A Message from Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M.: A THOUGHT ON INAUGURATION DAY
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
On this Inauguration Day 2017, the words of Abraham Lincoln come to mind:
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.
Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history …we will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. … We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just -- a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless (Abraham Lincoln, “Message to Congress,” December 1, 1862).
This is my hope and prayer today, that all Americans will “rise with the occasion” together to pray for our new President and all elected officials --- regardless of our vote or party or inclination --- that their way will be “plain, peaceful, generous, just,” not for the world’s applause but for the good of the world’s people. May God bless the United States of America.
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On this Inauguration Day 2017, the words of Abraham Lincoln come to mind:
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.
Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history …we will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. … We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just -- a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless (Abraham Lincoln, “Message to Congress,” December 1, 1862).
This is my hope and prayer today, that all Americans will “rise with the occasion” together to pray for our new President and all elected officials --- regardless of our vote or party or inclination --- that their way will be “plain, peaceful, generous, just,” not for the world’s applause but for the good of the world’s people. May God bless the United States of America.
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