What happened to the men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

This inspiring video tells the story of the fate of many of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Many died broke, homeless and worse. At least 15 had their homes ransacked and burned. Five were captured and held as Prisoners of War:

Hat tip to the Common Cents blog!

Declaration of Independence

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. - Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government ...

We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States, that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. - And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Big Daddy Weave: Every Time I Breathe

Another great song from Big Daddy!

Pope Benedict on Priestly Mission and Identity

The Holy Father used his last General Audience on Wednesday to speak about the Priestly Mission and Identity. The following comes from the CNA:

At the general audience in St. Peter’s Square this morning, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the Year for Priests, laying out the essentials of the priestly mission and identity. He also prayed that this Year will be “an opportunity for the inner renewal of all priests and, consequently, for the revitalization of their commitment to the mission."

The Pope announced that much of his teaching in coming months will center of St. John Mary Vianney, during this Year marking the 150th anniversary of his death.

Of the many virtues exhibited by the Cure of Ars, the Holy Father said he finds that one of the most remarkable was “his complete identification with his ministry. He used to say that a good pastor, a pastor after God's heart, is the greatest treasure the good Lord can give a parish.”

The Priestly Mission

“In fact, it is by considering the dual term 'identity-mission' that each priest will become better aware of the need for that progressive self identification with Christ which guarantees the faithfulness and fruitfulness of his evangelical witness,” Benedict continued. “Thus, in the life of a priest, missionary announcement and worship are inseparable, just as sacramental identity and evangelizing mission are likewise inseparable.”

The goal of priests' mission, the Pope taught, could be described as, “'of worship': that all men and women may offer themselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, receiving the charity which they are then called to dispense abundantly to one another.”

This charity is dispensed through love for others and works of mercy, which Benedict described as “not so much a question of social morals as the expression of a sacramental conception of Christian morality.” These outward manifestations of the indwelling of charity finds its full expression through priestly ministry, where “the spiritual sacrifice of all the faithful is accomplished, in union with the sacrifice of Christ, the only mediator,” the Pope said. “This is the sacrifice that priests offer bloodlessly and sacramentally while awaiting the second coming of the Lord.”

Priestly Identity

Benedict XVI also addressed the issue of priestly identity, saying, "In the face of so many uncertainties and so much weariness, even in the exercise of priestly ministry, it is vitally important to regain a clear and unequivocal view of the absolute primacy of divine grace.” "The mission of each individual priest depends, then, also and above all on an awareness of the sacramental reality of his 'new existence.' Upon the certainty of his own identity - not artificially and humanly constructed but freely and divinely given and received - depends his perennial enthusiasm for the mission."

“Having received such an extraordinary gift of grace with their consecration, priests become permanent witnesses of their own encounter with Christ,” and “are able to carry out their mission to the full, announcing the Word and administering the Sacraments,” he added.

The Pope noted that after Vatican Council II, "in some places the impression arose that there were more important things in the mission of priests in our time: some people believed that the priority was to build a new society."

However, Pope Benedict countered that “announcement and power” remain the “two essential elements of priestly ministry,” demonstrated when Christ sent his disciples to preach the Gospel and gave them power to drive out demons. In other words "Word and Sacrament, are the pillars of priestly service, over and above the many forms it can take."

The Pope warned that when this two-fold core of the priest is forgotten, “it becomes truly difficult to understand the identity of priests and of their ministry in the Church.” He called on all people to remember this important truth during this Year for Priests, and to “pray for all the clergy. ... Prayer is the primary duty, the true path of sanctification for priests and the heart of authentic pastoral care of vocations.”

Benedict concluded by offering encouragement, saying, "The low numbers of priestly ordinations in some countries not only must not discourage us, it should stimulate us to dedicate greater space to silence and to listening to the Word, to improving spiritual guidance and the Sacrament of Confession, so that the voice of God, which always continues to call and to confirm, may be heard and followed by many young people."

New Vocation Video From Dominican Sisters

This is a very nice video on the call to religious life from the Nashville Dominicans. Let's continue to pray for more and more good and holy vocations for the Church! Hat tip to Fr. Anthony Ho!

Gettysburg Anniversary

This is a nice old video of the 75th anniversary of the Gettysburg Battle! This video is already 71 years old! I love the history of our nation and am a Civil War buff. I need to get back to Gettysburg again!

O Praise Him by David Crowder Band

This is a really cool video. I think we have all been in this spot before like the guy walking in the street! Sing it out!

Remembering Blessed Junipero Serra

Today we remember the great missionary of California Blessed Junipero Serra.

The following comes from the missions website:

He was born Miguel Jose Serra at Petra on the Spanish Island of Mallorca, Spain. At the age of 16 he traveled to Palma, the capital of Mallorca, and entered the service of the Catholic Church, the Order of St. Francis of Assisi and took a new first name, Junipero. Serra stood just 5 feet, 2 inches tall. He received a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Luliana in Palma and taught at the Convent of San Francisco in Palma.

In 1750, Serra volunteered to serve the Franciscan missions in the new world and left Cadiz, Spain and sailed for Vera Cruz, Mexico, at the age of 36. He traveled by foot to Mexico City to dedicate his mission vocation at the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He spent 17 years in missionary work in the Sierra Gorda in the present area of north-central Mexico.

When the Franciscans were asked to take over the missions from the Jesuits in Baja California in 1767, these remote facilities became Father Serra's responsibility. In 1769, he set off on an expedition with Gaspar de Portola to found missions at San Diego and Monterey, to establish the Spanish right to California and convert the indians to Christianity. He would spend the rest of his life in Alta California.

When Father Serra founded the first of California's missions in San Diego, he was 56 years old. He had asthma and a chronic sore on his leg that troubled him for the rest of his life. Serra himself established nine missions, with a total of twenty-one missions eventually being established along the El Camino Real, from San Diego to Sonoma, a distance of 700 miles. On August 28, 1784, at the age of 70 and after traveling 24,000 miles, Father Junipero Serra died at Mission San Carlos Borromeo and is buried there under the sanctuary floor. Beatified on 25 September 1988 by Pope John Paul II. Feast, 1 July.