Memorial Day marks the official start of the summer season. Many of us celebrate the weekend with barbecues, get-togethers, and weekend trips.
 
Memorial Day is also a time for us to pause and remember the men and women who have served our country and the many sacrifices they have made for our freedom. Please take time to watch this video that honors our  fallen military men and women.

In The Once and Future King, a novel about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, T.H. White remarks how the peasants preferred weekday Masses to Mass on Sunday. They could come in ordinary clothes and the Masses were shorter. There is something to be said for Low Masses and for Ordinary Time, which we have now entered again after celebrating Pentecost.

 
Liturgical experts are eager to tell us that Ordinary Time does not mean "ordinary" in the layman's sense of the word; instead it refers to the Latin word "Ordo," from which we get the word order. It is a season in which the liturgical weeks are numbered, as in Ordinal Numbers that tell the rank of something. Be that as it may, during Ordinary Time we climb down from the dramatic heights of the Easter Season to a calmer and less intense time liturgically.
 
The color of the season is green, as in growth and renewal, an apt color as we progress from spring to summer. The scripture readings during Ordinary Time follow the life of Christ in a somewhat sequential fashion with readings from Mathew, Mark or Luke.
 
It may be called Ordinary Time, but it is a season for family reunions and vacations, for telling children and grandchildren stories about Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest and King Arthur in Camelot. It's a less formal season when we can slip into the "green wood" and soak in God's beautiful creation.

Is there such as thing as a "Catholic sensibility" about life and how it is to be lived? Certainly, our Catholic faith keeps us deeply tied to the rhythm of the seasons. The liturgical seasons and the seasons of the year go together in a natural progression. This, coupled with Catholics strong sense of family and place, offer a witness to our increasingly secularized culture that there are things more important than money, careers, and possessions.
 
In the political realm, Catholics have many different views on issues, but there seems to be a general habit of mind that values moderation, common sense and compassion. These habits of mind don't make Catholics timid, but their advocacy on behalf of the unborn and less fortunate tends to involve not so much condemnation but pleas for help. It is a kind of political engagement we need more of if we want to bring the "Good News" of Christ into our political debates.

It is common in political debate for a politician to attack an opponent's character rather than address the issue at hand. This isn't a proper form of debate, but rather a resort to a common logical fallacy - the "ad hominem" (at the man) fallacy. The next time you are watching a political debate, see if you can identify the "ad hominem" fallacy.

Following the release of videos last summer showing the unsavory practice of the commercialization of fetal remains from abortions performed at Planned Parenthood facilities across the country, the Missouri General Assembly began investigating the practices of Planned Parenthood in Missouri.  
 
As part of that investigation, the Missouri Senate sought documents from the abortion giant relating to its policies and procedures concerning disposal of fetal remains. Those documents were recently made available to senate staffer, Todd Scott, an attorney who works with the Republican majority in the Missouri Senate.  
 
The MCC will be following this investigation as it continues over the next few months.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis Respect Life Apostolate Office is reporting that medical records released by the St. Louis Fire Department reveal that there have been 58 medical emergencies at the St. Louis Planned Parenthood from January 1, 2009 to April 6, 2016.  
 
Most of the emergencies were for hemorrhage, 23 of which were potentially dangerous. To review the records and the explanatory affidavit that accompanied them, click here.

Inspired by the movie "The Way," two Dominican priests plan to make a walking pilgrimage from New Orleans to Memphis starting May 29^th. They will wear their Dominican habits, and carry no money or cell phones during the 30 day journey.  
 
The friars plan to rely upon the generosity of fellow travelers, local churches and others as they make the 478 mile trip. Anyone interested in walking with them is welcome to join them, and those interested in following from a distance can follow them at friarsonfoot.wordpress.com.