White House

Despite the sadness of the event, it was a remarkable experience. As we stood solemnly on the lawn late that morning waiting for our cue to begin singing, we couldn't help but notice the notables who had gathered there with Mrs. Kennedy and the entire Kennedy clan. I remember seeing Haile Selassi, the Emperor of Ethiopia, who at 5 feet 4 inches looked very small indeed standing not far from President Charles de Gaulle of France who at 6 feet 5 inches towered over everyone. Some others I spotted included Golda Meier of Israel, Willy Brandt, then the mayor of West Berlin, and Prince Philip and Harold Wilson of the UK.  It was quite a crowd, and included dozens of other dignitaries from around the globe, none of whom I recognized. But they certainly looked very impressive.

It was an honor to be a member of that choir and pay a tribute to a fallen president. JFK had actually paid a visit to the Naval Academy just a few months earlier. Indeed, the visit took place during our Plebe Summer, which is the innocuous name given to the grueling first few months to which new midshipmen are subjected. During the course of his remarks to our Class of 1967, he used his power as Commander in Chief to grant us a form of immunity from the punishment-generating demerits we had accumulated. It was very well received.

Here's a 10-minte YouTube video that includes our singing during the last two minutes and even a brief glimpse of our choir just before the video ends. I'm in there somewhere. It's the only video of the funeral I could find in which our choir can be heard and seen.

Interesting News

Here are some interesting items I stumbled across while checking a few news sites.

Quote of the Day: 

"It's impossible to consider oneself a Catholic if that person in one way or another recognizes same-sex marriage as a right." -- Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, Archbishop of Bologna (click here for more info)

Washington Archdiocese Ends Foster Care Program. The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. has brought an end to its foster care program after 80 years. The reason? It refuses to license same-sex couples as foster parents. The decision is a direct result of the District's recent move to legalize "same-sex marriage," something that should become law as soon as Congress gives its approval. Three cheers for the Archdiocese. And, sadly, this is just a sign of things to come, as First Amendment rights as tossed aside in favor of politically correct social engineering. Let's pray that all our bishops have as much intestinal fortitude as Archbishop Donald Wuerl (photo above). They will need it.

Give Up Texting For Lent? Already Have. The Telegraph (UK) reports that the Catholic Church in Italy has launched a campaign encouraging Italians to give up texting for Lent. The idea, according to Monsignor Benito Cocchi, the bishop of Modena, is that young people, by renouncing SMS texting, could "detox from the virtual world and get back in touch with themselves." Probably not a bad idea. And so I have decided to join the campaign. Of course, the fact that I've never sent a text message in my life will probably make this a rather small sacrifice.

Reinvigorating Catholic Schools in Boston. Margery Eagen, a long-time columnist for the Boston Herald, writes an interesting column on an apparently successful plan to get the business community behind the support and restoration of Catholic education in the Boston Archdiocese. Cardinal Sean O'Malley's Campaign for Catholic Schools has already raised $50 million and transformed a number of schools, including Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy in Dorchester, the school Eagan highlights in her column. Three cheers for Cardinal Sean (photo above).

Australian Forward in Faith Anglicans to Join Catholic Church. As a direct result of Pope Benedict XVI's invitation to Anglican's to enter full communion with the Catholic Church, this Australian group of Anglicans have decided to do just that. Indeed, their vote to do so was unanimous. The group includes 15-20 Australian Anglican parishes that hold traditional views. 

They will enter the Catholic Church under the process set forth in the Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum Coetibus. By doing so they will be able to maintain much of their Anglican liturgy and traditions. In the words of Bishop Peter Elliott (see photo at left), a former Anglican who is now a Catholic Auxiliary Bishop in Melbourne, "As Catholics in full communion with the Successor of St Peter, you will be gathered in distinctive communities that preserve elements of Anglican worship, spirituality and culture that are compatible with Catholic faith and morals...In some ways, the Ordinariate will even be similar to a Rite (the Eastern Catholic Churches). You will enjoy your own liturgical “use” as Catholics of the Roman Rite. At the same time your Ordinaries, bishops or priests, will work alongside diocesan bishops of the Roman Rite and find their place within the Episcopal Conference in each nation or region."

 

I expect Forward in Faith will be followed by many more similar Anglican groups throughout the world. A small, first step toward the Christian unity desired by Jesus Christ.

R. R. Reno Interviews. A theologian whose writings have done much to educate me on a variety of topics is Dr. R. R. Reno, an associate professor of theology at Creighton University. I just discovered that some of his lectures on theology and apologetics are available online at the website of Catholic radio station  KVSS in Omaha. Included are a number of excellent interviews in which Dr. Reno discusses faith and reason in the lives and writings of such luminaries as St. Thomas Aquinas, Cardinal Newman, G. K. Chesterton, and St. Bonaventure. Take the time to listen to them. You can even download them and pop them on your iPod or similar device.

That's enough....I have to prepare a talk for a Lenten mission beginning tomorrow at our parish.

God's peace...