Today is Armistice Day 2018, which makes it the 100th anniversary of cessation of fire on the Western Front, effectively leading to the formal end of the hideous WWI.
11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, St. Martin’s Day, Martin Mass, which for centuries can be considered the beginning of winter because of our customs and patters of harvest and so forth.
In Paris, leaders of countries involved in WWI have gathered for special ceremonies.
There are some good videos of the Remembrance Day ceremony in London. Here is one of them. I am sure you can find others.
Today is, in these USA, Veteran’s Day, which honors those who served and are serving in the military.
Today would be a good day to make a donation to the Archdiocese of Military Services.
I did so today, in memory of a priest, Army Chaplain, who was gravely injured in Iraq and who died of those wounds in 2009. He was, as a seminarian, one year behind me at the St. Paul Seminary and, ordained in 1992, was a priest of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Maj. Henry Timothy “Tim” Vakoc. May he rest in peace.
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There was some controversy in Britain about inviting the president of Germany to attend the ceremony and lay a wreath. I thought that his being there and participating would be good thing, and having seen the ceremony on television I still hold that view. After 100 years since the Great War it’s time to engage in public acts of reconciliation such as this. There is no longer any animosity between Germany and Britain, nor between the peoples of the two countries (except perhaps when England play Germany at football (soccer)!!) Britain and Germany have been at peace for 73 years now and it looks as if the countries of Western Europe will never again go to war with each other, God willing. Thanks also to the United States of America, whose mainland home territory was never seriously threatened in either war, but without whose costly – in both lives and treasure – help both World Wars would have been longer and more deadly.
A heroic example of Fatherhood, Family and Faith. May Jack and his family rest in peace.
Link below.
World War One
A moving and deeply religious letter written in May 1917 from a soldier by the name of Jack Smith to his dear wife Annie. The envelope clearly stated that it was to be opened only by Annie in the case of his death.
https://www.saintmichaelscemetery.org/letter-from-world-war-one.html
Our PP lengthily kneeled im memoriam and ad orientem as the church bells tolled at 11 AM here in France in exact Centenary.
A blessed Veteran’s Day to all, and God bless Major Vakoc for his service to God and Country.
Today is Martin Mass. Praise God, in 732 an invading Muslim army attempting to pillage the monastery founded by St. Martin was soundly thrashed by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours. This was the high-water mark of the attempted Muslim conquest of western Europe (though there were later Muslim raids on Rome and into the Alps).
Also, Ignatius Press has published the letters of WW I chaplain Fr. Willie Doyle.
In England, by special permission, we celebrate Requiem Masses on Remembrance Sunday which this year providentially fell today, the 11th of November.
Our rector spoke movingly about the sacrifice of the war dead, and made two particularly pertinent points: one, that the Sin of the Age was perhaps not so much unchastity, as we often think, as ingratitude; the second point, that rather than being at peace, Europe is in thrall to the ideology of death. He finished by encouraging us to pray for our army, and comparing the priesthood to military service.
Mass was sung at our war memorial altar, after which the names of the war dead of the parish inscribed there were read out. I was particularly touched by two names from the First World War: “John Smith” followed immediately by “John Smith Sr.” Absolution at the catafalque followed, the catafalque draped with the Union Flag.
Our steeple bell rang out as the Dies Irae was sung. Thinking on, that must have been about 11 a.m., although I didn’t check.
We sang the National Anthem.
I meant to post that last comment under “Sunday sermon notes”, but it will serve as well here.