Holy Mass with a priest who used to be in the military is one of the best ways I can think of to start a Memorial Day remembrance! Seeing him, standing in front of the altar, refusing to turn and leave until all four verses of America the Beautiful are sung, chokes you up a little... especially when your son is serving beside him.
God bless the fallen and those who miss them!
Remember, Lord, the fallen~ Sr. Genevieve Glen, OSB
Who died in fields of war,
In flaming clouds, in screaming crowds,
On streets that are no more,
That we today might waken
And greet this day in peace
With grateful prayer for those who bear
The storms that never cease.
Remember friends and stranger,
And those forgotten now,
Who names are known to you alone,
Before whose love we bow
And ask that you surround them
With mercy's endless light
That they may live, and we forgive
The foe they went to fight
Remember, Lord, the living,
Who bear the pain of loss
A death she died who stood beside
Her Son upon the cross.
Remember all your children
The dead and those who weep,
And make us one beneath the sun
Where love will ever sleep.
Beautiful prayer .. is there a particular author?
ReplyDeleteIt was listed as a hymn that I found printed in the morning prayers in Magnificat magazine with no further attribution that I could see. I didn't think to try to find any information on it but when I Googled it just now, I find that it is a poem written by a Bendictine named Sr. Genevieve Glen, OSB.
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