Honoring a veteran

     On this date, November 11th, many people in the world pause and honor those who serve and who have served in the armed services.  We call it Veterans Day and in some parts of the world it is called Remembrance Day.  This day was set aside because it marked the end of hostilities in Europe in the "war to end all wars" - World War I.  At 11am on the 11th day of November (the 11th month) in 1918, a cease fire was called.  In a war that saw nearly 20 million people killed, this was a welcome relief.  After World War II, this day was renamed Veterans Day, to honor all who gave their lives in service of this nation and those who served and continue to serve.  It is a day of remembering, a day of saying thank you, a day of honoring those who nobly served.  My dad was one of those who served in WWII and bore the scars to prove it.  I am proud of him.

    To all of our veterans - THANK YOU and GOD BLESS YOU!

     On this 11th day of November, the Church honors another veteran of military service in another era, a man who is known as Saint Martin of Tours.  He lived in the late 300's and served, like his father, in the Roman army with distinction.  Having encounter Christ and coming to know him well, he found that there was need to leave behind one noble calling and move to another that he felt was more important - the service of God.  Like so many before him, Martin found that championing Christ rather than his civic duty became the only direction in his life.  He suffered ridicule and hostility because of that view, but knew that it was something that he had to do.

     He went off to live a life of solitude and prayer, became known for his holiness, and was selected by the people of Tours in France as their shepherd and bishop.  His place of burial became a site of pilgrimage, and he became the first non-martyr in the Western Church to have an annual celebration of his feast.  He is the patron of France, of wine-makers and of soldiers.  He is also the patron of conscientious oobjectors.

    This is another one of those little ironies of life ... that on this day chosen to honor and remember those who have served the nation, the Church has for centuries honored one who was a veteran and served the nation before choosing to serve God in a very different way.

     I shared some thoughts on Saint Martin of Tours with Charlotte Fiore Gizzi in a special feature in our diocesan newspaper The CATHOLIC ACCENT this week.  It was a pleasure working with Charlotte on the project.