I absolutely love that the Church celebrates Martin of Tours, the “patron saint of soldiers”, on the same day as Veterans Day. Ironically, Martin was one of the Church’s first conscientious objectors to war – he refused to fight, left the military, and coined the phrase: “I am a soldier for Christ… I cannot fight the wars of man.” I can’t imagine a better person to remember on Veterans day. Here’s a little more about brother Martin: Martin of Tours was born during the troubling time of Constantine’s crusades. He was born four years after Constantine’s legendary conversion to Christianity, when Christians were exchanging the cross of Jesus for the sword of the empire. Into this world of “holy war,” Martin was born. He was named after Mars, the god of war. His dad was a veteran, in fact a senior officer, of the Roman Army. And like many of our kids, Martin entered the service as a young teenager to fight the crusades of the empire. And then there was an interruption. Outside the gates of Amiens in modern-day France, Martin had a human encounter that would forever change him. He met a scantily-clad beggar and was deeply moved with compassion. With very little to give away, he took off his military cloak and cut it in half, giving half to the beggar. Then he eventually laid down his arms, saying, “I am a Christian, I cannot fight.” Later he would be taken to jail, insulted, and persecuted for deserting the army. Hes great person to remember on Veterans Day. Our veteran buddy Logan Mehl-Laituri released his newest book FOR GOD AND COUNTRY on Veterans Day last year. This year Logan and the Centurions Guild have been profiling 10 Soldier Saints over the past 10 days -- check it out on their blog: centurionsguild.org/blog/ And while were at it... why dont we give a copy of one of Logans books away to the 10th person to email us with WAR NO MORE as subject: [email protected] It’s the perfect book for Veterans Day as we try to honor the soldiers and the dead by putting an end to war. centurionsguild.org/blog/ - See more at: redletterchristians.org/feasting-martin-tours-veterans-day/#sthash.CEcw9lDd.dpuf
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 13:53:14 +0000
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