BLESSING

A Blessing of Glenview Marines
2009 Marine Corps Birthday
Father John Foley, S.J.
USMC Okinawa 1945

Let us pray...Holy and eternal God...assembled here today are heirs of a glorious tradition of self-giving. From the first two battalions formed on Nov. 10th, 1775 in Philadelphia to the shores of Tripoli; from Boxer Rebellion to Belleau Wood; from Guadalcanal to Okinawa; from Pusan to Inchon; from Da Nang to Khe Sanh; from Granada to Beirut; from Desert Shield to Kuwait; from Uzbekistan to Kandahar; from Anbar to (Falugia) Fallujah---pride is passed on to us in the uniform we have worn and the ribbons we have earned. We are linked to the glory of the Corps.

But at times of prayer, we reflect on the cost of that glory...tallied in rows upon thousand rows of silent graves over whose white markers is sounded the mournful sound of taps. And the agony of tallying goes on. We saw our president postpone his sleep to stand stoic and sad in reverent salute as a post-midnight cargo of flag draped coffins were carried in ritual short-step down the ramp in waiting limousines en route to Arlington. Yet the dreadful cost is paid, too by survivors of suicide ambush and roadside mines who grimly descend the ramp in painful short-steps of their own or to be stretcher-borne to military hospitals for rehabilitation of body and soul. Their ranks, if poised at attention, are not pretty.

The Marine veterans here this morning note that, and are determined to aid in the recovery of the impaired. We ask you, loving and provident Father, to bless them in their noble endeavor...and bless the many benefactors of the Semper Fi Fund...and bless the recipients who whisper "thank you" from their beds of pain.

Finally, O Lord, we ask a blessing upon our country in its struggle to be one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We bank on your loving providence. Amen!

To download a PDF version of the original program, click here.