Father Christopher Zugger

US Marine kneels at battered crucifix after Battle of Saipan, 1944 

It has become a day to sell furniture, cars, clothing, and I don’t know what else. People who work for the government and are off on the holiday can go shop at those same sales. It seems that it is no longer a day to honor veterans. This is something that bothers me every year. Our country would not be a free republic were it not for the men and women who fought in her defense. We would not have the rights guaranteed to us by the  Constitution had Fascism or Communism triumphed in the 20th  Century.

Freed Slaves in Union Army, 1865

And who knows when African-Americans would have been freed from slavery if there were not brave Union men and boys willing to serve?

And our republic would not exist were it not for the soldiers who rose up to fight the British Empire. Yes, we have our flaws and problems, but it is still the freest nation on the face of the earth. And it is the nation it is thanks to the men and women who have joined the Armed Forces over the centuries.

So if you know a veteran, take time out this week to thank him/ her. And take a moment to pray for the healing of the men and women of our military who have been wounded in body and mind by the effects of the wars we have been in since 9/11.