VATICAN : POPE : RECEIVES ELECTRIC CARS FROM RENAULT AND OTHER NEWS
EUROPE : HUMAN RIGHTS COURT DECIDING ON CROSS BAN
ASIA : PAKISTAN : DISABLED CHRISTIAN GIRL RELEASED ON BAIL
AFRICA : KENYA : THOUSANDS AT MASS HONORING CARDINAL OTUNGA
AMERICA : USA : ROMNEY AND OBAMA FULL TEXT SPEECHES 2012
ASIA : CHINA : EARTHQUAKES DESTROY 20000 HOMES
NOVENA FOR BIRTH OF VIRGIN MARY - DAY 9 - PLENARY INDULGENCE
TODAY'S SAINT: SEPT. 7: ST. CLOUD
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : FRIDAY SEPT. 7, 2012
VATICAN : POPE : RECEIVES ELECTRIC CARS FROM RENAULT AND OTHER NEWS
Vatican Radio REPORT Pope Benedict XVI received a pair of electric cars from the auto maker Renault on Wednesday. A release from the Press Office of the Holy See on Thursday explains that both vehicles are completely electric, and have been built with the specific transportation needs of the Holy Father in mind.
According to the press release, one vehicle – a white Renault based on the design of the car maker’s Kangoo Maxi Z.E. model, with the Papal Seal emblazoned on its doors – is to serve the Holy Father as an “ecological, sustainable version of the ‘Popemobile’,” inside the Vatican and on the grounds of the Papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo. The other, a blue model with white and gold striping, is to be used by the Papal gendarmes in their security service to the Holy Father.
Throughout his pontificate, Pope Benedict has been very attentive to environmental issues, and has repeatedly stressed the need for sustainable development that pursues the preservation of creation.
The press release goes on to explain that the Renault group, in making this gift to Pope Benedict, is trying to place its experience as a leading automobile manufacturer in the field of electric vehicles, in support of the Vatican’s own environmental regulations and guidelines for achieving sustainability.
SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA
YOUNG CHURCHES: HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH
Vatican City, 7 September 2012 (VIS) - This morning in Castelgandolfo Benedict XVI received a group of around one hundred recently-consecrated bishops of circumscriptions in mission territories. The prelates are currently participating in a congress organised by the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
In his remarks to them the Pope observed that all the communities they serve as pastors - although in different situations in Africa, Asia, America or Oceania - are "committed to initial evangelisation and the consolidation of the faith. ... Your communities are almost all of recent foundation, and possess the merits and defects associated with their brief history", he said. "The faith attracts high levels of participation and joy, it is vivacious and creative but often not yet well rooted. Enthusiasm and apostolic zeal alternate with episodes of instability and incoherence. ... Nonetheless these Churches are maturing, thanks to pastoral activity but thanks also to that gift of 'communio sanctorum' which opens the way to an authentic osmosis of grace between ancient and recently founded Churches, as well as between the Church in heaven and the pilgrim Church on earth".
The Holy Father also turned his attention to the falling numbers of missionaries which, he noted, is compensated by an increase in diocesan and regular clergy. Thus the growing numbers of local priests produces "a new form of missionary cooperation as some young Churches have begun sending their priests to sister Churches who lack clergy, either within the same country or to other countries on the same continent. This communion must always animate the work of evangelisation", he said.
"The young Churches, then, represent a sign of hope for the future of the universal Church. It is in this context, dear brethren, that I encourage you to spare no efforts or courage in your pastoral activities. ... The Church is born of the mission and grows with the mission. ... A correct inculturation of the faith will help you to incarnate the Gospel in the cultures of peoples, and to take from them what is good. This is a long and difficult process which must not in any way compromise the specific nature and integrity of the Christian faith".
The Holy Father told the new bishops to "observe the world with the eyes of faith, in order to understand it deeply; and have a generous heart, ready to enter into communion with the women and men of our time. Do not fail in your primary responsibility as men of God, called to prayer and to the service of the Word for the benefit of the flock. ... The world today needs people who speak to God in order to be able to speak of God. Only in this way will the Word of salvation produce fruit".
"Your Churches well know the context of social instability which so worryingly affects people's daily lives. Food, health and educational emergencies raise questions before ecclesial communities and affect them directly. ... As well as natural calamities, we see cultural and religious discrimination, ... the fruit of fundamentalisms which are based on an incorrect view of man and which lead us to undervalue, or ignore outright, the right to religious freedom and respect for the weakest, especially children, women and people with disabilities. Finally, mention must be made of re-emerging contrasts between ethnic groups and castes, which lead to unjustifiable violence. Have faith in the Gospel, in its power to renew, in its capacity to reawaken consciences and to work from within to redeem people and create a new fraternity. Spreading the Word of the Lord will cause the gift of reconciliation to flourish and favour the unity of peoples".
In closing Benedict XVI highlighted the fact that "the faith is a gift to be welcomed into our hearts and lives, one for which we must always thank the Lord. But faith is donated in order to be shared; it is a talent given that it may bear fruit, a light that must not remain hidden". And he concluded by calling on the bishops "to be aware of the absolute priority of the task of evangelisation".
AUDIENCES
Vatican City, 7 September 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience seven prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Colombia on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Ivan Antonio Marin Lopez of Popayan, apostolic administrator of the apostolic vicariate of Guapi.
- Bishop Arturo de Jesus Correa Toro of Ipilaes.
- Bishop Luis Alberto Parra Mora of Mocoa-Sibundoy.
- Bishop Julio Enrique Prado Bolanos of Pasto.
- Bishop Gustavo Giron Higuita O.C.D. of Tumaco.
- Archbishop Orlando Antonio Corrales Garcia of Santa Fe de Antioquia.
- Bishop Luis Adriano Piedrahita Sandoval of Apartado.
EUROPE : HUMAN RIGHTS COURT DECIDING ON CROSS BAN
IND. CATH. NEWS REPORT:
The European Court of Human Rights is hearing a test case appeal from four British Christians who want the right to wear a cross at work.
UK government lawyers have said Christians should leave their religious beliefs at home or accept that a personal expression of faith at work, such as wearing a cross, means they might have to resign and get another job.
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, had previously pledged to change the law to protect religious expression at work but official legal submissions on Tuesday to Strasbourg human rights judges made a clear “difference between the professional and private sphere”.
James Eadie QC, acting for the government, told the European court that the refusal to allow an NHS nurse and a British Airways worker to visibly wear a crucifix at work “did not prevent either of them practicing religion in private”, which would be protected by human rights law.
He argued that that a Christian, or any other religious believer, “under difficulty” is not discriminated against if the choice of “resigning and moving to a different job” is not blocked. “The option remains open to them,” he said.
Government lawyers also told the Strasbourg court that wearing a cross is not a “generally recognised” act of Christian worship and is not required by scripture.
Nadia Eweida, a BA worker, from Twickenham, south-west London, made the headlines when she was sent home in 2006 after refusing to remove a necklace with a cross or hide it from view.
An employment tribunal ruled Ms Eweida, a Coptic Christian originally from Egypt, had not suffered religious discrimination, but the airline changed its uniform policy after the case to allow all religious symbols, including crosses.
Nurse Shirley Chaplin, from Exeter, was moved to a paperwork role by the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust in Devon after refusing to remove a necklace bearing a crucifix.
Ms Chaplin told The Daily Telegraph that she felt “insulted” by the argument that Christians who are told by their employer that they cannot wear a cross at work can always find another job.
“My Christian faith isn’t something that you put on and then take off to go to work. It is with you 27/7. It is my identity, it is who I am, I cannot chop and change it,” she said.
SHARED FROM IND. CATH. NEWS
The European Court of Human Rights is hearing a test case appeal from four British Christians who want the right to wear a cross at work.
UK government lawyers have said Christians should leave their religious beliefs at home or accept that a personal expression of faith at work, such as wearing a cross, means they might have to resign and get another job.
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, had previously pledged to change the law to protect religious expression at work but official legal submissions on Tuesday to Strasbourg human rights judges made a clear “difference between the professional and private sphere”.
James Eadie QC, acting for the government, told the European court that the refusal to allow an NHS nurse and a British Airways worker to visibly wear a crucifix at work “did not prevent either of them practicing religion in private”, which would be protected by human rights law.
He argued that that a Christian, or any other religious believer, “under difficulty” is not discriminated against if the choice of “resigning and moving to a different job” is not blocked. “The option remains open to them,” he said.
Government lawyers also told the Strasbourg court that wearing a cross is not a “generally recognised” act of Christian worship and is not required by scripture.
Nadia Eweida, a BA worker, from Twickenham, south-west London, made the headlines when she was sent home in 2006 after refusing to remove a necklace with a cross or hide it from view.
An employment tribunal ruled Ms Eweida, a Coptic Christian originally from Egypt, had not suffered religious discrimination, but the airline changed its uniform policy after the case to allow all religious symbols, including crosses.
Nurse Shirley Chaplin, from Exeter, was moved to a paperwork role by the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust in Devon after refusing to remove a necklace bearing a crucifix.
Ms Chaplin told The Daily Telegraph that she felt “insulted” by the argument that Christians who are told by their employer that they cannot wear a cross at work can always find another job.
“My Christian faith isn’t something that you put on and then take off to go to work. It is with you 27/7. It is my identity, it is who I am, I cannot chop and change it,” she said.
SHARED FROM IND. CATH. NEWS
ASIA : PAKISTAN : DISABLED CHRISTIAN GIRL RELEASED ON BAIL
UCAN REPORT:
Christians
still fear for Rimsha Masih's safety
Protests were held all over Pakistan ahead of
today's ruling
A Christian girl detained for three weeks on
controversial blasphemy charges has been released on bail.
Rawalpindi District Court today granted bail set at 500,000 rupees (US$5,282) bail to 14-year-old Rimsha Masih, who was accused of burning pages of the Qu’ran.
Her release follows the arrest of her accuser, the imam of a mosque near her home in Islamabad, who allegedly added Quranic pages to a bag containing the pages she allegedly burned, to strengthen the evidence against her.
The case against her has drawn widespread international condemnation.
“It’s a big achievement and will boost public trust in the judiciary of this country. This is the first time a false accuser has been arrested. We thank clerics, media and the nation for supporting the cause,” her lawyer Tahir Naveed Chaudhry said after the court hearing.
However the central executive committee member of the All Pakistan Minority Alliance, a Christian political party, said there were still fears for Rimsha’s safety.
“An accused usually leaves the city after being charged with such serious allegations [especially ones] which deal with religious sentiments,” he said.
“Even judges and lawyers face threats. Likewise we shall move the family to a safe location.”
A senior Catholic official welcomed her release but said Rimsha had been treated unfairly and the court could have been kinder regarding bail conditions.
“It was not a sympathetic decision as the judge set bail so high for a poor family,” said Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the Catholic Church’s National Commission for Justice and Peace.
“The investigation was prolonged and juvenile laws were not followed, although a medical board did confirm her as a minor,” he said.
“We are happy the child is now united with her family but are hurt by the attitude of the court. The case has exposed inherent problems with the blasphemy laws, the mindset of society and the callousness of the judicial system.”
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
Rawalpindi District Court today granted bail set at 500,000 rupees (US$5,282) bail to 14-year-old Rimsha Masih, who was accused of burning pages of the Qu’ran.
Her release follows the arrest of her accuser, the imam of a mosque near her home in Islamabad, who allegedly added Quranic pages to a bag containing the pages she allegedly burned, to strengthen the evidence against her.
The case against her has drawn widespread international condemnation.
“It’s a big achievement and will boost public trust in the judiciary of this country. This is the first time a false accuser has been arrested. We thank clerics, media and the nation for supporting the cause,” her lawyer Tahir Naveed Chaudhry said after the court hearing.
However the central executive committee member of the All Pakistan Minority Alliance, a Christian political party, said there were still fears for Rimsha’s safety.
“An accused usually leaves the city after being charged with such serious allegations [especially ones] which deal with religious sentiments,” he said.
“Even judges and lawyers face threats. Likewise we shall move the family to a safe location.”
A senior Catholic official welcomed her release but said Rimsha had been treated unfairly and the court could have been kinder regarding bail conditions.
“It was not a sympathetic decision as the judge set bail so high for a poor family,” said Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the Catholic Church’s National Commission for Justice and Peace.
“The investigation was prolonged and juvenile laws were not followed, although a medical board did confirm her as a minor,” he said.
“We are happy the child is now united with her family but are hurt by the attitude of the court. The case has exposed inherent problems with the blasphemy laws, the mindset of society and the callousness of the judicial system.”
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
AFRICA : KENYA : THOUSANDS AT MASS HONORING CARDINAL OTUNGA
CISA NEWS REPORT:
NAIROBI, September 7,
2012 (CISA) -Thousands of Catholics on September 6 converged at Nairobi’s
Holy Family Minor Basilica to mark the 9th anniversary on Maurice Cardinal
Otunga’s death.
The Cardinal, who died in September 2003 aged 80 years, had served the Church for over fifty years as ordained priest and 25 years as a cardinal.
In a homily, Bishop Philip Anyolo, who represented John Cardinal Njue at the memorial Mass described Cardinal Otunga as dedicated man in the service of God.
He urged the faithful to emulate him.
“He always described himself as a servant of servants and served God with humility and obedience,” said Bishop Anyolo, of Home Bay Diocese and Vice Chairman of the Kenya Episcopal Conference.
He also commended the Church tribunal, charged with the work on the current beatification process on Cardinal Otunga, now referred to as Servant of God.
Addressing the congregation, Vice-Postulator for Cardinal Otunga’s beatification process, Brother Reginald Cruz said the tribunal was likely to wind up its Diocesan Phase work on the beatification process either December this year or early next year, 2013.
“We hope by then we shall have finished our assignment. After this we shall hand in our report to Rome, where the Second Phase of the process, Roman Phase will commence,” he explained.
He said so far the tribunal, appointed last year by John Cardinal Njue has visited several places in the dioceses of Kisii, Bungoma, Mombasa, Kakamega, Military Ordinariate and Nairobi.
“We have collected more than sixty testimonies and we plan to reach about 100 by the time we wind up our work,” added Brother Crux at a press briefing after the memorial Mass.
After the Mass, Bishop Anyolo delivered a lecture on Cardinal Otunga in the Basilica’s Hall under the theme: Humility/Obedience of Servant of God Cardinal Otunga.
He underlined the centrality of prayers in the current beatification process on Cardinal Otunga.
“We are being asked to offer prayers and give testimonies on what we knew about this servant of God,” he emphasized.
The talk was followed by a funds drive for Cardinal Otunga Scholarship fund for the poor and needy students, studying at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.
A total of Ksh 2.2 million was raised, which will go into supporting 20 poor and needy students.
The Guest of Honor at the funds drive was Joseph Karanja, a businessman in Nairobi, who together with his friends donated Kshs 500,000.
SHARED FROM CISA NEWS
The Cardinal, who died in September 2003 aged 80 years, had served the Church for over fifty years as ordained priest and 25 years as a cardinal.
In a homily, Bishop Philip Anyolo, who represented John Cardinal Njue at the memorial Mass described Cardinal Otunga as dedicated man in the service of God.
He urged the faithful to emulate him.
“He always described himself as a servant of servants and served God with humility and obedience,” said Bishop Anyolo, of Home Bay Diocese and Vice Chairman of the Kenya Episcopal Conference.
He also commended the Church tribunal, charged with the work on the current beatification process on Cardinal Otunga, now referred to as Servant of God.
Addressing the congregation, Vice-Postulator for Cardinal Otunga’s beatification process, Brother Reginald Cruz said the tribunal was likely to wind up its Diocesan Phase work on the beatification process either December this year or early next year, 2013.
“We hope by then we shall have finished our assignment. After this we shall hand in our report to Rome, where the Second Phase of the process, Roman Phase will commence,” he explained.
He said so far the tribunal, appointed last year by John Cardinal Njue has visited several places in the dioceses of Kisii, Bungoma, Mombasa, Kakamega, Military Ordinariate and Nairobi.
“We have collected more than sixty testimonies and we plan to reach about 100 by the time we wind up our work,” added Brother Crux at a press briefing after the memorial Mass.
After the Mass, Bishop Anyolo delivered a lecture on Cardinal Otunga in the Basilica’s Hall under the theme: Humility/Obedience of Servant of God Cardinal Otunga.
He underlined the centrality of prayers in the current beatification process on Cardinal Otunga.
“We are being asked to offer prayers and give testimonies on what we knew about this servant of God,” he emphasized.
The talk was followed by a funds drive for Cardinal Otunga Scholarship fund for the poor and needy students, studying at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.
A total of Ksh 2.2 million was raised, which will go into supporting 20 poor and needy students.
The Guest of Honor at the funds drive was Joseph Karanja, a businessman in Nairobi, who together with his friends donated Kshs 500,000.
SHARED FROM CISA NEWS
ASIA : CHINA : EARTHQUAKES DESTROY 20000 HOMES
ASIA NEWS REPORT: The shocks
struck border area between Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. The main earthquake at
11 am registers magnitude 5.7. The toll is still provisional in the areas
reached by the first responders. The earthquake also felt in Sichuan, the scene
of a devastating earthquake in May 2008.
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least seven dead, a dozen wounded and more than 20 thousand houses collapsed or with serious structural damage. This is the provisional toll from a series of earthquakes that has struck south-west China. Government sources report that the shocks have affected the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, the main quake struck the border area between the counties of Yiliang (Yunnan) and Weining (Guizhou) at 11 am local time. The China Earthquake Networks Center (Cenc) reports that the telluric movement developed at a depth of 14 km underground and registered a magnitude of 5.7.
Serious damage and casualties were reported by the Department of Civil Affairs of Yunnan Province. Currently there is no indicative estimates of the disaster in Guizhou, where the authorities have been slow to report the situation.
The main quake was also felt in the neighboring province of Sichuan, which was hit by a devastating earthquake in May 2008 that caused tens of thousands of deaths, and was followed by several aftershocks.
According to experts so far there have been at least four major shocks in the area, the biggest a magnitude of 5.7, followed by another three earthquakes 5.6, 3.2 and 4.4 respectively (the last in the series at 1:15 PM) on the Richter scale. The Civil Protection Department of China has sent teams to the affected areas to bring relief to the population and check for damage.
The first reports coming from the affected areas speak of people terrified in Shaotong, fleeing from buildings that had begun to sway from the earthquake. In a message posted on the Chinese social network, a resident of the city named Luo Shaojiang reported that he felt a strong feeling of "dizziness", while objects around him moved visibly. Even in neighboring Sichuan people clearly felt the main quake.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least seven dead, a dozen wounded and more than 20 thousand houses collapsed or with serious structural damage. This is the provisional toll from a series of earthquakes that has struck south-west China. Government sources report that the shocks have affected the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, the main quake struck the border area between the counties of Yiliang (Yunnan) and Weining (Guizhou) at 11 am local time. The China Earthquake Networks Center (Cenc) reports that the telluric movement developed at a depth of 14 km underground and registered a magnitude of 5.7.
Serious damage and casualties were reported by the Department of Civil Affairs of Yunnan Province. Currently there is no indicative estimates of the disaster in Guizhou, where the authorities have been slow to report the situation.
The main quake was also felt in the neighboring province of Sichuan, which was hit by a devastating earthquake in May 2008 that caused tens of thousands of deaths, and was followed by several aftershocks.
According to experts so far there have been at least four major shocks in the area, the biggest a magnitude of 5.7, followed by another three earthquakes 5.6, 3.2 and 4.4 respectively (the last in the series at 1:15 PM) on the Richter scale. The Civil Protection Department of China has sent teams to the affected areas to bring relief to the population and check for damage.
The first reports coming from the affected areas speak of people terrified in Shaotong, fleeing from buildings that had begun to sway from the earthquake. In a message posted on the Chinese social network, a resident of the city named Luo Shaojiang reported that he felt a strong feeling of "dizziness", while objects around him moved visibly. Even in neighboring Sichuan people clearly felt the main quake.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT
AMERICA : USA : ROMNEY AND OBAMA FULL TEXT SPEECHES 2012
FULL TEXT SPEECH OF MITT ROMNEY FROM GOP CONVENTION 2012
MittRomney.com RELEASE:
Boston, MA
United States
Mr. Chairman, delegates. I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America.
I do so with humility, deeply moved by the trust you have placed in me. It is a great honor. It is an even greater responsibility.
Tonight I am asking you to join me to walk together to a better future. By my side, I have chosen a man with a big heart from a small town. He represents the best of America, a man who will always make us proud – my friend and America’s next Vice President, Paul Ryan.
In the days ahead, you will get to know Paul and Janna better. But last night America got to see what I saw in Paul Ryan – a strong and caring leader who is down to earth and confident in the challenge this moment demands.
I love the way he lights up around his kids and how he's not embarrassed to show the world how much he loves his mom.
But Paul, I still like the playlist on my iPod better than yours.
Four years ago, I know that many Americans felt a fresh excitement about the possibilities of a new president. That president was not the choice of our party but Americans always come together after elections. We are a good and generous people who are united by so much more than what divides us.
When that hard fought election was over, when the yard signs came down and the television commercials finally came off the air, Americans were eager to go back to work, to live our lives the way Americans always have – optimistic and positive and confident in the future.
That very optimism is uniquely American.
It is what brought us to America. We are a nation of immigrants. We are the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the ones who wanted a better life, the driven ones, the ones who woke up at night hearing that voice telling them that life in that place called America could be better.
They came not just in pursuit of the riches of this world but for the richness of this life.
Freedom.
Freedom of religion.
Freedom to speak their mind.
Freedom to build a life.
And yes, freedom to build a business. With their own hands.
This is the essence of the American experience.
We Americans have always felt a special kinship with the future.
When every new wave of immigrants looked up and saw the Statue of Liberty, or knelt down and kissed the shores of freedom just ninety miles from Castro’s tyranny, these new Americans surely had many questions. But none doubted that here in America they could build a better life, that in America their children would be more blessed than they.
But today, four years from the excitement of the last election, for the first time, the majority of Americans now doubt that our children will have a better future.
It is not what we were promised.
Every family in America wanted this to be a time when they could get ahead a little more, put aside a little more for college, do more for their elderly mom who’s living alone now or give a little more to their church or charity.
Every small business wanted these to be their best years ever, when they could hire more, do more for those who had stuck with them through the hard times, open a new store or sponsor that Little League team.
Every new college graduate thought they'd have a good job by now, a place of their own, and that they could start paying back some of their loans and build for the future.
This is when our nation was supposed to start paying down the national debt and rolling back those massive deficits.
This was the hope and change America voted for.
It’s not just what we wanted. It’s not just what we expected.
It’s what Americans deserved.
You deserved it because during these years, you worked harder than ever before. You deserved it because when it cost more to fill up your car, you cut out movie nights and put in longer hours. Or when you lost that job that paid $22.50 an hour with benefits, you took two jobs at 9 bucks an hour and fewer benefits. You did it because your family depended on you. You did it because you’re an American and you don’t quit. You did it because it was what you had to do.
But driving home late from that second job, or standing there watching the gas pump hit 50 dollars and still going, when the realtor told you that to sell your house you’d have to take a big loss, in those moments you knew that this just wasn’t right.
But what could you do? Except work harder, do with less, try to stay optimistic. Hug your kids a little longer; maybe spend a little more time praying that tomorrow would be a better day.
I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed. But his promises gave way to disappointment and division. This isn't something we have to accept. Now is the moment when we CAN do something. With your help we will do something.
Now is the moment when we can stand up and say, “I’m an American. I make my destiny. And we deserve better! My children deserve better! My family deserves better. My country deserves better!”
So here we stand. Americans have a choice. A decision.
To make that choice, you need to know more about me and about where I will lead our country.
I was born in the middle of the century in the middle of the country, a classic baby boomer. It was a time when Americans were returning from war and eager to work. To be an American was to assume that all things were possible. When President Kennedy challenged Americans to go to the moon, the question wasn’t whether we'd get there, it was only when we'd get there.
The soles of Neil Armstrong's boots on the moon made permanent impressions on OUR souls and in our national psyche. Ann and I watched those steps together on her parent's sofa. Like all Americans we went to bed that night knowing we lived in the greatest country in the history of the world.
God bless Neil Armstrong.
Tonight that American flag is still there on the moon. And I don't doubt for a second that Neil Armstrong's spirit is still with us: that unique blend of optimism, humility and the utter confidence that when the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American.
That's how I was brought up.
My dad had been born in Mexico and his family had to leave during the Mexican revolution. I grew up with stories of his family being fed by the US Government as war refugees. My dad never made it through college and apprenticed as a lath and plaster carpenter. And he had big dreams. He convinced my mom, a beautiful young actress, to give up Hollywood to marry him. He moved to Detroit, led a great automobile company and became Governor of the Great State of Michigan.
We were Mormons and growing up in Michigan; that might have seemed unusual or out of place but I really don’t remember it that way. My friends cared more about what sports teams we followed than what church we went to.
My mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all – the gift of unconditional love. They cared deeply about who we would BE, and much less about what we would DO.
Unconditional love is a gift that Ann and I have tried to pass on to our sons and now to our grandchildren. All the laws and legislation in the world will never heal this world like the loving hearts and arms of mothers and fathers. If every child could drift to sleep feeling wrapped in the love of their family – and God’s love -- this world would be a far more gentle and better place.
Mom and Dad were married 64 years. And if you wondered what their secret was, you could have asked the local florist – because every day Dad gave Mom a rose, which he put on her bedside table. That's how she found out what happened on the day my father died – she went looking for him because that morning, there was no rose.
My mom and dad were true partners, a life lesson that shaped me by everyday example. When my mom ran for the Senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. I can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice, “Why should women have any less say than men, about the great decisions facing our nation?”
I wish she could have been here at the convention and heard leaders like Governor Mary Fallin, Governor Nikki Haley, Governor Susana Martinez, Senator Kelly Ayotte and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
As Governor of Massachusetts, I chose a woman Lt. Governor, a woman chief of staff, half of my cabinet and senior officials were women, and in business, I mentored and supported great women leaders who went on to run great companies.
I grew up in Detroit in love with cars and wanted to be a car guy, like my dad. But by the time I was out of school, I realized that I had to go out on my own, that if I stayed around Michigan in the same business, I’d never really know if I was getting a break because of my dad. I wanted to go someplace new and prove myself.
Those weren’t the easiest of days – too many long hours and weekends working, five young sons who seemed to have this need to re-enact a different world war every night. But if you ask Ann and I what we’d give, to break up just one more fight between the boys, or wake up in the morning and discover a pile of kids asleep in our room. Well, every mom and dad knows the answer to that.
Those days were toughest on Ann, of course. She was heroic. Five boys, with our families a long way away. I had to travel a lot for my job then and I’d call and try to offer support. But every mom knows that doesn't help get the homework done or the kids out the door to school.
I knew that her job as a mom was harder than mine. And I knew without question, that her job as a mom was a lot more important than mine. And as America saw Tuesday night, Ann would have succeeded at anything she wanted to.
Like a lot of families in a new place with no family, we found kinship with a wide circle of friends through our church. When we were new to the community it was welcoming and as the years went by, it was a joy to help others who had just moved to town or just joined our church. We had remarkably vibrant and diverse congregants from all walks of life and many who were new to America. We prayed together, our kids played together and we always stood ready to help each other out in different ways.
And that’s how it is in America. We look to our communities, our faiths, our families for our joy, our support, in good times and bad. It is both how we live our lives and why we live our lives. The strength and power and goodness of America has always been based on the strength and power and goodness of our communities, our families, our faiths.
That is the bedrock of what makes America, America. In our best days, we can feel the vibrancy of America’s communities, large and small.
It’s when we see that new business opening up downtown. It’s when we go to work in the morning and see everybody else on our block doing the same.
It’s when our son or daughter calls from college to talk about which job offer they should take….and you try not to choke up when you hear that the one they like is not far from home.
It’s that good feeling when you have more time to volunteer to coach your kid’s soccer team, or help out on school trips.
But for too many Americans, these good days are harder to come by. How many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in America?
Many of you felt that way on Election Day four years ago. Hope and Change had a powerful appeal. But tonight I'd ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama? You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.
The President hasn’t disappointed you because he wanted to. The President has disappointed America because he hasn’t led America in the right direction. He took office without the basic qualification that most Americans have and one that was essential to his task. He had almost no experience working in a business. Jobs to him are about government.
I learned the real lessons about how America works from experience.
When I was 37, I helped start a small company. My partners and I had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses.
So some of us had this idea that if we really believed our advice was helping companies, we should invest in companies. We should bet on ourselves and on our advice.
So we started a new business called Bain Capital. The only problem was, while WE believed in ourselves, nobody else did. We were young and had never done this before and we almost didn’t get off the ground. In those days, sometimes I wondered if I had made a really big mistake. I had thought about asking my church’s pension fund to invest, but I didn't. I figured it was bad enough that I might lose my investors’ money, but I didn’t want to go to hell too. Shows what I know. Another of my partners got the Episcopal Church pension fund to invest. Today there are a lot of happy retired priests who should thank him.
That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story. Some of the companies we helped start are names you know. An office supply company called Staples – where I'm pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping; The Sports Authority, which became a favorite of my sons. We started an early childhood learning center called Bright Horizons that First Lady Michelle Obama rightly praised. At a time when nobody thought we'd ever see a new steel mill built in America, we took a chance and built one in a corn field in Indiana. Today Steel Dynamics is one of the largest steel producers in the United States.
These are American success stories. And yet the centerpiece of the President’s entire re-election campaign is attacking success. Is it any wonder that someone who attacks success has led the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression? In America, we celebrate success, we don't apologize for it.
We weren’t always successful at Bain. But no one ever is in the real world of business.
That’s what this President doesn’t seem to understand. Business and growing jobs is about taking risk, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding, but always striving. It is about dreams. Usually, it doesn't work out exactly as you might have imagined. Steve Jobs was fired at Apple. He came back and changed the world.
It’s the genius of the American free enterprise system – to harness the extraordinary creativity and talent and industry of the American people with a system that is dedicated to creating tomorrow’s prosperity rather than trying to redistribute today's.
That is why every president since the Great Depression who came before the American people asking for a second term could look back at the last four years and say with satisfaction: "you are better off today than you were four years ago."
Except Jimmy Carter. And except this president.
This president can ask us to be patient.
This president can tell us it was someone else’s fault.
This president can tell us that the next four years he’ll get it right.
But this president cannot tell us that YOU are better off today than when he took office.
America has been patient. Americans have supported this president in good faith.
But today, the time has come to turn the page.
Today the time has come for us to put the disappointments of the last four years behind us.
To put aside the divisiveness and the recriminations.
To forget about what might have been and to look ahead to what can be.
Now is the time to restore the Promise of America. Many Americans have given up on this president but they haven’t ever thought about giving up. Not on themselves. Not on each other. And not on America.
What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. It doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what America needs.
What America needs is jobs.
Lots of jobs.
In the richest country in the history of the world, this Obama economy has crushed the middle class. Family income has fallen by $4,000, but health insurance premiums are higher, food prices are higher, utility bills are higher, and gasoline prices have doubled. Today more Americans wake up in poverty than ever before. Nearly one out of six Americans is living in poverty. Look around you. These are not strangers. These are our brothers and sisters, our fellow Americans.
His policies have not helped create jobs, they have depressed them. And this I can tell you about where President Obama would take America:
His plan to raise taxes on small business won't add jobs, it will eliminate them;
His assault on coal and gas and oil will send energy and manufacturing jobs to China;
His trillion dollar cuts to our military will eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs, and also put our security at greater risk;
His $716 billion cut to Medicare to finance Obamacare will both hurt today's seniors, and depress innovation – and jobs – in medicine.
And his trillion-dollar deficits will slow our economy, restrain employment, and cause wages to stall.
To the majority of Americans who now believe that the future will not be better than the past, I can guarantee you this: if Barack Obama is re-elected, you will be right.
I am running for president to help create a better future. A future where everyone who wants a job can find one. Where no senior fears for the security of their retirement. An America where every parent knows that their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon.
And unlike the President, I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. It has 5 steps.
First, by 2020, North America will be energy independent by taking full advantage of our oil and coal and gas and nuclear and renewables.
Second, we will give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. When it comes to the school your child will attend, every parent should have a choice, and every child should have a chance.
Third, we will make trade work for America by forging new trade agreements. And when nations cheat in trade, there will be unmistakable consequences.
Fourth, to assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in America will not vanish as have those in Greece, we will cut the deficit and put America on track to a balanced budget.
And fifth, we will champion SMALL businesses, America’s engine of job growth. That means reducing taxes on business, not raising them. It means simplifying and modernizing the regulations that hurt small business the most. And it means that we must rein in the skyrocketing cost of healthcare by repealing and replacing Obamacare.
Today, women are more likely than men to start a business. They need a president who respects and understands what they do.
And let me make this very clear – unlike President Obama, I will not raise taxes on the middle class.
As president, I will protect the sanctity of life. I will honor the institution of marriage. And I will guarantee America's first liberty: the freedom of religion.
President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. MY promise...is to help you and your family.
I will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. President Obama began with an apology tour. America, he said, had dictated to other nations. No Mr. President, America has freed other nations from dictators.
Every American was relieved the day President Obama gave the order, and Seal Team Six took out Osama bin Laden. But on another front, every American is less secure today because he has failed to slow Iran's nuclear threat.
In his first TV interview as president, he said we should talk to Iran. We're still talking, and Iran’s centrifuges are still spinning.
President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus, even as he has relaxed sanctions on Castro's Cuba. He abandoned our friends in Poland by walking away from our missile defense commitments, but is eager to give Russia's President Putin the flexibility he desires, after the election. Under my administration, our friends will see more loyalty, and Mr. Putin will see a little less flexibility and more backbone.
We will honor America’s democratic ideals because a free world is a more peaceful world. This is the bipartisan foreign policy legacy of Truman and Reagan. And under my presidency we will return to it once again.
You might have asked yourself if these last years are really the America we want, the America won for us by the greatest generation.
Does the America we want borrow a trillion dollars from China? No.
Does it fail to find the jobs that are needed for 23 million people and for half the kids graduating from college? No.
Are its schools lagging behind the rest of the developed world? No.
And does the America we want succumb to resentment and division? We know the answer.
The America we all know has been a story of the many becoming one, uniting to preserve liberty, uniting to build the greatest economy in the world, uniting to save the world from unspeakable darkness.
Everywhere I go in America, there are monuments that list those who have given their lives for America. There is no mention of their race, their party affiliation, or what they did for a living. They lived and died under a single flag, fighting for a single purpose. They pledged allegiance to the UNITED States of America.
That America, that united America, can unleash an economy that will put Americans back to work, that will once again lead the world with innovation and productivity, and that will restore every father and mother's confidence that their children's future is brighter even than the past.
That America, that united America, will preserve a military that is so strong, no nation would ever dare to test it.
That America, that united America, will uphold the constellation of rights that were endowed by our Creator, and codified in our Constitution.
That united America will care for the poor and the sick, will honor and respect the elderly, and will give a helping hand to those in need.
That America is the best within each of us. That America we want for our children.
If I am elected President of these United States, I will work with all my energy and soul to restore that America, to lift our eyes to a better future. That future is our destiny. That future is out there. It is waiting for us. Our children deserve it, our nation depends upon it, the peace and freedom of the world require it. And with your help we will deliver it. Let us begin that future together tonight.
SHARED FROM MITTROMNEY.COM
FULL TEXT SPEECH OF BARACK OBAMA DURING DNC 2012 CONVENTION
Madam Chairwoman, delegates, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.
OBAMA: Now, the first time I addressed this convention in 2004, I was a younger man; a Senate candidate from Illinois who spoke about hope, not blind optimism or wishful thinking, but hope in the face of difficulty; hope in the face of uncertainty; that dogged faith in the future which has pushed this nation forward, even when the odds are great; even when the road is long.
Eight years later, that hope has been tested, by the cost of war; by one of the worst economic crises in history; and by political gridlock that's left us wondering whether it's still even possible to tackle the challenges of our time.
I know campaigns can seem small, and even silly sometimes. Trivial things become big distractions. Serious issues become sound bites. The truth gets buried under an avalanche of money and advertising. If you're sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me, so am I.
But when all is said and done, when you pick up that ballot to vote, you will face the clearest choice of any time in a generation. Over the next few years, big decisions will be made in Washington, on jobs, the economy; taxes and deficits; energy, education; war and peace, decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and our children's lives for decades to come.
And on every issue, the choice you face won't be just between two candidates or two parties.
It will be a choice between two different paths for America.
A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future.
Ours is a fight to restore the values that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known.
The values my grandfather defended as a soldier in Patton's Army; the values that drove my grandmother to work on a bomber assembly line while he was gone.
They knew they were part of something larger, a nation that triumphed over fascism and depression; a nation where the most innovative businesses turned out the world's best products, and everyone shared in that pride and success, from the corner office to the factory floor.
My grandparents were given the chance to go to college, buy their own -- their -- their own home, and fulfill the basic bargain at the heart of America's story: the promise that hard work will pay off; that responsibility will be rewarded; that everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules, from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, D.C.
And I ran for President because I saw that basic bargain slipping away. I began my career helping people in the shadow of a shuttered steel mill, at a time when too many good jobs were starting to move overseas. And by 2008, we had seen nearly a decade in which families struggled with costs that kept rising, but paychecks that didn't; folks racking up more and more debt just to make the mortgage or pay tuition; put gas in the car or food on the table.
And when the house of cards collapsed in the Great Recession, millions of innocent Americans lost their jobs, their homes, their life savings, a tragedy from which we are still fighting to recover.
Now, our friends down in Tampa, at the Republican convention, were more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with America, but they didn't have much to say about how they'd make it right.
They want your vote, but they don't want you to know their plan. And that's because all they had to offer is the same prescription they've had for the last thirty years:
"Have a surplus? Try a tax cut."
"Deficit too high? Try another."
"Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning."
Now, I've cut taxes for those who need it, middle-class families, small businesses. But I don't believe that another round of tax breaks for millionaires will bring good jobs to our shores, or pay down our deficit. I don't believe that firing teachers or kicking students off financial aid will grow the economy, or help us compete with the scientists and engineers coming out of China.
After all that we've been through, I don't believe that rolling back regulations on Wall Street will help the small businesswoman expand, or the laid-off construction worker keep his home. We have been there, we've tried that, and we're not going back.
We are moving forward, America.
I won't pretend the path I'm offering is quick or easy. I never have. You didn't elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear.
You elected me to tell you the truth.
And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades. It'll require common effort, shared responsibility, and the kind of bold, persistent experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one.
And by the way, those of us who carry on his party's legacy should remember that not every problem can be remedied with another government program or dictate from Washington.
But know this, America: Our problems can be solved.
Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I'm asking you to choose that future. I'm asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country, goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit; real, achievable plans that will lead to new jobs, more opportunity, and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation. That's what we can do in the next four years, and that's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States.
We can choose a future where we export more products and outsource fewer jobs. After a decade that was defined by what we bought and borrowed, we're getting back to basics, and doing what America has always done best:
We're making things again.
I've met workers in Detroit and Toledo who feared they'd never build another American car. And today, they can't build them fast enough, because we reinvented a dying auto industry that's back on top of the world.
I've worked with business leaders who are bringing jobs back to America, not because our workers make less pay, but because we make better products. Because we work harder and smarter than anyone else.
I've signed trade agreements that are helping our companies sell more goods to millions of new customers, goods that are stamped with three proud words: Made in America.
After a decade of decline, this country created over half a million manufacturing jobs in the last two and a half years. And now you have a choice: we can give more tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers and create new jobs here, in the United States of America. We can help big factories and small businesses double their exports, and if we choose this path, we can create a million new manufacturing jobs in the next four years. You can make that happen. You can choose that future.
You can choose the path where we control more of our own energy. After thirty years of inaction, we raised fuel standards so that by the middle of the next decade, cars and trucks will go twice as far on a gallon of gas.
We've doubled our use of renewable energy, and thousands of Americans have jobs today building wind turbines, and long-lasting batteries. In the last year alone, we cut oil imports by one million barrels a day, more than any administration in recent history. And today, the United States of America is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in the last two decades.
So, now you have a choice - between a strategy that reverses this progress, or one that builds on it. We've opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration in the last three years, and we'll open more. But unlike my opponent, I will not let oil companies write this country's energy plan, or endanger our coastlines, or collect another $4 billion in corporate welfare from our taxpayers. We're offering a better path.
We're offering a better path, a future where we keep investing in wind and solar and clean coal; where farmers and scientists harness new biofuels to power our cars and trucks; where construction workers build homes and factories that waste less energy; where -- where we develop a hundred year supply of natural gas that's right beneath our feet.
If you choose this path, we can cut our oil imports in half by 2020 and support more than 600,000 new jobs in natural gas alone.
And yes, my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet because climate change is not a hoax. More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They're a threat to our children's future. And in this election, you can do something about it.
You can choose a future where more Americans have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete, no matter how old they are or how much money they have. Education was the gateway to opportunity for me. It was the gateway for Michelle. It was the gateway for most of you.
And now more than ever, it is the gateway to a middle- class life.
For the first time in a generation, nearly every state has answered our call to raise their standards for teaching and learning.
Some of the worst schools in the country have made real gains in math and reading. Millions of students are paying less for college today because we finally took on a system that wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on banks and lenders.
And now you have a choice. We can gut education, or we can decide that in the United States of America, no child should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling school. No family should have to set aside a college acceptance letter because they don't have the money. No company should have to look for workers overseas because they couldn't find any with the right skills here at home. That's not our future. That is not our future.
A government has a role in this. But teachers must inspire; principals must lead; parents must instill a thirst for learning, and students, you've gotta do the work.
And together, I promise you, we can out-educate and out-compete any nation on Earth. Help me recruit 100,000 math and science teachers within ten years, and improve early childhood education.
Help give two million workers the chance to learn skills at their community college that will lead directly to a job. Help us work with colleges and universities to cut in half the growth of tuition costs over the next ten years. We can meet that goal together.
You can choose that future for America.
That's our future.
You know, in a world of new threats and new challenges, you can choose leadership that has been tested and proven. Four years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq. We did.
I promised to refocus on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. And we have. We've blunted the Taliban's momentum in Afghanistan, and in 2014, our longest war will be over.
A new tower rises above the New York skyline, Al Qaeda is on the path to defeat, and Osama Bin Laden is dead.
And tonight, we pay tribute to the Americans who still serve in harm's way. We are forever in debt to a generation whose sacrifice has made this country safer and more respected. We will never forget you. And so long as I'm Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known.
When you take off the uniform, we will serve you as well as you've served us because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job, or a roof over their head, or the care that they need when they come home.
Around the world, we've strengthened old alliances and forged new coalitions to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. We've reasserted our power across the Pacific, and stood up to China on behalf of our workers. From Burma to Libya to South Sudan, we have advanced the rights and dignity of all human beings, men and women; Christians and Muslims and Jews.
But for all the progress we've made, challenges remain. Terrorist plots must be disrupted. Europe's crisis must be contained.
Our commitment to Israel's security must not waver, and neither must our pursuit of peace.
The Iranian government must face a world that stays united against its nuclear ambitions. The historic change sweeping across the Arab World must be defined not by the iron fist of a dictator or the hate of extremists, but by the hopes and aspirations of ordinary people who are reaching for the same rights that we celebrate here today.
So now we face a choice. My opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy,
but from all that we've seen and heard, they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost America so dearly.
After all, you don't call Russia our number one enemy, not Al Qaeda, Russia, unless you're still stuck in a Cold War mind warp.
You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can't visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally.
My opponent -- my opponent said it was "tragic" to end the war in Iraq, and he won't tell us how he'll end the war in Afghanistan. Well I have, and I will. And while my opponent would spend more money on military hardware that our Joint Chiefs don't even want, I will use the money we're no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and put more people back to work rebuilding roads and bridges and schools and runways.
Because after two wars that have cost us thousands of lives and over a trillion dollars, it's time to do some nation- building right here at home.
You can choose a future where we reduce our deficit without sticking it to the middle class. Independent experts say that my plan would cut our deficits by $4 trillion. And last summer, I worked with Republicans in Congress to cut billion in spending because those of us who believe government can be a force for good should work harder than anyone to reform it, so that it's leaner, and more efficient, and more responsive to the American people.
I want to reform the tax code so that it's simple, fair, and asks the wealthiest households to pay higher taxes on incomes over $250,000, the same rate we had when Bill Clinton was president; the same rate we had when our economy created nearly 23 million new jobs, the biggest surplus in history, and a whole lot of millionaires to boot.
Now, I'm still eager to reach an agreement based on the principles of my bipartisan debt commission. No party has a monopoly on wisdom. No democracy works without compromise. I want to get this done, and we can get it done. But when Governor Romney and his friends in Congress tell us we can somehow lower our deficits by spending trillions more on new tax breaks for the wealthy, well, what'd Bill Clinton call it? You do the arithmetic, you do the math.
I refuse to go along with that. And as long as I'm President, I never will.
I refuse to ask middle class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or raising their kids just to pay for another millionaire's tax cut.
I refuse to ask students to pay more for college; or kick children out of Head Start programs, to eliminate health insurance for millions of Americans who are poor, and elderly, or disabled, all so those with the most can pay less.
I'm not going along with that.
And I will -- I will never turn Medicare into a voucher.
No American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies. They should retire with the care and the dignity they have earned. Yes, we will reform and strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we'll do it by reducing the cost of health care, not by asking seniors to pay thousands of dollars more. And we will keep the promise of Social Security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen it, not by turning it over to Wall Street.
This is the choice we now face. This is what the election comes down to. Over and over, we have been told by our opponents that bigger tax cuts and fewer regulations are the only way; that since government can't do everything, it should do almost nothing.
If you can't afford health insurance, hope that you don't get sick.
If a company releases toxic pollution into the air your children breathe, well, that's just the price of progress. If you can't afford to start a business or go to college, take my opponent's advice and "borrow money from your parents."
You know what? That's not who we are. That's not what this country's about. As Americans, we believe we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, rights that no man or government can take away. We insist on personal responsibility, and we celebrate individual initiative. We're not entitled to success. We have to earn it. We honor the strivers, the dreamers, the risk- takers, the entrepreneurs who have always been the driving force behind our free enterprise system, the greatest engine of growth and prosperity the world has ever known.
But we also believe in something called citizenship
a word at the very heart of our founding, at the very essence of our democracy; the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another, and to future generations.
We believe that when a CEO pays his autoworkers enough to buy the cars that they build, the whole company does better.
We believe that when a family can no longer be tricked into signing a mortgage they can't afford, that family is protected, but so is the value of other people's homes, and so is the entire economy.
We believe the little girl who's offered an escape from poverty by a great teacher or a grant for college could become the next Steve Jobs, or the scientist who cures cancer, or the President of the United States, and it's in our power to give her that chance.
We know that churches and charities can often make more of a difference than a poverty program alone. We don't want handouts for people who refuse to help themselves, and we certainly don't want bailouts for banks that break the rules.
We don't think the government can solve all our problems. But we don't think that the government is the source of all our problems, any more than are welfare recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or gays, or any other group we're told to blame for our troubles.
Because -- because America, we understand that this democracy is ours.
We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which asks only what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.
As citizens, we understand that America is not about what can be done for us. It's about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government. That's what we believe.
So you see, the election four years ago wasn't about me.
It was about you. My fellow citizens, you were the change.
You're the reason there's a little girl with a heart disorder in Phoenix who'll get the surgery she needs because an insurance company can't limit her coverage.
You did that.
You're the reason a young man in Colorado who never thought he'd be able to afford his dream of earning a medical degree is about to get that chance.
You made that possible.
You're the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and went to school here and pledged allegiance to our flag will no longer be deported from the only country she's ever called home,
why selfless soldiers won't be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who they love; why thousands of families have finally been able to say to the loved ones who served us so bravely: "Welcome home, welcome home."
OBAMA: You did that. You did that.
If you turn away now -- if you turn away now, if you buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn't possible, well, change will not happen. If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void: the lobbyists and special interests; the people with the $10 million checks who are trying to buy this election, and those who are making it harder for you to vote; Washington politicians who want to decide who you can marry, or control health care choices that women should be making for themselves.
Only you can make sure that doesn't happen. Only you have the power to move us forward.
You know, I recognize that times have changed since I first spoke to this convention. The times have changed, and so have I.
I'm no longer just a candidate. I'm the President.
And -- and that -- and that -- and that means I know what it means to send young Americans into battle, for I have held in my arms the mothers and fathers of those who didn't return. I've shared the pain of families who've lost their homes, and the frustration of workers who've lost their jobs. If the critics are right that I've made all my decisions based on polls, then I must not be very good at reading them.
And while I'm very proud of what we've achieved together, I'm far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, "I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go."
But as I stand here tonight, I have never been more hopeful about America.
Not because I think I have all the answers. Not because I'm naive about the magnitude of our challenges.
I'm hopeful because of you.
The young woman I met at a science fair who won national recognition for her biology research while living with her family at a homeless shelter, she gives me hope.
The auto worker who won the lottery after his plant almost closed, but kept coming to work every day, and bought flags for his whole town and one of the cars that he built to surprise his wife, he gives me hope.
The family business in Warroad, Minnesota that didn't lay off a single one of their 4,000 employees during this recession, even when their competitors shut down dozens of plants, even when it meant the owners gave up some perks and some pay, because they understood their biggest asset was the community and the workers who helped build that business, they give me hope.
I think about the young sailor I met at Walter Reed hospital, still recovering from a grenade attack that would cause him to have his leg amputated above the knee. Six months ago, We would watch him walk into a White House dinner honoring those who served in Iraq, tall and 20 pounds heavier, dashing in his uniform, with a big grin on his face; sturdy on his new leg.
And I remember how a few months after that I would watch him on a bicycle, racing with his fellow wounded warriors on a sparkling spring day, inspiring other heroes who had just begun the hard path he had traveled.
He gives me hope.
I don't know what party these men and women belong to. I don't know if they'll vote for me. But I know that their spirit defines us. They remind me, in the words of Scripture, that ours is a "future filled with hope."
And if you share that faith with me, if you share that hope with me, I ask you tonight for your vote.
If you reject the notion that this nation's promise is reserved for the few, your voice must be heard in this election.
If you reject the notion that our government is forever beholden to the highest bidder, you need to stand up in this election.
If you believe that new plants and factories can dot our landscape; that new energy can power our future; that new schools can provide ladders of opportunity to this nation of dreamers; if you believe in a country where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules, then I need you to vote this November.
America, I never said this journey would be easy, and I won't promise that now. Yes, our path is harder, but it leads to a better place. Yes our road is longer, but we travel it together. We don't turn back. We leave no one behind. We pull each other up. We draw strength from our victories, and we learn from our mistakes, but we keep our eyes fixed on that distant horizon, knowing that Providence is with us, and that we are surely blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation on Earth.
Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless these United States
Barack Obama
NOVENA FOR BIRTH OF VIRGIN MARY - DAY 9 - PLENARY INDULGENCE
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| Filippo Lippi, Madonna and Child
With Scenes from the Life of St. Anne, Florence, Pitti Palace, 1452- Mary’s own birth is shown over her right shoulder, |
To all faithful
Christians who, in private or public, in church or in their own houses, shall
keep any of the following Novenas, in preparation for the principal feasts of
most holy Mary, Pope Pius VII., at the prayer of several holy persons, granted,
by Rescripts issued through his Eminence the Cardinal-Vicar, Aug. 4 and Nov. 24,
1808, and Jan. 11, 1800 (all of which are kept in the Segretaria of the
Vicariate) -
i. An indulgence of 300 days, daily.
i. An indulgence of 300 days, daily.
ii. A plenary
indulgence to all who shall assist at these Novenas every day, and who shall
afterwards, either on the Feast-day itself, to which each Novena respectively
has reference, or on some one day in its Octave, after Confession and Communion,
pray to our Lord and to the Blessed Virgin ac cording to the pious intention of
the Sovereign Pontiff.
IN PREPARATION FOR THE FEAST OF OUR LADY’S NATIVITY.
(Beginning Aug. 30.)
Veni Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium, et tui amoris in eis ignem accende.
V. Emitte Spiritum tuum, et creabuntur.
R. Et renovabis faciem terrae.
Oremus.
Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere, et de ejus semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.
TRANSLATION.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
O God, who hast taught the hearts of Thy faithful people by the light of the Holy Spirit; grant us in the same Spirit to relish what is right, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
Most holy Mary, Elect One, predestined from all eternity by the Most Holy Trinity to be Mother of the only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, foretold by the Prophets, expected by the Patriarchs, desired by all nations, Sanctuary and living Temple of the Holy Ghost, Sun without stain, conceived free from original sin, Mistress of Heaven and of Earth, Queen of angels:- humbly prostrate at thy feet we give thee our homage, rejoicing that the year has brought round again the memory of thy most happy Nativity; and we pray thee with all our hearts to vouchsafe in thy goodness now to come down again and be reborn spiritually in our souls, that, led captive by thy loveliness and sweetness, they may ever live united to thy most sweet and loving heart.
i. So now whilst we say nine angelic salutations, we will direct our thoughts to the nine months which thou didst pass enclosed in thy mother’s womb; celebrating at the same time thy descent from the royal house of David, and how thou didst come forth to the light of heaven with high honour from the womb of holy Anna, thy most happy mother.
Ave Maria.
ii. We hail thee, heavenly Babe, white Dove of purity; who in spite of the serpent wast conceived free from original sin.
Ave Maria.
iii. We hail thee, bright Morn; who, forerunner of the Heavenly Sun of Justice, didst bring the first light to earth.
Ave Maria.
iv. We hail thee, Elect; who, like the untarnished Sun, didst burst forth in the dark night of sin.
Ave Maria.
v. We hail thee, beauteous Moon; who didst shed light upon a world wrapt in the darkness of idolatry.
Ave Maria.
vi. We hail thee, dread Warrior-Queen; who, in thyself a host, didst put to flight all hell.
Ave Maria.
vii. We hail thee, fair Soul of Mary; who from eternity wast possessed by God and God alone.
Ave Maria.
viii. We hail thee, dear Child, and we humbly venerate thy most holy infant body, the sacred swaddling-clothes wherewith they bound thee, the sacred crib wherein they laid thee, and we bless the hour and the day when thou wast born.
Ave Maria.
ix. We hail thee, much-loved Infant, adorned with every virtue immeasurably above all saints, and therefore worthy Mother of the Saviour of the world; who, having been made fruitful by the Holy Spirit, didst bring forth the Word Incarnate.
Ave Maria.
PRAYER
O most lovely Infant, who by thy holy birth hast comforted the world, made glad the heavens, struck terror into hell, brought help to the fallen, consolation to the sad, salvation to the weak, joy to all men living; we entreat thee, with the most fervent love and gratitude, to be spiritually reborn in our souls by means of thy most holy love; renew our spirits to thy service, rekindle in our hearts the fire of charity, bid all the virtues blossom there, that so we may find more and more favour in thy gracious eyes. Mary! be thou our Mary, and may we feel the saving power of thy sweetest name; may it ever be our comfort to call on that name in all our troubles; may it be our hope in dangers, our shield in temptation, and our last utterance in death. Sit nomen Mariae mel in ore, melos in aure, et jubilus in corde. Amen. Let the name of Mary be honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, joy in the heart. Amen.
V. Nativitas tua, Dei Genitrix Virgo.
R. Gaudium annuntiavit universo mundo.
Oremus.
Famulis tuis, quaesumus Domine, coelestis gratiae munus impertire: ut quibus Beata Virginis partus extitit salutis exordium, nativitatis ejus votiva solemnitas pacis tribuat incrementum.
Oremus.
Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere, et de ejus semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.
TRANSLATION.
V. Thy Nativity, O Virgin Mother of God.
R. Hath brought joy to the whole world.
Let us pray.
Grant to us Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gift of heavenly grace; that to all those for whom the delivery of the Blessed Virgin was the beginning of salvation, this her votive festival may give increase of peace. Through, &c.
Let us pray.
O God, who hast taught the hearts of Thy faithful people by the light of the Holy Spirit; grant us in the same Spirit to relish what is right, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
2012
TODAY'S SAINT: SEPT. 7: ST. CLOUD
Saint Cloud is the most illustrious Saint among the princes of the
royal family of the first French dynasty, the Merovingians
(499-752). Born in 522, he was the son of Chlodomir, King of
Orleans and eldest son of Clovis and Saint Clotilda. He was not yet three years
old when his father was killed during a war. His grandmother, Saint Clotilda,
brought him and his two brothers to Paris to be educated, and loved them
dearly.
Their ambitious uncles, however, desiring to divide the kingdom of
Orleans between themselves, slew with their own hands the two young brothers of
Cloud. He, by a special dispensation of Providence, was saved from the massacre.
Later, renouncing the world, he privately consecrated himself to the service of
God. After distributing to the poor what he could salvage of his heritage, he
retired to a hermitage to be under the discipline of a holy recluse named
Severinus, who dwelt near the gates of Paris and who clothed him with the
monastic habit. His uncles left him alone, seeing his inalterable decision to
live as a religious, and conceded certain heritages to him. When he became
famous through an act of charity rewarded by a miracle, he withdrew secretly to
Provence. There again, his hermitage was sought out by petitioners. He decided
to return to Paris, where he was received with the greatest joy.
At the earnest request of the people, he was ordained a priest in
551 by Eusebius, Bishop of Paris, and served the Church of that city for some
time in the functions of the sacred ministry. Again he found himself in great
honor; he therefore retired to Nogent, a place now known as Saint Cloud, two
leagues south of Paris, where he built a monastery. There he was joined by many
pious men, who fled from the world for fear of losing their souls in its midst.
Saint Cloud was chosen by them to be their Superior, and he animated them to
virtue both by word and example. He was also indefatigable in instructing and
exhorting the faithful of the neighboring regions. He died at Nogent in 560, and
the major part of his relics remain still in the parochial church of the
village. (written source: Magnificat.ca)
| Luke
5: 33 - 39
| |
| 33 | And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink." |
| 34 | And Jesus said to them, "Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? |
| 35 | The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days." |
| 36 | He told them a parable also: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. |
| 37 | And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. |
| 38 | But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. |
| 39 | And no one after drinking old
wine desires new; for he says, `The old is good.'" |
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