On their return, the seventy-two are amazed at the power that has been given them through the name of Jesus. They have driven out demons, furthering Jesus’ attack on Satan’s dominion in this world. Jesus envisions Satan falling from the sky through their ministry, another way of saying that the eschatological or final battle between good and evil is taking place now; the victory is being won in Jesus’ name (John 12:31; Rom 16:20). But the disciples must not lose their perspective. The prize is not human glory through feats of power but heavenly glory through following Jesus to Jerusalem, to Calvary. 

Mission in the Modern World. I have often wondered if this passage also presents a difficulty to the modern Church in the sense that some people have the idea that “mission” is part of the realm of the “professionals” in the church. The Franciscans were the first religious order to have a specifically missionary charism in our rule of life. And that is good, but does it allow admirers of St. Francis to stay on the sideline and let “the professionals” take care of mission? I would offer that this gospel passage calls on all disciples to be part of mission. R. Allen Culpepper offers that this passage contains 10 principles of mission by which every generation should be guided:

1. affirms the world’s need for mission
2. points to the importance of prayer in and in support of mission
3. insists on the active participation of every disciple
4. warns of the realistic dangers, barriers and uncertainty of mission
5. singularity of purpose
6. the goal of mission: peace upon this household
7. the host sets the context for the missioner’s witness
8. recognition that mission and witness will not always succeed
9. nevertheless, perseverance is the hallmark of mission
10. despite the evidence or no, be assured about the ultimate fulfillment of God’s redemptive mission. This ultimate fulfillment, even if we are unsuccessful – this is why we rejoice.

On a more lighthearted note, among Franciscans we might wonder why St. Francis chose Luke 10:4 (and parallels) as the “marching orders” for our life. It would be a little more interesting if we also took on Luke 22:36. Then we would have a bag, a purse, and swords!

Image credit: The Exhortation to the Apostles | James Tissot | ca. 1890 | Brooklyn Museum NYC | PD-US

Approximately 1,200 men and women reported to Alumni Hall at the Naval Academy yesterday morning for Induction Day – Class of 2029, culminating in an Oath of Office ceremony. These incoming plebes (freshmen) said goodbye to their families and were processed through various stations inside Alumni Hall to become members of the Naval Academy’s Class of 2029. Stations include uniform issue, medical examinations, haircuts, and learning to salute. The day culminated with the Oath of Office ceremony at 6 pm on Worden Field (a new location due to the construction at T-Court) along the banks of the Severn River. After the ceremony, plebes met with their families for the last time until Plebe Parents’ Weekend, in mid-August.

Class of 2029 Stats – Men: 814 ( 10, 2987 applications); Women: 373 (4,859 applications); Minority: 511; Legacy: 38 Men, 27 Women.

As one of my classmates wrote to me: “same as it was 55 years ago… only a lot hotter”.

Memorial Day 2025

“Today, we’re not just fortunate heirs of their legacy. We have a responsibility to be the keepers of their mission—that truest memorial of their lives: the actions we take every day to ensure that our democracy endures, the very idea of America endures.” (President Biden, Memorial Day, 2024)

“The Americans who rest beneath these beautiful hills and in sacred ground across our country and around the world, they are why our nation endures. Each simple stone marker arranged in perfect military precision signifies the cost of our blessings. It is a debt we can never fully repay. But it is a debt we’ll never stop trying to fully repay, by remaining a nation worthy of their sacrifice.” (President Obama, Memorial Day 2015)

Video graciously forwarded this day by a good parishioner.

I suspect that most people read the title of this post and went, “What…???” Well… as it happens, this day in history, the first device to provide a means to escape a sunken submarine underwent its first testing. The Momsen Lung consists of a rubber bag containing a canister of soda lime that removes carbon dioxide from exhaled air and replaces it with oxygen. It was developed by Lieutenant Charles B. Momsen (UNSA Class of 1919), Chief Gunner Clarence L. Tibbals, and civilian engineer Frank Hobson.

The only known emergency use of the Momsen lung was during the escape from USS Tang on October 25, 1944. The Momsen lung was replaced by the Steinke hood beginning in 1962. This was the device that was standard during my time of service. My only experience with the hood was during SubSchool when all are required to do an ascent from ~100 feet. It was actually kinda’ fun.

The USS Tang was launched in 1943 and immediately went into action with Commander Richard O’Kane USN. Throughout the war the submarines had been plagued with faulty torpedoes. Sadly, Tang was actually sunk by her own torpedo which went into a circular run. She sank off China in the Taiwan Strait on 24 October 1944.

The engagement was at night with Tang surfaced and so there were several crew members along with O’Kane topside in the sail of the submarine. The majority of the crew was below decks. Several men escaped via the Momsen Lung, several did a free-ascent, but in the end only 78 perished. Nine, inlcuding O’Kane, survived and were captured by the Japanese, spening the remainder of the was in a POW camp.

In her short career in the Pacific War, Tang sank 33 enemy ships. Commander O’Kane received the Medal of Honor for her Tang’s last two engagements (23 and 24 October 1944)

O’Kane also received three Navy Crosses and three Silver Stars, for a total of seven awards of the United States military’s three highest decorations for valor in combat. Before commanding Tang, O’Kane served in the highly successful USS Wahoo as executive officer and approach officer under noted Commander Dudley “Mush” Morton. In his ten combat patrols, five in Wahoo and five commanding Tang, O’Kane participated in more successful attacks on Japanese shipping than any other submarine officer during the war.

In the world of WWII submarine lore, Morton and O’Kane are legendary.

Image credit:
Momsen Lung: United States Navy, photographer unknown
Steinke Hood: National Museum of the U.S. Navy – 330-PSA-262-63 (USN 711388), Public Domain