Eyes On The Prize

According to Saint Augustine, the word angel (from the Greek angelos — “messenger”) is basically a job description — that is, angels serve as messengers of God’s purposes. They are reliable, says Jesus, because they “always behold the face of my father in heaven.” We can trust such messengers because they do not lose sight of God. Today we celebrate the feast of three archangels — Michael, who spoke regularly to the prophets; Gabriel, who announced the births of John the Baptist and Jesus; and Raphael, whose name means “God has healed.” Let’s learn from them to keep our eyes on God.

Toughen Up, Son… it’ll do you some good.

I happen to enjoy friendship with a young family whose matriarch was at first, overjoyed at the prospects of their firstborn obtaining gainful employment in this tough economy.

Their son, who in this post is identified as Young Man, is a recent high school graduate, and demonstrates musical talent.

Recently she posted the following on her FaceBook page:

“Did you know if you work at McDonalds you are pretty much forced to *eat* McDonalds? 😦 The breakroom has only a table & chairs. No fridge to keep your food cool or microwave to heat it up. So, unless you are able to drive yourself to work & carry your food in a cooler in your car, then you have to eat there. Plus, you only get 30 minutes. This makes me upset! I’m trying to convince -*- to apply elsewhere…”

I found the numerous responses fascinating, which are as follows – my response is last, italicized and emboldened.

Report: 20% of all American suicides are new Veterans

UPDATE 19 April 2012:

Major General Dr L. P. Chang, commander of 807th medical command says #army #suicide rate surpassed civilian rate in 2008. #AASConference
— Mayo Clinic (@MayoClinic) April 19, 2012

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The news you don’t hear…

Just because you don’t hear it doesn’t mean it goes away.

Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, who is the Defense Department’s top enlisted leader, held a press conference in Washington, D.C. December 9, 2011 in response a report to Congress on suicide among America’s military veterans conducted by Center for a New American Security. Testimony was given December 2, 2011 before the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, and may be found here. The findings are that suicide by veterans constitutes a serious threat to the stability of an all-volunteer military force. About 1% of Americans have served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but 20% of suicides in the United States are former service members. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates 18 veterans die by suicide each day.

Never before have our military service members been asked to do so much. Never before have our military service members been asked — or required — to attend numerous tour of combat duty consecutively. Those changes occurred under