July 20, 2009 marked the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. It's one of many iconic days from the 1960s that is burned indelibly in the collective memory of the Boomer generation, right up there with the assassination of President Kennedy, the arrival of the Beatles, and the celebration of the first English Mass. What an awesome time to grow up!

A steady diet of continuous network coverage set up my age cohort for the climactic moon landing. In 1961 President Kennedy announced that America would put a man on the moon by decade's end "not because it's easy, but because it's hard." When I was in second grade our whole school watched in the auditorium as the Friendship 7 capsule lifted off and John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. From then on I was hooked on the space program! As we progressed from the Mercury to the Gemini to the Apollo spacecraft, we had the best seats in the house, via television, to humankind's grandest scientific adventure.

I remember watching Walter Cronkite all day on that July 20. I had a summer job at my parish as a janitor, but our pastor gave the teen staff the day off so we could watch the historic landing. That night, it seemed that the whole world was one as we held our collective breath to gaze at the grainy black and white TV images. Any number of things could go wrong. Apollo 11 might overshoot the moon; the lunar module might have a descent malfunction and crash at the Sea of Tranquility; worse yet, the fragile craft might not be able to generate enough thrust to return to the orbiting command module, leaving those brave astronauts to die on the moon.

So the world was praying as astronaut Neil Armstrong slowly descended the ladder. We watched his foot touch the lunar surface as he said, rather poetically, "That's one small step for a man; a giant leap for mankind." My noisy siblings and I watched in silent awe. A feeling of euphoria washed over me as I realized the historic significance of this moment.

Now, forty years later, the lunar landing seems to be forgotten and unappreciated. Each succeeding Apollo mission (with the exception of the near-fatal Apollo 13) generated less and less public enthusiasm. I actually harbored a secret dream to someday have a vacation on the moon, but that dream was dashed when Congress abruptly cut off funding to the Apollo program in 1973. We basically went to the moon and then abandoned it.

I may not see it in my lifetime, but I hope space exploration becomes popular again. We need to return to the moon and use it as a base for further exploration to Mars and beyond. "What about poverty?", say the critics. "What about wars and hatred and the environment all the other stuff that we need to fix on earth?"

These are all valid concerns. Of course, we have a mandate from Jesus to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. There must be a way we can explore space and still reach out to those in need. After all, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is wonder and awe in God's presence. And, based on the unifying experience of Apollo 11 and Apollo 13, I can think of no better way to inspire divine awe than in humanity's exploration of God's glorious universe.

God of wonders beyond our galaxy.

you are holy, holy.

The universe declares your majesty.

You are holy, holy . . .