Memorial day is a secular American holiday to honor those men and women of the Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives fighting for the United States of America.
Catholics remember the dead in their prayers, asking God to show his mercy and to grant them everlasting life.
The holiday originated in the years following the Civil War and was originally called Decoration day.
It became an official federal holiday in 1971.
Memorial day is celebrated on the last Monday of May each year.
Our dead are not Unknown Soldiers.
Memorial Verse of the Catholic War Veterans, by Rev. Edward Lodge Curran
We know who they are and wither they seek to go.
We know that some may languish in Purgatory until the last earthly stain is wiped away and until the last earthly injustice is repaired .
We also know that we can speed their passage from a Purgatory of shadow and pain to a Paradise of Happiness and light . We can hasten the dawn of eternal rest and the rays of perpetual light.
Our prayers and Masses and works of charity can assist our dead in gaining entrance into the blessedness of heaven.
We love our dead.
We can help our dead.
Let us pray for them always.
Flowers wither upon their graves.
A daily garland of prayers is better than an armful of roses.
As we approach the Golden Memorial hour of the Catholic War Veterans, Eleven o’clock,
Stand for a moment in silence and let there rise from your heart a prayer beseeching Almighty God, the Father of us all, to grant to the souls of our departed comrades, a peace and a glory that is theirs because of the sacrifice they made that other men might live.
We ask the Lord to bless those who gave the ultimate sacrifice:
Remembering those who rendered that “last full measure of devotion”:
“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15: 13
Memorial Day introduces us to Jesus’ sacrifice:
Religious overtones of a civil holiday:
Memorial Day as a sacred observance:
Above the entrance to this cemetery, there hangs in the air those ironic words of war, “What does it matter to me?”. Each one of the dead buried here had their own plans, their own dreams… but their lives were cut short. Why? Why did humanity say, “What does it matter to me?”. Even today, after the second failure of another world war, perhaps one can speak of a third war, one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, destruction…. In all honesty, the front page of newspapers ought to carry the headline, “What does it matter to me?”. Cain would say, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”. This attitude is the exact opposite of what Jesus asks of us in the Gospel. We have heard: he is in the least of his brothers; he, the King, the Judge of the world, he is the one who hungers, who thirsts, he is the stranger, the one who is sick, the prisoner…. The one who cares for his brother or sister enters into the joy of the Lord; the one who does not do so, however, who by his omissions says, “What does it matter to me?” remains excluded. Here and in other cemeteries lie many victims. Today, we remember them. There are tears, there is mourning, there is sadness. From this place we remember the victims of every war.
Pope Francis, Homily, 13 September 2014
Recovering the fundamental meaning of the holiday:
Remembering those who gave all for our freedom:
We also pray for the fallen so that they might also dwell in the presence of the Author of all. Many are buried not far from here in Arlington National Cemetery. The remains of others rest in France, Italy, Germany, Cuba, and elsewhere. Those of Father Emil Kapaun have never been found. However, he and all the rest continue to live in the hearts of their loved ones and in the fabric of this Nation..
Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, Homily, 19 May 2013
Honor those who died during war by committing to peace:
By virtue of the “communion of saints,” the Church commends the dead to God’s mercy and offers her prayers, especially the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist, on their behalf.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1055
Remembering deceased heroes with reverence, honor, respect, and gratitude:
A virtual retreat for Memorial Day.
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Being a true missionary disciple:
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