Removing “God” From Lee Greenwood Song?

Update April 6: The Stall Brook Elementary School has changed its position after receiving national attention for removing “God” from song lyrics in an upcoming concert. Read the Washington Times report, School returns ‘God’ to song of patriotism

By Todd Starnes

God Bless America, Lee Greenwood

Parents at a Massachusetts elementary school are furious after educators first removed the word ‘God’ from the popular Lee Greenwood song, “God Bless the U.S.A.” and then pulled the song all together from an upcoming concert.

Fox 25 in Boston is reporting that children at Stall Brook Elementary School in Bellingham were told to sing, “We love the U.S.A.” instead of “God Bless the U.S.A.”

After parents started complaining, school officials removed the song from the school assembly concert. The school’s principal released a statement to Fox 25stating they hope to ”maintain the focus on the original objective of sharing students’ knowledge of the U.S. States, and because of logistics, will not include any songs.”

Greenwood released a statement to Fox News condemning the school’s actions.

“The most important word in the whole piece of music is the word God, which is also in the title ‘God Bless The USA,” Greenwood said. “Maybe the school should have asked the parents their thoughts before changing the lyrics to the song. They could have even asked the writer of the song, which I of course, would have said you can’t change the lyrics at all or any part of the song.”

Greenwood said the phrase “God Bless the USA” has a “very important meaning for those in the military and their families, as well as new citizens coming into our country.” He said it’s also played at every naturalization ceremony behind the national anthem.

“If the song is good enough to be played and performed in its original setting under those circumstances, it surely should be good enough for our children,” Greenwood said.

An online poll taken by the television station indicated more than 80 percent of viewers were outraged by removing God from the song.

“I don’t have a problem with the song if somebody else does I guess it’s there business,” resident Patrick Grudier said. “I mean It’s on our currency (God).”

But not everyone agreed – including parent Matthew Cote.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with changing the song,” he told the television. “It’s a public school. If you want to have the word God in the song, go to a private school.”

Reaction on Facebook has been overwhelmingly in favor of the traditional patriotic song.

“Here we go again, more war on Christianity,” wrote one Facebook user. “You can remove God all you want, but the good news — there is still a loving God and He lives.”

Another Facebook user called it sad and disgusting. “I’d like to say unbelievable — but it is so totally believable.”

LEE GREENWOOD’S STATEMENT TO TODD STARNES

“Maybe the school should have asked the parents their thoughts before changing the lyrics to the song.   They could have even asked the writer of the song, which I of course would have said you can’t change the lyrics at all or any part of the song.  The most important word in the whole piece of music is the word God, which is also in the title God Bless The USA.  We can’t take God out of the song, we can’t take God out of The Pledge of Allegiance, we can’t take God off of the American currency.  Let us also remember, the phrase God Bless the USA has a very important meaning for those in the military and their families, as well as new citizens coming to our Country.  The song is played at every naturalization ceremony behind The National Anthem.   If the song is good enough to played and performed in its original setting under those circumstances, it surely should be good enough for our children.” – Lee Greenwood

Let us know what you think about the broader issue of removing ‘God’ from American culture, freedom of religion, or this case, which is not the first one of its kind. Leave a comment.

Cuba makes Good Friday a holiday at Pope’s request

HAVANA –  Cuba has honored an appeal by Pope Benedict XVI and declared next week’s Good Friday a holiday for the first time since the early days following the island’s 1959 Revolution, though a decision on whether the move will be permanent will have to wait.

March 28, 2012: Cuba's President Raul Castro greets Pope Benedict XVI at the end of an open-air Mass at Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba. (Photo by AP)

The Communist government said in a communique Saturday that the decision was made in light of the success of Benedict’s “transcendental visit” to the country, which wrapped up Wednesday. It said the Council of Ministers, Cuba’s supreme governing body, will decide later whether to make the holiday permanent.

Benedict’s appeal was reminiscent of his predecessor John Paul II’s 1998 request that Christmas be restored as a holiday. Religious holidays were abolished in the 1960s after brothers Fidel and Raul Castro came to power, ushering in a Marxist government.

Good Friday is the day Catholics commemorate the death of Christ, but it is not a holiday in the United States, most of Europe or even Mexico, the most Catholic of the world’s Spanish-speaking countries.

Cuba removed references to atheism from its constitution in the 1990s, and relations have warmed with the church. Still, less than 10 percent of islanders are practicing Catholics.

Benedict was met by large, but not overwhelming, crowds during his three-day tour. He dismissed Marxism as outmoded even before he arrived, then sprinkled his homilies and speeches with calls for more freedom and tolerance, often as senior members of the government watched from front-row seats. The pope also spoke out against the 50-year U.S. economic embargo, which the Vatican has long opposed.

The Vatican welcomed the decision, saying it hoped it would lead to greater participation in Easter celebrations.

“The fact that the Cuban authorities quickly welcomed the Holy Father’s request to President Raul Castro, declaring next Good Friday a non-work day, is certainly a very positive sign,” said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.

“The Holy See hopes that this will encourage participation in the religious celebrations and joyous Easter festivities, and that following the visit of the Holy Father will continue to bring the desired fruits for the good of the church and all Cubans.”

Cubans said they were thrilled, if slightly incredulous, to hear of the day off.

“I’m happy I don’t have to work, but really I don’t understand any of this,” said Roberto Blanco, 38. “First they tell us we have to work harder to get out of the economic crisis, and now they give us a day off. The pope comes and we don’t work? I don’t get it.”

Mirta Salgado, a 51-year-old office worker, acknowledged not being at all religious, but said it was better not to over analyze these things.

“The things that happen in my country are incredible. After 50 years of telling us the church is bad, now they say it is good, and we get Good Friday off to boot,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. “I’m not religious, not Catholic, not anything … But whatever, at least this Friday I won’t be working!”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/04/01/cuba-makes-good-friday-holiday-at-popes-request/#ixzz1qpCJsw6R

Lenten journey along the ‘Way of the Cross’

In 1995 I was privileged to travel to the Marian Shrine of Lourdes, France and make the Way of the Cross! The stations are beautifully crafted, life-size bronze statues and set on a hill, an incline really in comparison to Mount Calvary, but everything about the setting enhanced the prayers that we pilgrims made along the way.

I vividly remember the brilliant early morning sunlight, stillness and birds’ song as we walked, prayed and reflected on Christ’s Passion and Death from the first station to the last, the Fourteenth: “Jesus, your friends put you in the tomb.”

Many Christians ask why Catholics focus on the Cross and Christ’s suffering and believe He should not be depicted on the Cross—Protestants display an empty cross in their churches. It’s true, Christ is resurrected.

The Catholic answer: By Christ’s salvific act we are given the living and “wondrous sacrament” — the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. This life-giving sacrament was only possible through the Cross, on which the blood and water gushed forth and washed away our sins.

The wonderful works of God among the people of the Old Testament were but a prelude to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God. He accomplished this work principally by the Paschal mystery of his blessed Passion, Resurrection from the dead, and glorious Ascension, whereby ‘dying he destroyed our death, rising he restored our life.’ For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth ‘the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.’” For this reason, the Church celebrates in the liturgy above all the Paschal mystery by which Christ accomplished the work of our salvation.” (1067, Catholic Catechism)

Which is why after each station Catholics proclaim:

We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

We thank you, O Mary, and we bless you. Because by your sufferings you helped to redeem the world.

Merry Christmas!

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Archbishop of Milan: the ‘man to watch?’

Pointing to a Papal Successor?
By Michael Potemra, July 2, 2011

Cardinal Angelo Scola, 69, has served as Patriarch of Venice since 2002. (CNS file photo from Catholic Press Photo)

 

Last week, Pope Benedict XVI transferred Angelo Cardinal Scola, the patriarch of Venice, to the post of archbishop of Milan. As the nonpareil Vaticanologist John Allen points out in a fascinating story about Cardinal Scola in the National Catholic Reporter, this is a papal sign of approval that elevates Scola even further, from his already high rank among the papabili. Scola, writes Allen, is a close intellectual and personal associate of Benedict XVI. Now, popes cannot appoint their successors, and an attempt on a pope’s part even to unduly influence the choice would probably be resented by the cardinals and end up being counterproductive. So one way to interpret this move is that Benedict is only suggesting to the cardinals, “When the time comes for choosing my successor, if you decide that you are looking for someone who would be a sign of continuity with my particular approach to the papacy, please consider Scola.”

An interesting character note from Allen’s piece:

The legendary Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete, the public face of [the Catholic lay movement] Communion and Liberation in the United States, met the movement through Scola in 1993. He said Scola struck him as a remarkable blend of doctrinal orthodoxy and zest for life.

“I had met lots of priests who were alive, free, spontaneous, understanding, wanting to share people’s lives in all their aspects, but they had problems with the teachings of the church,” Albacete said in a 2005 interview. “On the other hand, I found priests who accepted the teachings of the church, but in a subservient way. They were rigid, boring and afraid.”

In Scola, however, Albacete said he found what he had been seeking.

“He was not rebelling against the church,” Albacete said. “Yet he was the freest and most spontaneous priest I ever met.”

A deeply orthodox but free and spontaneous priest? It looks like Scola would be a sign of continuity not just with Benedict XVI but also with Bl. John Paul II. Definitely a man to watch. 

See Also:  Cardinal Scola Appointed Archbishop of Milan

Summer reads to feed your Catholic self

Here are our book picks for Catholics to explore this summer.

1. Fatima The Great Sign has it all; the story, the message, and the meaning. This book ”penetrates deeply into the theology of Fatima: the Rosary, daily duty, Eucharistic reparation, consecration and reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Hell and the prophecies, etc.,” and it is written for people with a little, or, a lot of knowledge of this apparition site. The author spells out the repeated papal pronouncements on the crucial relevance of Fatima to the entire world. As Pope Pius XII said,“The time for doubting Fatima is past; it is now time for action.” Called the “most important Catholic book on apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima, Portugal,” many Catholics either have never heard of it, or never read it. Perhaps it is time you did?
      
           
2. We can recommend any of Richard Russo’s novels, but That Old Cape Magic is our best pick for the summer. This is a novel of “deep introspection and every family feeling imaginable, with a middle-aged man confronting his parents and their failed marriage, his own troubled one, his daughter’s new life and, finally, what it was he thought he wanted and what in fact he has. The storytelling is flawless throughout, moments of great comedy and even hilarity alternating with others of rueful understanding and heart-stopping sadness, and its ending is at once surprising, uplifting and unlike anything this Pulitzer Prize winner has ever written.”   
       
       
3. This litte paperback is not widely known among Catholics, but it is a true treasure. This write-up alone is so powerful: “With only three minutes to live, Nora stood, blindfolded, before a firing squad of eight men. She heard the death countdown begin. Looking up to Jesus she prayed, and waited for the bullets to hit. But none did! God sent a blinding light about her, and those who intended to destroy her stood back in fright. — Time and again the Holy Spirit intervened in Nora’s life, a confirmation that God is moving today behind the Bamboo Curtain. After all, her only crime was turning from her belief in communism to Jesus Christ. As Nora tells the story of her early years and her escape from Red China, the reader will know, as she knows, the truth of the words Jesus spoke.” This amazing TRUE story is a must read! 
      
           
4. Our 4th and final pick is Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence — The Secret of Peace and Happiness, by Father Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure. This book really should be on every Catholic’s nightstand next to their bible. It is that important. Father writes: “To remain indifferent to good fortune or to adversity by accepting it all from the hand of God without questioning, not to ask for things to be done as we would like them but as God wishes, to make the intention of all our prayers that God’s will should be perfectly accomplished in ourselves and in all creatures is to find the secret of happiness and content.”
      
   This book has changed the lives of countless people, including Catholics who never thought that they had more to do to fully place their trust and lives in God!  It does come with a warning, though, as it is not a light read and it will make you think about your faith, perhaps as no other book you’ve read has done. Check out these reviews. The popular advice: If you find yourself questioning its content, put it down to read another day or season.    

New Evangelization: In a nutshell, convert your heart to Christ

Pope Benedict XVI - Vatican Square

New Evangelization is the main topic of Benedict XVI’s pontificate. At the May 31st first plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for promoting the new evangelization, the Pope addressed the participants, asking them to “intensify the missionary action” and to be “genuinely credible”. It was his message also in 2000 (Jubilee years), when he held a catechesis on new evangelization.

The new evangelization deals with the whole world, but it is particularly addressed to the post western Christianity. From its Jewish origins, Christianity, conquered the Pagan world and spread East to Iraq, India and China. Now, it is turning to its origins, being dominated by the people, cultures and countries of the South.

This movement is for “those that need re-evangelizing and those who do not yet believe in Christ.” In a nutshell, it means, to convert. To turn from your secular life to live more fully with Christ and to live out His Gospel message. 
         

(During his Regina Coeli address in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, Pope Benedict spoke about the church’s mission to spread the Gospel which he said through evangelization had flourished in every period in history.)

 

There will always be naysayers who say the future of Christianity following secularization is questionable.

But the spread of Christianity is realized through the fervent prayer and practice of the faith (i.e. The Holy Mass, frequenting the sacraments). Together, the faithful are a powerful force to change the hearts and minds of millions.