St. Martin of Tours lived in the 4th
century, but he remains a very popular saint to this day. Martin was born of pagan parents and was
forced to serve in the military at a very young age. He left the military service as an adult,
having heard the call to serve Christ in a special way in service to the
Church. A famous recollection about
Martin recounts how he as a soldier met a beggar on the road, how all he had on
him was he weapon and his cloak. He cut
his cloak in half and gave the other half to this poor man. It was a strange sight to see Martin only wearing
half a cloak, but he knew he did the right thing. Martin later became the Bishop of Tours. He
worked hard during his lifetime not only fighting the heresies in the Church,
but also in trying to bring the heretics back into the flock.
I thought about Martin of Tours in our
reading from Wisdom this morning – “Love justice, you who judge the earth;
think of the Lord in goodness, and seek him in integrity of heart.” We often think of justice when an injustice
occurs in our lives, or when we are confronted with an injustice related to
something or someone that is near and dear to our hearts. But we are to have justice infuse how we live
our lives and how with live in faith.
May we always practice justice in our lives, in our relationships, and
in the values through which we live.
Today, it is appropriate that we have
Martin of Tours, a soldier, as our saint of the day as we celebrate Veterans’
Day. We give thanks to all the veterans
and their families, for the sacrifices they made in protecting our
country. We lift up all the men and
women currently serving in the military, and ask for a blessing for them and
their families.
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