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From Archbishop Donoghue|
Mass on Memorial Day |
Dear Friends in Christ, War is certainly one of the most terrible things that can happen to mankind. And our Church teaches us, that the capacity for violence that man can bring to bear upon mankind, is not of God, but something that came into our nature when Adam and Eve decided to enlist the help of the Devil, that lost spirit who is the great enemy of God, and who wages eternal war against good and all who do good. Since the very beginning of time, since the days of the garden of Paradise and the innocence of man and woman, men and women alike have lifted up their voices and prayed to God to rescue them from the ravages of warfare, and to protect their children from the violence that it must bring. The Old Testament rings with the words of the prophets and patriarchs telling of the longing of people, telling of the times to come, when peace shall reign - saying, "They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, and they shall study war no more." And all who read the Gospel of Jesus Christ know what He thought about any kind of violence - that violence must beget violence, and that we must try to live according to love, and reject all emotions and motivations that do not accord with love. Why then, do we come here today, to make this memorial to so many men and women and even children, who have died, victims to warfare, to its intrigues, its terrible weapons, and its total disregard for the individual human person? Why do we come here, if we are a people of love, to honor the spoils of this terrible rage that boils up from the human souls at times, and that murders us in order to make a point, to set a boundary, or to determine once again, in the timeless juggling of human governments, who shall rule whom? If war were indeed the object of our feelings on this day, then we would be foolish. But war is not the reason why we are here today - we are here today for love - love of those who have known great love in their own turn - the kind of love that says - you must march, you must strive, you must give your own life because you know what is right, you know what is good, and you understand the cost of saving and protecting what is right and good. When we think of the many men and women, who rest here, and we think of the day that they marched off to war and to an unknown destiny, it is not hatred or violence that we imagine in their faces - rather, it is love that we see in their steady gazes - love for their children, love for their families, love for their ancestors and their country, and for saving these precious things at any cost. When we think of the wives and mothers left behind during the too many conflicts fought by our country, and even within our country, we do not remember that they were selfish, that they went back into their houses and slammed the door upon the foolishness of their men marching off to mortal combat - instead, we remember the tremendous pain that they had to endure with Christ-like resignation - to see their children and husbands march away, not knowing if they would ever be seen again, held again, laughed with again. And finally, when we think of these men and women who rest around us here, and in countless graves throughout this land, we do not remember that they went away to glory in bloodshed, and to revel in brute strength - rather, we remember the incredible strength that filled their souls with conviction, that gave them the wherewithal to turn away from home and heart, from wife and children, to pay the price, not of hatred, but the price that love demands. And this is the key to our remembrance today - the price that love demands. Because if Jesus Christ is Lord, and if we long not only to study, but to live according to the example that He has given us of His own life, then we must all realize, that at certain times, love requires the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice of one's own life for the sake of others, the sacrifice of all that we have held dear and precious, so that others may go on living, and knowing as well as we did, what is dear and precious. And if we think about those who rest around us, in these hallowed graves, and if we ally their own sacrifices to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, then we must know, that we are here today, not just in the presence of righteous victims, but in the presence of saints - saints who now enjoy the bliss of heaven, and the eternal emotion of knowing that their sacrifice was not in vain. It is love, dear friends, that gathers us today - not the glory of warfare, not the wonder of the great violence that rushes in and out of human history and leaves death and destruction in its wake - it is love - the love of Christ, the love of men and women for their fellow men and women, the love that comes to us from God, from His creative touch, from His Holy Spirit, and that places us above all other creatures. Let us pray that this love never again be put to the test of war, but if it does, let us also pray to meet that test, with the same strength and devotion that marked the spirits of those who rest now around us, awaiting the last Judgement and the day of their vindication. This we pray in Jesus Name, who warned us about these things, and who counseled us with His own divine strength, saying, I have told you these things, so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have overcome the world. + |