In 1991, the Columbus Citizens Foundation underwrote the cost of
restoring the Columbus Monument
Columbus and Sacrifices of Immigrants Remembered
Remarks by Hon. Richard Greco
Annual Wreath Laying
October 8 2006
Below are the remarks given on October 8, 2006 by Hon. Richard Greco, Jr, Foundation member and former Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Secretary Greco is also founder of the Montfort Academy, a classical high school for boys dedicated to academic excellence – Italian is one of the languages offered – and character formation. Secretary Greco’s remarks follow:
America is the land of good, truth and beauty. The good truth and beauty that lay before Christopher Columbus 514 years ago is the same that lay before our parents and grandparents as they sailed from Italy. They came to a land of promise where the realization of dreams depends not on one’s last name nor on how much money one has, but rather what one does with the talents God has given him. They came to a land where sacrifice and hard work ensured that their children would be better off than they.
G.K. Chesterton, a literary giant of the early 1900s, once commented, “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” The same can be said of anyone who serves in uniform – whether sailor, marine, police officer or firefighter. The Good, truth and beauty of America that lay before Christopher Columbus and our parents and grandparents is the same that lay behind our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines as they serve in far off lands to protect our liberty and freedom. And it is the same that lay behind our police officers and firefighters as they protect us from crime and disasters.
We are taught that the three highest virtues are faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love. The virtues of faith, hope and love are also known as the virtues of faith, hope and charity. There really is no difference because true charity is true love. And within the word charity is the true meaning of love.
Charity comes from the Latin word caritas, whose root is the word caro. Caro means flesh, and true charity is the sacrifice of flesh – the giving of one’s own body out of love. Love for whom? Love for God and love for neighbor.
Indeed, we are also taught, “No greater love hath man than this, than to lay down his life for his friends.
On this Columbus Day, let us remember the good, truth and beauty of America, and let us remember those who love and defend and protect their country and neighbor. And let us remember by this wreath those who have given their flesh in the greatest act of charity a human being can make: to lay down his life for his friends.
Happy Columbus Day.
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