In this month of honoring our earthly and ecclesial veterans, let us remember those who have fought the good fight before us, either in an earthly military or merely in the Church Militant. And let the veterans of Heaven’s host inspire us to persist in our practice of the faith. None of us can escape the combat of this life; all of us are called to it, and to become saints, whether or not the Church ever dedicates a day to us in her Liturgy.
By Chris Sparks
Every year, Veterans Day makes me think of family as well as faith.
After all, I grew up in a military family. Dad was a Coast Guard helicopter pilot for most of his career — a bit of fixed wing flying, but for the most part, helicopters. His sister, my godmother, had an Air Force career, as did her husband (cut short by illness), and my late grandfather.
On the other side of the family, my grandfather was a mechanic in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Several of his brothers, sons, grandchildren, and cousins — in fact, a host of other family members — all have served in various branches of the armed services.
Veterans Day, therefore, has always been a big deal in my family, and this week’s celebration was a big one.
And as someone who grew up loving Brian Jacques’ Redwall series of books, a fantasy of talking animals centered around the ancient monastery of Redwall, whose founding saint was Martin the Warrior — well, I’ve long loved St. Martin of Tours, the great heroic soldier turned Benedictine monk and abbot, whose feast we celebrated on Nov. 11, a veteran saint’s day for Veterans Day.
The Catholic difference
But Veterans Day is not just for Nov. 11. It should inspire a broader, deeper commemoration for Catholics. It is a good and heroic thing to have fought for one’s country, one’s family, and for the freedom and democracy that was at stake in past conflicts, especially in World War II and the Cold War (as the clear prophetic teachings of Pope Pius XI remind us: Divini Redemptoris, Non Abbiamo Bisogno, Mit Brennender Sorge). We rightly honor those who have served in the armed forces, who have defended our country and our constitutional order, who have stood in the breach to defend and preserve human rights and dignity.
But the higher, longer conflict is the one to which every soul is called, the one the Church dedicates November to marking in a particular: the struggle with the world, the flesh, and the devil; the combat to follow our Lord to the Cross, and to Resurrection.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7).
All November
The Church marks Veteran’s Day, but she also marks All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2). These are the two classes of veterans on Heaven’s side of the conflict, those in Heaven and those on the road to Heaven.
And of course, we have the November remembrance of the faithful departed, an entire month dedicated to our veterans who took wounds in the fight and so were not in the full state of grace at the end of their lives, those whom we may help on their way home to Heaven through prayer, indulgences, Masses, and other suffrages, as Fr. Dan Cambra, MIC, explains in Prayers and Practices for the Souls in Purgatory and in the Holy Souls Sodality monthly newsletter. To learn more about the Sodality and helping the Holy Souls, see PrayForSouls.org
And the Church commemorates her veterans all year long, assigning the commemoration of particular saints to most all the days of the calendar. The saints are the most splendid of all veterans, having suffered for the Lord, and therefore for Goodness Itself, for the Creator of all freedom, for the source of all human rights.
We remember especially holy military chaplains like St. Stanislaus Papczyński, the Founder of the Marian Fathers, and those clergy who served in the context of war time, like Bl. George Matulaitis, the Marian Renovator, who was assigned to be bishop of Vilnius in the chaos at the end of World War I. The martyrs especially deserve to be honored. We remember especially the Marian Martyrs of Rosica, who died at the hands of the Nazis rather than abandon their flock, and the Marian Martyrs at the hands of the Soviets, at the hands of atheistic communism.
Encouragement!
Yes, the Church has many inspiring and holy veterans, many canonized, and many more not canonized. There have been more saints than we will know until we reach Heaven, thank God! There is, was, and will be more good in this world than we will ever know till all is revealed to us. What an encouragement! A true source of hope during these waning months of the Jubilee Year of Hope.
So in this month of honoring our earthly and ecclesial veterans, let us remember those who have fought the good fight before us, either in an earthly military or merely in the Church Militant. And let the veterans of Heaven’s host inspire us to persist in our practice of the faith. None of us can escape the combat of this life; all of us are called to it, and to become saints, whether or not the Church ever dedicates a day to us in her Liturgy.
Saint Martin of Tours, pray for us!
Photo by Johen Redman on Unsplash.
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