On Veterans Day, we pause to recognize the men and women who have served our country. They are our parents and grandparents, our children, our neighbors and our friends. Each has a story. Each deserves our gratitude and our willingness to listen.
Making Room for Their Stories
We may know where someone served or how many years they wore a uniform. We may know much less about what that service asked of them: the separation from family, the responsibilities they carried or the memories that remain. Our gratitude deepens when we make room for the whole person and the experiences they may choose to share.
While deployed to Iraq 15 years ago, Brian Owens went for six months without receiving the Eucharist.
When the opportunity to receive Jesus returned, he knew he would never go without the Eucharist voluntarily again.
A Passionist Ministry of Presence
As Passionists, we find a particular connection to this day in our long history of ministry as military chaplains. St. Paul of the Cross ministered to soldiers on both sides of a battlefield. Generations of Passionists followed, offering the sacraments, listening to fears and bringing the assurance of God’s love to people far from home. Their ministry reminds us that even amid conflict, every person bears a dignity that war cannot erase.
That ministry of presence offers a lesson for all of us. Accompanying someone begins with a willingness to be near, to listen without rushing and to recognize suffering we may not fully understand. The cross of Jesus calls us to remain with those who carry heavy burdens.
Gratitude That Continues Throughout the Year
We must also be willing to ask whether our gratitude finds expression in the way we treat veterans throughout the year. Do they find welcome in our communities? Do we take their concerns seriously? Do we support the care and assistance they need? One day of recognition can be a beginning, but the responsibility continues when the day has passed.
The prophet Isaiah gives us words to guide that responsibility:
“The work of justice will be peace; the effect of justice, calm and security forever.”
Isaiah 32:17, NABRE
Honoring those who have served and working for a more peaceful world belong together. Our prayers for veterans should deepen our resolve to seek justice, practice reconciliation and protect human dignity.
Turning Appreciation into Action
Today, consider a simple gesture of appreciation.
- Call a veteran you know.
- Share a meal.
- Offer a Mass for their intentions.
- Thank them for their service and make time to hear their response.
- Remember their families, whose lives have also been shaped by that service.
We hold in prayer all who have served, those who continue to carry the burdens of war and those who have returned home to the Father.
May our gratitude become faithful care, and may our care help build the peace for which we pray.
Learn more about the Passionists’ long legacy as military chaplains.
