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WASHINGTON, June 26, 2006 – A new display commemorating the service of military chaplains was dedicated June 23 in a ceremony at the Pentagon. David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, speaks during an exhibit dedication ceremony to military chaplains at the Pentagon, June 23. The display is the first in the Pentagon to specifically honor chaplains. It consists of four backlit panels that highlight the accomplishments and service of military chaplains. It is located on the fifth floor of the building's A ring. Photo by Steven Donald Smith  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "This...

    A HUMBLE SPIRIT It's always surprising to me when someone, in an honest and unguarded moment, confides that God could never use THEM. They may keep up appearances most of the time, but, down deep, they just don't feel worthy. Have you ever felt that way? If so, you're in luck; God places a high value on humility! In fact, your sincere recognition of your own need may just be the key that opens the door to a deeper, more genuine and rewarding spirituality. Isaiah wrote, "For thus says the High and Holy One Who inhabits eternity,...

    Father's Day, 2006 A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America By offering guidance, support, and unconditional love, a father is one of the most important influences in a child's life. On Father's Day, we honor our fathers and celebrate the special bond between a father and a child. Fathers play a significant role in shaping the character of their children and the future of our country. By spending time with their sons and daughters and listening to their experiences, fathers can have a profound impact on their children's lives. As advisors, role models,...

    Enthusiasm One of the great discoveries of modern medicine is the role that vitamins play in our general health. We are able to buy vitamin preparations to remedy many deficiencies in our internal bodily functions. But we need something else - that cannot be described by any doctor or bought in any store. We need MENTAL VITAMINS. The wonderful thing is that we can manufacture them ourselves. And one of the most essential of these mental vitamins is ENTHUSIASM . . . The Romans had a motto: “A sound mind in a sound body.” A person can...

WASHINGTON (National Catholic Register) — This Memorial Day, you can pray to the Maryknoll priest they called “The Grunt Padre.” On May 21 at the Memorial Day Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., Father Vincent Capodanno received the title Servant of God. The Vietnam War Navy chaplain was a Medal of Honor winner. At the Mass, Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, officially opened the cause for canonization for Father Capodanno, who died heroically in Vietnam on Sept. 4, 1967, during a fierce battle in Operation...

Chaplain's combat heroics commemorated Submitted by: New York City Public Affairs Story by: Computed Name: Sgt. Paul Kane Story Identification #: 2006528155832 STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.(May 27, 2006) -- Medal of Honor recipient Chaplain Vincent Capodanno died in the same manner as he had lived: selflessly. Sailors, Marines, Capodanno family members and guests gathered May 27th at the Fort Wadsworth base chapel on Staten Island, N.Y. for a memorial service to commemorate the life and combat heroism of a Navy Chaplain, Lt. Vincent Capodanno. A well-attended memorial Mass followed by a wreath laying ceremony marked Capodanno’s life of service and selfless...

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- With the permission of the Vatican, the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services has begun an inquiry that could lead to the canonization of Maryknoll Father Vincent R. Capodanno, a U.S. Navy chaplain who died in 1967 while serving with the Marines in Vietnam. Msgr. Roland A. Newland, chancellor of the archdiocese, made the formal declaration of the opening of Father Capodanno's cause May 21 during the 12th annual Memorial Day Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. With the declaration, the New York-born priest also receives the title "servant...

    MAKING ASSUMPTIONS A story making the rounds this past week told of a policeman who was heading home after a long, hard day on patrol. He had dealt with a whole succession of difficult people, and a mountain of frustrating paperwork. All he wanted at this point was to kick back, unwind, enjoy some peace and quiet, and maybe watch a few innings of baseball on TV. But, as he neared home, he was startled by a vehicle that came careening around a sharp curve and narrowly missed his squad car. As the car passed within a...

    The Team One of the very great virtues of our demo­cratic way of life is that our system encourages both individual initiative and group participa­tion. We are a nation of teams. In probably no other country in the world do people belong to so many groups engaged in so many different projects. All of us are members of many teams - our family, our job, our community, our church, our recreational activity, our social circle, and many others.. Teamwork is co-operation put into practice. It is a positive attitude of mind that combines individual initiative with respect...

    A MESSAGE FROM MOM The message reads:I gave you life, but cannot live it for you. I can teach you things, but I cannot make you learn. I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you. I can allow you freedom, but I cannot account for it. I can take you to church, but I cannot make you believe. I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot always decide for you. I can buy you beautiful clothes, but I cannot make you beautiful inside. I can offer you advice, but I...

Rebel and Yankee troops began taking up arms against each other 145 years ago this month. A few weeks into the war, citizens gathered in Athens to cheer and weep as the new Hobbs' Corps boarded a train bound for Richmond, Va. A newspaper reported that the corps sought prayers "for the safety of our company from the dangers of the field, and the temptations of the camp, and for the speedy and complete triumph of the cause of the South." Most of those prayer requests went unanswered, it seems. Maj. Thomas Hobbs, an active Methodist, died in the war....

Tucked into a massive defense authorization bill that the House will vote on this week is a provision aimed at giving military chaplains more freedom to pray as they see fit. The language was crafted by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, California Republican, and Rep. Walter B. Jones, North Carolina Republican, and is part of the defense bill approved by Mr. Hunter's panel last week. Mr. Jones and others have long complained that some military chaplains feel restricted in how they can pray and have been encouraged, in some instances, not to pray in Jesus' name. Mr. Hunter...

    LIFEBOAT One of the great World War II films was LIFEBOAT, about the ordeal faced by survivors of a passenger ship that was sunk by a Nazi U-Boat in the middle of the Atlantic. The film details their struggle for survival in a small lifeboat, fighting the elements, thirst and then fighting against each other. Each person has their own ideas about how to navigate the little boat: they argue about who should be in charge; and they find little things to fight over even when they run out of things to fight over. Eventually they come...

NORFOLK, Va. -- A chaplain stationed at Naval Station Norfolk said he could face court-martial for praying in uniform outside the White House. Lt. Gordon Klingenschmitt said he prayed at a March 30 protest opposing Department of Defense rules forbidding military chaplains from invoking the name of Jesus Christ. He's accused of violating an order not to appear in uniform at news conferences in support of personal or religious issues. The issue seems to hinge on whether his praying at the event was permissible participation at a bona fide religious service. Klingenschmitt is rejecting non-judicial punishment in favor of trial...

The reason that we can tuck our little ones in at nightin peace is because of you," Osteen told the troops.Crusing at 37,000 feet is nothing new for Pastor Joel Osteen Jetting off to another night in another town has become common. But this trip is different because there is no airport, just an airfield. He is greeted by a different kind of welcoming committee, a decorated one. This is no church, but it is still holy ground. Custer, Eisenhower and MacArthur were at Fort Leavenworth, KS, training ground for the U.S. Army. Joel Osteen made a special trip for...

    Your Mental Attitude - Days of Chivalry When the days of chivalry are mentioned, we usually think of a gallant knight rescuing a fair lady or treating her with unusual courtesy. Gallant the knights were-and certainly cour­teous…But the fundamental basis of chivalry was friendship. The Knights of the Round Table were a sworn brotherhood of men whose strongest ties were based on friendship. Perhaps the most celebrated knight of chivalry, the Chevalier de Bayard, was famous above all else for his friendships. Friendship is loyalty-to our family, to our job, to our community. It is not veering...

CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (April 22, 2006) -- The Marines and sailors boarded the train and were ready for its final departure at 2100 hours (9 p.m.). This train; however, was going nowhere. The Camp Al Qa’im Chapel, or “Soul Train” – a name adopted by the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment – is an Iraqi passenger boxcar converted into a chapel and was decommissioned as the camp chapel on April 10. A newly constructed chapel for the battalion marked the end of the Soul Train’s nearly three-year stretch as a house of prayer. The boxcar served as a chapel...

"A long, long time ago I can still remember ..." That's how Don McLean's No. 1 hit from 1971, "American Pie," begins. The news earlier this month was that William Sloane Coffin Jr., America's most famous liberal minister from the 1960s through the 1980s, had just died at age 81. Obituaries noted that Coffin, recipient of an elite education in New England and Paris, had thought of a career as a concert pianist, but became Yale University chaplain in 1958. "February made me shiver, With every paper I'd deliver, Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step."...

    STRIVING FOR BALANCE In a university commencement address several years ago, Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca Cola Enterprises, spoke of the relation of work to one's other commitments:"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass....

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Mark Arms is a forward-deployed Air Force chaplain’s assistant with the 40th Air Expeditionary Group in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. This is his third deployment since Sept. 11, 2001. He said he loves God and country and feels very fortunate to be a chaplain’s assistant. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. John Rohrer U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Mark Arms Chaplain's Assistant Serves Third Deployment By Master Sgt. Scott King 40th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, April 20, 2006 -- He is well known around this forward operating...