"Sacred Heart Of Jesus, I Give My Life To You."

Admiral Jeremiah Denton blinking in Morse Code "torture"

Admiral Jeremiah Denton knew the one he served and the one he served did not let him down. He served the Sacred Heart of Jesus. You can see a video of him that is in the national archives. Just click on "Contents" and scroll down to the last entry under "Scenes from Hell." He was shot down over North Vietnam on July 18, 1965 and wasn't released until February 17, 1973. Of his almost eight years in prison, he spent four of them in solitary confinement. The video shows him being interviewed by a reporter in North Vietnam. All during the interview he blinked his eyes in a way that seemed strange to those who later saw the footage. His blinks were Morse Code and spelled out the word "torture."

How did Admiral Denton survive? Fr. Jim Willig, in his book about his struggle with cancer, "Lessons from the School of Suffering," quoted Admiral Denton :

When I was in prison in Vietnam in solitary confinement, my captor would continually torture me. One day I was tied to a rack. A young soldier was ordered to torture me and break me. During this torture, when I honestly felt I was at my breaking point, a beautiful prayer came instantly to my mind, even though I wasn't praying. The prayer was "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I give my life to you." So, I prayed that prayer over and over again. The more I prayed it, the more I felt I truly was giving my life to the Lord. Then this peace came over me like a warm blanket, and I no longer felt pain--only peace. The soldier torturing me saw this transformation in my face and stopped his torture. He went to his commanding officer and said, "I'm sorry. I can't do this." And they let me go back to my cell. From that day on, I continued to use that prayer of peace, "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I give my life to you."

I talked with Admiral Denton about this and he said that what struck him as unusual is that he had learned prayers to the Sacred Heart as a child and they all used the word "thee," but the prayer that came to his mind out of the blue used the more familiar "you."

Admiral Denton gave his life to the Sacred Heart who did not let him down. Now we will declare whom we will serve. We will give our lives, our love, our all to the Sacred Heart of Jesus who gave His life, His love, His all to us. We will consecrate ourselves to both the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary because these two Hearts beat as one for the salvation of everyone. We want our hearts to beat as one with their Hearts.

Link (here) to the full post by Fr. James Kubicki, S.J. his blog is entitled Offer It Up!

Blogger Note: Admiral Denton attended the Jesuit's Spring Hill College in Alabama

The Spring Hill College Colonnade

At Spring Hill College a large building, partly dormitory, was erected, and a Jesuit priest wrote

“You may think our colonnaded building an extravagance, but in hot climates galleries are an absolute necessity. Besides, this appearance of elegance and cleanliness was necessary in order to make a favorable impression on people who idolize their children and who place bodily comfort at the head of the list.”

No Spartan, frigid Oxford University digs for these children. What this Jesuit would have thought about the luxurious new student dorms at Riverside and Lakeside on the University of Alabama campus doesn’t bear thinking about.

Link (here)

Jesuit Strength In The New Orleans Province

This is an excerpt of a great interview with Fr. Richard P. Salmi, S.J. the President of Spring Hill College.

Blogger Note: Please notice!: "No Jesuit Losses! at this institution"

Q: How do you maintain the Jesuit character of the school with a declining number of Jesuit priests and brothers?

A: Let me preface this by saying we have more Jesuits here this year than we did last year.

There are 14 in the community. ... For the size of our college, that's a pretty good ratio of Jesuits to students. ... Being a Jesuit school means that folks, both our faculty and staff and our students to some extent, buy into the Ignatian spirituality that is part of what it means to be a Jesuit school.

... Beyond that, what is important is that we help our faculty and staff know what it means to be Jesuit. ... The Jesuits always wanted their students to be educated in philosophy and theology, but they also emphasized the arts through the years.

Q: Under your leadership, how will Spring Hill change and how will it stay the same?

A: We're going to stay Jesuit Catholic. ... You come here and you know you are part of a caring campus community, and I hope that won't change either. ... I would like to see the college grow and I'm hoping that we can look at some expansion. ... One of the things I hope to spend a little bit more attention on is athletics.

Link (here) to the in depth interview, including a video with Fr. Richard P. Salmi, S.J.

A Solid Freshman Class At Spring Hill

Spring Hill College welcomed its largest class of undergraduates this fall, though overall enrollment dipped slightly, compared with last year. At 1,511, total enrollment was down by 23 students from the fall of 2008.

The private Jesuit college enrolled the second-largest freshman class in the school's 179-year history.

Spring Hill's new president, the Rev. Richard P. Salmi, said it is "gratifying to see that students and parents continue to realize the value of a Spring Hill College degree and believe it's a worthwhile investment, even in these harsh economic times."

Link (here)

Charles Manson's Fallen Catholic Girl

Patricia Krenwinkel—another one of the main killers—her father was an insurance executive; she sang in the church choir; got good grades in school; at one time she even wanted to attend a Jesuit college in Alabama. Link (here)

Spring Hill College Budgets Are Being Slashed

MOBILE, Ala. -- Spring Hill College's executive committee adopted a preliminary 2010 budget today that calls for salary cuts for administrators and staff.

Salaries for vice presidents at the school would be cut by 10 percent, while cabinet members would face an 8 percent reduction, according to Spring Hill President the Rev. Gregory S. Lucey . Staff members making more than $33,000 would receive a 7 percent cut in pay. The salary reductions will not go into effect until August.

Lucey said he regrets this is one of his last actions as president. Lucey is retiring June 1, the same day the Rev. Richard P. Salmi of Loyola University in Chicago becomes the school's 38th president.

"I'd rather be walking out having faced the reality and addressed it than to have shoved it under the rug and say wait until he finds out," Lucey said. John Kerr, a spokesman for the school, said the decision would cut the pay for eight of the school's administrators. He said he didn't know how many staff would be affected.

Link (here)