Veterans Day Salute and Prayer

Veterans Day Salute and Prayer

       
           I learned a lot from my high school principal, Fr. George Tribou. He once said something that completely changed my thinking about going to Mass. He said, “You don’t come to Mass to get something out of it; but rather, you come to Mass to give something: to give some of your time, to give some of your love, to give some of your talent.” Maybe that’s why many people don’t like going to Mass. They’re more interested in getting something than in giving something. In his inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy articulated the same attitude as Fr. Tribou when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; but what you can do for your country.” In other words, an American should be a giver not a taker.

          In a culture overshadowed by selfish consumerism and arrogant individualism, our veterans stand out as shining lights. As they don the uniforms of the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines, they desire to give something rather than to get something. In their readiness to lay down their life for freedom they don’t ask, “What can my country do for me?” But ask, “What can I do for my country?” We owe a great debt of gratitude to our veterans – not only for fighting our wars – and so we rightly celebrate Veterans’ Day. Let us pray.

          Almighty God, this world is a battlefield. Wars rage all around us: of good versus evil, of tyranny versus democracy, of freedom versus slavery. We thank you for the veterans past and present who courageously take up arms in this contest. Today we honor them and we ask you to bless them. We also ask forgiveness for our failures to honor them in the past, when we shamefully ridiculed their sacrifices. Finally, we thank them for teaching us about the spiritual battle being fought in every heart: of selfishness versus altruism, of giving versus getting, of what our country can do for us versus what we can do for our country. Our gratitude to our veterans goes deeper than our words can express, and so may your Holy Spirit speak for us. We make this prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.