Deacon Keith Fournier Memorial Day calls us to reflection, prayer and conversion

May 31, 2017

Honoring those who have died in service to the Nation on Memorial Day is a uniquely American custom. There are numerous cities which claim they were the first to celebrate the Day. There are multiple explanations of its history.

On the last Monday of the month of May, Americans are invited to pause to remember the men and women who died while serving our Nation in the military. Their heroic witness should challenge us to live our lives differently.   

Americans visit cemeteries or memorials dedicated to the war dead. We reflect on the deeper questions of life and death. We call to mind the memories of those who died in service. There are community wide parades and picnics. The Holiday has become the unofficial start to the summer season in the United States. 

We pause for prayer and reflection. We summon a new resolve to live our first principles. I am drawn to these words of Jesus on this Memorial Day, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13). Military service can lead to laying one's life down. Those who do so are heroes. We should reflect on their valor and virtue. 

We need saints and heroes.

I am reflecting on a heroic Catholic Chaplain named Father Emil Kapaun today. He lived those words of Jesus on the battlefield, during the Korean Conflict. He poured himself out for the wounded whom he carried in his arms as he prayed for them. He lived those words even more fervently in a prisoner of war camp, where he died doing the same thing. 

You can read of his inspiring Christian witness here.

Fr Kapuan is a saint, a holy one. All Christians are saints, in the sense of having been set aside for the Lord to live holy lives. We are all called into communion with Jesus. And in Him, into with one another. That communion is lived in the Body of Christ. We are called to bring Jesus Christ to others with word and witness. To be poured out for the sake of a world waiting to be born anew in Him.

But there are some who excel in sacrificial Christian love. Fr Emil Kapuan is one. His cause for canonization is moving forward. In the Catholic and Orthodox Christian Churches, there is a process through which holy Christian men and women are canonized. They are then declared publicly to be Saints, with a capital "S". 

From the earliest centuries of the Church, those who demonstrated heroic virtue in life – or died as a Christian Martyr were given a special place of honor. This is where the practice of canonizing some members of the Body of Christ began. It continues in the Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches. The Catholic Catechism explains: 

By canonizing some of the faithful, i.e., by solemnly proclaiming that they practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God's grace, the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors (CCC #828).

As we continue to experience the ominous dark cloud of a growing culture of death – nothing less than a national spiritual revival can turn us back to the right course. As we witness the utter rejection of the truth about marriage and the family and society founded upon it, we need National repentance. 

Our Nation has lost its way. As we experience the continued erosion of liberty, and witness the disregard of the first freedom, we need saints and heroes as models. They call each one of us to sacrificial love.  

Christians in the United States should pray fervently for those who serve in the military. We should honor them and respect their sacrifice. We should also support them in every way we are able to do so.

I live in Southeastern, Virginia where there are many members of the military. The parish I serve is filled with military families. Every day I witness the many kinds of sacrifices which military families make for our Nation.

How to observe the holiday?  

Though considered a secular holiday, Memorial Day is profoundly spiritual. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. At that time, we observe a moment of silence and prayer. President Trump issued a Memorial Day Proclamation in which he set the entire day apart for prayer. 

He has asked all of us to unite in prayer with these words:

Now, therefore, I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 29, 2017, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time when people might unite in prayer. I urge the press, radio, television, and all other information media to cooperate in this observance.

I further ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. 

I also request the Governors of the United States and its Territories, and the appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff until noon on this Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. I also request the people of the United States to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the customary forenoon period.

Let's follow the President's request. Memorial Day calls us to reflection, prayer and conversion. On this Memorial Day, I also ask you to consider a practice I was inspired to embrace years ago. Whenever you see a man or a woman in uniform, stop and shake their hand. Look them in the eyes. Thank them for their service to our Nation. Then tell them "God bless you." 
 

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