Operation AXIOM: 9/11

Twenty-four years ago to the day, 11 September 2001, nineteen jihadist terrorists from al-Qaeda murdered 2,977 innocents by hijacking four airliners, three of which were crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City & the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; the fight back began with the passengers & crew of the fourth airliner, leading to that plane's crash in a Pennsylvania field, instead of into the suspected target, the Capitol in Washington, D.C. 'Twas due to the bravery of the passengers & crew of United Flight 93 that "Let's roll" became a battle cry.

On 11 September 2001, Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban & was a sanctuary for al-Qaeda & associated jihadist terrorist groups. Today, Afghanistan is once again ruled by the Taliban & is once again a sanctuary for jihadist terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda & Daesh-Khorasan (I.S.I.S.-K.). The U.S. government betrayed our values as well as our self-interest, & all the Afghans who had partnered with us & cooperated with us through twenty long years of war, when we precipitously & ineptly abandoned Afghanistan in 2021.

There was a moment of ephemeral national unity after 9/11. Every president since the "day of fire" has campaigned as a uniter, a president for all Americans, yet the general feeling is that we are more divided than we have every been, that the United States is fraying, not just at the edges but at the very center. We can't even agree on common terms anymore, & everyone regards everyone else with suspicion & hostility. I don't know if that is the reality, but such is the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. At some point, we are going to have to ask ourselves if we are willing to live with each other, to forgive & tolerate each other. We are going to have to think back to 9/11 & that brief, grief- & shock-fueled moment of unity. Can we recover a sense of national solidarity minus the trauma of a massive national tragedy?

The official motto of the United States of America is:

In God we trust.

The traditional motto of the United States is:

"E pluribus unum" ("From many, one").

The only way we are going to be united is if we recommit ourselves to those founding priciples. We cannot cut ourselves off from the past; the concept of "Year Zero" can only ever lead to the Killing Fields of Cambodia. We are many; we are not bound by blood & soil. The only way we, as many, can ever be one, is in the One in Whom we trust. I'm not advocating, as the social media "integralists" do, for altar & throne; the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this earth. Religious pluralism is foundational to the United States of America, for good or for ill. The Bill of Rights—Amendment I to the United States Constitution—enshrines the "free exercise of religion," not as the malevolent claim, "freedom from religion."

The malasise that plagues us now is the inevitable & predictable result of adopting atheism as our civic religion. The consequences of this are myriad & malefic. Politics has been elevated over discourse, partisanship is prized above principle, & freedom has been cheapened from freedom for excellence to simple license. In the words of the late Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., "We have become a society that permits everything, but forgives nothing." We have forgotten how unique & radical the Christian ideal of forgiveness is; the forgiveness of sins & the love of enemies was utterly alien to the pagan Greeks & Romans that the darkling "Age of Enlightenment" promoted as an alternative to now twenty-one centuries of Christian patrimony.

Four airliners were hijacked by jihdists & used as weapons to strike at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center, & likely the United States Captol. Almost three thousand innocents & the nineteen hijackers died. Those of us who are old enough to remember will never forget where were were when we first learned that the Twin Towers had fallen, 11 September 2001, twenty-four years ago today.

The Wayback Machine Tour of 9/11
Patriot Day '24
Patriot Day '23 / Patriot Day '22
Patriot Day '21 / Patriot Day '20
Patriot Day '19 / Patriot Day '18
Patriot Day '17 / Patriot Day '15
Patriot Day '13 / Patriot Day '11

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Patriot Day
Golem, "Citizen Boris" from Citizen Boris (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Never forget.

Operation AXIOM: 9/11

Twenty-three years ago to the day, 11 September 2001, nineteen jihadist terrorists from al-Qaeda murdered 2,977 innocents by hijacking four airliners, three of which were crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City & the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; the fight back began with the passengers & crew of the fourth airliner, leading to that plane's crash in a Pennsylvania field, instead of into the suspect target, the Capitol in Washington, D.C. 'Twas due to the bravery of the passengers & crew of United Flight 93 that "Let's roll" became a battle cry.

On 11 September 2001, Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban & was a sanctuary for al-Qaeda & associated jihadist terrorist groups. Today, Afghanistan is once again ruled by the Taliban & is once again a sanctuary for jihadist terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda & Daesh-Khorasan (I.S.I.S.-K.). The U.S. government betrayed our values as well as our self-interest, & all the Afghans who had partnered with us & cooperated with us through twenty long years of war, when we precipitously & ineptly abandoned Afghanistan in 2021.

There was a moment of ephemeral national unity after 9/11. Every president since the "day of fire" has campaigned as a uniter, a president for all Americans, yet the general feeling is that we are more divided than we have every been, that the United States is fraying, not just at the edges but at the very center. We can't even agree on common terms anymore, & everyone regards everyone else with suspicion & hostility. I don't know if that is the reality, but such is the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. At some point, we are going to have to ask ourselves if we are willing to live with each other, to forgive & tolerate each other. We are going to have to think back to 9/11 & that brief, grief- & shock-fueled moment of unity. Can we recover a sense of national solidarity minus the trauma of a massive national tragedy?

The official motto of the United States of America is:

In God we trust.

The traditional motto of the United States is:

"E pluribus unum" ("From many, one").

The only way we are going to be united is if we recommit ourselves to those founding priciples. We cannot cut ourselves off from the past; the concept of "Year Zero" can only ever lead to the Killing Fields of Cambodia. We are many; we are not bound by blood & soil. The only way we, as many, can ever be one, is in the One in Whom we trust. I'm not advocating, as the social media "integralists" do, for altar & throne; the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this earth. Religious pluralism is foundational to the United States of America, for good or for ill. The Bill of Rights—Amendment I to the United States Constitution—enshrines the "free exercise of religion," not as the malevolent claim, "freedom from religion."

The malasise that plagues us now is the inevitable & predictable result of adopting atheism as our civic religion. The consequences of this are myriad & malefic. Politics has been elevated over discourse, partisanship is prized above principle, & freedom has been cheapened from freedom for excellence to simple license. In the words of the late Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., "We have become a society that permits everything, but forgives nothing." We have forgotten how unique & radical the Christian ideal of forgiveness is; the forgiveness of sins & the love of enemies was utterly alien to the pagan Greeks & Romans that the darkling "Age of Enlightenment" promoted as an alternative to now twenty-one centuries of Christian patrimony.

Four airliners were hijacked by jihdists & used as weapons to strike at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center, & likely the United States Captol. Almost three thousand innocents & the nineteen hijackers died. Those of us who are old enough to remember will never forget where were were when we first learned that the Twin Towers had fallen, 11 September 2001, twenty-three years ago today.

The Wayback Machine Tour of 9/11
Patriot Day '23 / Patriot Day '22
Patriot Day '21 / Patriot Day '20
Patriot Day '19 / Patriot Day '18
Patriot Day '17 / Patriot Day '15
Patriot Day '13 / Patriot Day '11

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Patriot Day
They Might Be Giants, "New York City" from Factory Showroom (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Never forget.

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

Episode o' the Day
"Past Prologue" (season one, episode three; 11 January 1993): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "Past Prologue" is a good episode, period, not just a good episode with the oft-repeated "for the first season" qualifier. I have little patience with the revisionist buffoonery of the Secret of Star Trek postcast, who slander/misremember Deep Space Nine's first season as if every episode was "The Storyteller." (Yes, I am working on sending them a courteous but frank e-mail expressing my disappointment & displeasure with their content.)

Operation AXIOM: 9/11

Twenty-two years ago to the day, 11 September 2001, nineteen jihadist terrorists from al-Qaeda murdered 2,977 innocents by hijacking four airliners, three of which were crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City & the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; the fight back began with the passengers & crew of the fourth airliner, leading to that plane's crash in a Pennsylvania field, instead of into the suspect target, the Capitol in Washington, D.C. 'Twas due to the bravery of the passengers & crew of United Flight 93 that "Let's roll" became a battle cry.

On 11 September 2001, Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban & was a sanctuary for al-Qaeda & associated jihadist terrorist groups. On 11 September 2023, Afghanistan is again ruled by the Taliban & is again a sanctuary for jihadist terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda & Daesh-Khorasan (I.S.I.S.-K.). What did we achieve for all the blood & treasure expended over those twenty years of war?

There was a moment of ephemeral national unity after 9/11. Every president since the "day of fire" has campaigned as a uniter, a president for all Americans, yet the general feeling is that we are more divided than we have every been, that the United States is fraying, not just at the edges but at the very center. We can't even agree on common terms anymore, & everyone regards everyone else with suspicion & hostility. I don't know if that is the reality, but such is the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. At some point, we are going to have to ask ourselves if we are willing to live with each other, to forgive & tolerate each other. We are going to have to think back to 9/11 & that brief, grief- & shock-fueled moment of unity. Can we get that back minus the trauma of a massive national tragedy?

The official motto of the United States of America is:

In God we trust.

The traditional motto of the United States is:

"E pluribus unum" ("From many, one").

The only way we are going to be united is if we recommit ourselves to those founding priciples. We cannot cut ourselves off from the past; the concept of "Year Zero" can only ever lead to the Killing Fields of Cambodia. We are many; we are not bound by blood & soil. The only way we, as many, can ever be one, is in the One in Whom we trust. I'm not advocating, as the social media "integralists" do, for altar & throne; the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this earth. Religious pluralism is foundational to the United States of America, for good or for ill. The Bill of Rights—Amendment I to the United States Constitution—enshrines the "free exercise of religion," not as the malevolent claim, "freedom from religion."

The malasise that plagues us now is the inevitable & predictable result of adopting atheism as our civic religion. The consequences of this are legion & malefic. Politics has been elevated over discourse, partisanship is prized above virtue, & freedom has been cheapened from freedom for excellence to simple license. In the words of the late Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., "We have become a society that permits everything, but forgives nothing." We have forgotten how unique & radical the Christian ideal of forgiveness is; the forgiveness of sins & the love of enemies was utterly alien to the pagan Greeks & Romans that the darkling "Age of Enlightenment" promoted as an alternative to now twenty-one centuries of Christian patrimony.

Four airliners were hijacked by jihdists & used as weapons to strike at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center, & likely the United States Captol. Almost three thousand innocents & the nineteen hijackers died. Those of us who are old enough to remember will never forget where were were when we first learned that the Twin Towers had fallen, 11 September 2001, twenty-two years ago today.

The Wayback Machine Tour of 9/11
Patriot Day '22 / Patriot Day '21 / Patriot Day '20
Patriot Day '19 / Patriot Day '18 / Patriot Day '17
Patriot Day '15 / Patriot Day '13 / Patriot Day '11

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Patriot Day
Glenn Miller, "American Patrol" from Glenn Miller's 50 Finest (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Never forget.

The Explorers' Club, № CMXXXV

Operation AXIOM: The 30th Anniversary of the World Trade Center Bombing
26 February 1993: A rental van packet with explosives, parked beneath the North Tower of the World Trade Center, was detonated; seven persons were killed in the explosion & more than a thousand wounded; the bombing did not cause the North Tower to collapse into the South Tower, as the jihadist bombers had hoped; mastermind Ramzi Yousef was captured in 1995 & convicted in 1996.

Commentary: If the bombing had succeeded as the jihadists had planned & one tower had collapsed into the other, it would have been a worse mass-casualty attack than 9/11, because there would not have been any time to evacuate either tower.

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № CMVIII

Operation AXIOM
15 October 2021: The Assassination of Sir David Amess, M.P.—Sir David Anthony Andrew Amess (26 March 1952-15 October 2021), a husband & father of five, & Member of Parliament for Basildon (1983-1997) & Southend West (1997-2021), knighted in 2015; he was assassinated at a surgery (public meeting) with constituents, stabbed by a jihadist terrorist who expressed no remorse at trial.

Requiem æternam.

Operation AXIOM: 9/11

Twenty-one years ago to the day, 11 September 2001, nineteen jihadist terrorists from al-Qaeda murdered 2,977 innocents by hijacking four airliners, three of which were crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City & the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; the fight back began with the passengers & crew of the fourth airliner, leading to that plane's crash in a Pennsylvania field, instead of into the suspect target, the Capitol in Washington, D.C. 'Twas due to the bravery of the passengers & crew of United Flight 93 that "Let's roll" became a battle cry.

On 11 September 2001, Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban & was a sanctuary for al-Qaeda & associated jihadist terrorist groups. On 11 September 2022, Afghanistan is again ruled by the Taliban & is again a sanctuary for jihadist terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda & Daesh-Khorasan (I.S.I.S.-K.). What did we achieve for all the blood & treasure expended over those twenty years of war (or, as many have decried, those twenty one-year wars)?

There was a moment of ephemeral national unity after 9/11. Every president since the "day of fire" has campaigned as a uniter, a president for all Americans, yet the general feeling is that we are more divided than we have every been, that the United States is fraying, not just at the edges but at the very center. We can't even agree on common terms anymore, & everyone regards everyone else with suspicion & hostility. I don't know if that is the reality, but such is the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. At some point, we are going to have to ask ourselves if we are willing to live with each other, to forgive & tolerate each other. We are going to have to think back to 9/11 & that brief, grief- & shock-fueled moment of unity. Can we get that back minus the trauma of a massive national tragedy?

The official motto of the United States of America is:

In God we trust.

The traditional motto of the United States is:

"E pluribus unum" ("From many, one").

The only way we are going to be united is if we recommit ourselves to those founding priciples. We cannot cut ourselves off from the past; the concept of "Year Zero" can only ever lead to the Killing Fields of Cambodia. We are many; we are not bound by blood & soil. The only way we, as many, can ever be one, is in the One in Whom we trust. I'm not advocating, as the social media "integralists" do, for altar & throne; the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this earth. Religious pluralism is foundational to the United States of America, for good or for ill. The Bill of Rights—Amendment I to the United States Constitution—enshrines the "free exercise of religion," not as the malevolent claim, "freedom from religion."

The malasise that plagues us now is the inevitable & predictable result of adopting atheism as our civic religion. The consequences of this are legion & malefic. Politics has been elevated over discourse, partisanship is prized above virtue, & freedom has been cheapened from freedom for excellence to simple license. In the words of the late Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., "We have become a society that permits everything, but forgives nothing." We have forgotten how unique & radical the Christian ideal of forgiveness is; the forgiveness of sins & the love of enemies was utterly known to the pagan Greeks & Romans that the darkling "Age of Enlightenment" promoted as an alternative to now twenty-one centuries of Christian patrimony.

Four airliners were hijacked by jihdists & used as weapons to strike at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center, & likely the United States Captol. Almost three thousand innocents & the nineteen hijackers died. Those of us who are old enough to remember will never forget where were were when we first learned that the Twin Towers had fallen, 11 September 2001, twenty-one years ago today.

The Wayback Machine Tour of 9/11
Patriot Day '21 / Patriot Day '20
Patriot Day '19 / Patriot Day '18
Patriot Day '17 / Patriot Day '15
Patriot Day '13 / Patriot Day '11

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Patriot Day
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "America the Beautiful" from A Saturday Tradition (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Never forget.

The Explorers' Club, № DCCCXCIII

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
24 June 1922: Walther Rathenau (1867-1922), German foreign minister, chief architect of the Treaty of Rapallo, & chairman of the A.E.G. corporation, was assassinated by Organisation Consul, terrorists led by Hermann Ehrhardt, founder of Marinebrigade Ehrhardt, a Freikorps unit instrumental to the failed Kapp Putsch (March 1920); Rathenau was commemorated as a martyr for Weimar democracy.

Commentary: In the aftermath of the assassination, Organisation Consul was banned; the successor Viking League was founded be Ehrhardt & company in 1923.

Lest we forget.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the 5th of November

John Williams, "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" from Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Guy Fawkes & his fellow Gunpowder Plotters were absolutely wrong in trying to murder King James VI & I along with hundreds of others by blowing up the old Palace of Westminster, though they were right to oppose the tyranny of the king & his parliament. Evil cannot be defeated by evil, but only by goodness. Darkness cannot be overcome by darkness, only by light.

That said, as the "Great Experiment" of American liberty & republicanism falters inexhorably into stratified tyranny, with very different laws applying to the elites & the commoners, we would be wise to remember, remember the rhyme presented below, but with a perhaps different meaning than the diabolical enemy-of-all-Mankind John Milton (1608-1674) intended.

"Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!…"

Operation AXIOM: 9/11

Twenty years ago to the day, 11 September 2001, nineteen jihadist terrorists from al-Qaeda murdered 2,977 innocents by hijacking four airliners, three of which were crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City & the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; the fight back began with the passengers & crew of the fourth airliner, leading to that plane's crash in a Pennsylvania field, instead of into the suspect target, the Capitol in Washington, D.C. 'Twas due to the bravery of the passengers & crew of United Flight 93 that "Let's roll" became a battle cry.

On 11 September 2001, Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban & was a sanctuary for al-Qaeda & associated jihadist terrorist groups. On 11 September 2021, Afghanistan is again ruled by the Taliban & is again a sanctuary for jihadist terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda & Daesh-Khorasan (I.S.I.S.-K.). What have we achieved for all the blood & treasure expended over the last twenty years?

There was a moment of ephemeral national unity after 9/11. Every president since the "day of fire" has campaigned as a uniter, a president for all Americans, yet the general feeling is that we are more divided than we have every been, that the United States is fraying, not just at the edges but at the very center. We can't even agree on common terms anymore, & everyone regards everyone else with suspicion & hostility. I don't know if that is the reality, but such is the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. At some point, we are going to have to ask ourselves if we are willing to live with each other, to forgive & tolerate each other. We are going to have to think back to 9/11 & that brief, grief- & shock-fueled moment of unity. Can we get that back minus the trauma of a massive national tragedy?

The official motto of the United States of America is:

In God we trust.

The traditional motto of the United States is:

"E pluribus unum" ("From many, one").

The only way we are going to be united is if we recommit ourselves to those founding priciples. We cannot cut ourselves off from the past; the concept of "Year Zero" can only ever lead to the Killing Fields of Cambodia. We are many; we are not bound by blood & soil. The only way we, as many, can ever be one, is in the One in Whom we trust. I'm not advocating, as the social media "integralists" do, for altar & throne; the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this earth. Religious pluralism is foundational to the United States of America, for good or for ill. The Bill of Rights—Amendment I to the United States Constitution—enshrines the "free exercise of religion," not as the malevolent claim, "freedom from religion."

The malasise that plagues us now is the inevitable & predictable result of adopting atheism as our civic religion. The consequences of this are legion & malefic. Politics has been elevated over discourse, partisanship is prized above virtue, & freedom has been cheapened from freedom for excellence to simple license. In the words of the late Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., "We have become a society that permits everything, but forgives nothing." We have forgotten how unique & radical the Christian ideal of forgiveness is; the forgiveness of sins & the love of enemies was uttely known to the pagan Greeks & Romans that the darkling "Age of Enlightenment" promoted as an alternative to now twenty-one centuries of Christian patrimony.

Four airliners were hijacked by jihdists & used as weapons to strike at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center, & likely the United States Captol. Almost three thousand innocents & the nineteen hijackers died. Those of us who are old enough to remember will never forget where were were when we first learned that the Twin Towers had fallen, 11 September 2001, twenty years ago today.

The Wayback Machine Tour of 9/11
Patriot Day '20 / Patriot Day '19
Patriot Day '18 / Patriot Day '17
Patriot Day '15 / Patriot Day '13 / Patriot Day '11

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Patriot Day
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "God Bless America/You're a Grand Old Flag" from Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Never forget.

The Explorers' Club, № DCCXCII

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars—The Anglo-Irish War, Part III
11-12 December 1920: The Burning of Cork—Three weeks after Dublin's Bloody Sunday & a fortnight after the Kilmichael Ambush, the Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) ambushed Royal Irish Constabulary (R.I.C.) Auxiliaries at Dillon's Cross, killing one & wounding a dozen; in revenge, the R.I.C. "Black & Tans" & Auxiliaries burned & looted Cork, obstructed firemen, & murdered two I.R.A. in their bedroom.

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № DCCLXXXVI

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars—The Anglo-Irish War, Part II
21 November 1920: Bloody Sunday—Early in the morning, "the Squad," an Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) assassination unit, murdered fourteen British agents, retroactively known as the "Cairo Gang," at their lodgings throughout Dublin; that afternoon, the Royal Irish Constabulary massacred fourteen civilians at a Gaelic football match; that night, three I.R.A. prisoners were murdered in Dublin Castle.

Commentary: The Gaelic Athetic Association held a centenary commenoration at Croke Park on 21 November 2020. It was a shameful occasion of selective forgetting, rightly remembering the victims of the Croke Park massacre but disgracefully overlooking the victims of the I.R.A. assassination campaign.

Bonus! Song o' Bloody Sunday
Mick Moloney, "There Were Roses" from Green Linnet Records: The Twentieth Anniversary Collection (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Lest we forget.

Saints + Scripture

The Popish Plot
"The Gunpowder Plot; or, How Not to Help Catholics in England"

Saints of the Day
'Tis the festival of Saints Elizabeth & Zechariah (floruit 1 B.C.): Saints-link Echo & Zulu, Saint-link Echo & Wikipedia-link Echo, & Saint-link Zulu & Wikipedia-link Zulu.

Commentary: Kin of our Lord Jesus Christ [all] & the Blessed Virgin Mary [many], mother & father of St. John the Baptist [24 June, 29 August].

'Tis also the festival of Saint Kea, Bishop & Hermit (floruit fifth-sixth century; also spelt Ke, Quay): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Magnus of Milan, Bishop (died circa 530), Archbishop of Milan (518-530), patron of the Basilica of San Magno in Legnano: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link & Wikipedia-link Milan, & Wikipedia-link San Magno.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Guido Maria Conforti, Bishop (1865-1931), unique Archbishop of Parma (1907-1931), Archbishop of Ravenna (1902-1904), & founder of the Xaverian Missionary Fathers (1895): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Parma; & Diocese-link, Wikipedia-link Ravenna, & Wikipedia-link Bishops.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Narcyz Putz, Priest & Martyr (1877-1942), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, one of the One Hundred Eight Blessed Polish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link (List, № 60); Martyrs-link Polska & Wikipedia-link Polska.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg, Priest & Martyr (1875-1943), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, honored as one of the Righteous among the Nations: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Righteous among the Nations.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Hryhoriy Lakota, Bishop & Martyr (1893-1950, also spelt Gregor), martyred in the reign of the Soviet Communist dictator Joseph Stalin, one of the Martyrs Killed under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link Eastern Europe & Wikipedia-link Soviet Union.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
The Letter to the Philippians, chapter three, verses three thru eight(a);
Psalm One Hundred Five (R/. three[b]), verses two & three, four & five, & six & seven;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter fifteen, verses one thru ten.

Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, in our Gospel, Jesus tells parables that express his joy over repentant sinners. Christianity is, first and foremost, a religion of the concrete and not the abstract. It takes its power, not from a general religious consciousness, not from an ethical conviction, not from a comfortable abstraction, but from the person of Jesus Christ.

It is Christ—in his uncompromising call to repentance, his unforgettable gestures of healing, his unique and disturbing practice of forgiveness, his provocative nonviolence, and especially his movement from godforsaken death to shalom-radiating Resurrection—that moves the believer to change of life and gift of self. And it is the unique Christ—depicted especially in the lives of the great saints—who speaks transformatively to hearts and souls across the Christian centuries.

The theme of Jesus’ "inaugural address" is conversion: "The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." And the motif of his final words is mission: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations." Having been seized by the beauty of revelation, our only proper response is a change of life and a commitment to become a missionary.

Video reflection by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers (U.S. Conf. of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

Video reflection by Becket Ghioto (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Grace is Divine Life in the human soul, fruit of reconciliation, gifts of God in Jesus. It is the beginning of eternal life, that is, of salvation."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"Bring prayer back into your family life & you will experience unity—& a joyful love that will bind you together. Maybe there is suffering in your family, but praying together, sharing together, loving together will help you."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"It all depends on having a quiet little corner where you can talk to God on a daily basis as if nothing else existed… & regarding yourself completely as an instrument, so that you treat your most frequently demanded talents, not as something that you use, but as God working through you."
—St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, O.C.D. (1891-1942, feast: 9 August)

Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day

"It very often happens that when we have a little opportunity to do our own will, we can become much closer to the Lord by accepting His. In the book of the prophet Ezra, we read something that we need to dwell on very often. Ezra says: 'We have suffered for our evil deeds & for our great guilt, although our God has punished us less than our iniquities deserve.' Indeed, if we are honest, we will admit that we all receive fewer blows than we deserve."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

The Explorers' Club, № DCCLXXII

Operation AXIOM: After the World War—The Red Scare, Part XIV
16 September 1920: The Wall Street Bombing—Forty persons were killed & hundreds wounded—one hundred forty-three seriously—when a horse-drawn wagon exploded during a busy lunch time; the bomb contained an estimated one hundred pounds of dynamite & five hundred pounds of cast-iron, to produce shrapnel; the "American Anarchist Fighters" claimed credit in flyers found near the carnage.

Lest we forget.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Red Scare
№ DCLXXII: The Seattle General Strike (Part I)
№ DCLXXV: The Overman Committee (Part II)
№ DCLXXXI: The Lusk Committee (Part III)
№ DCLXXXV: The Anarchist Mail-Bombing Campaign (Part IV)
№ DCLXXXVI: The Cleveland May Day Riots (Part V)
№ DCXCI: The Anarchist Bombing Campaign (Part VI)
№ DCXCIV: "Bloody Saturday" in the Winnipeg General Strike (Part VII)
№ DCCI: The Chicago Race Riot (Part VIII)
№ DCCVI: The Boston Police Strike (Part IX)
№ DCCIX: The Steel Strike of 1919 (Part X)
№ DCCXV: The Palmer Raids (Part XI)
№ DCCXVIII: The Centralia Massacre (Part XII)
№ DCCXLVI: The May Day "Revolution" (Part XIII)