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.
The Catholic Church teaches that war is never good but violence can be justified when it is necessary to save lives and promote justice.
In the Bible, Jesus taught that the greatest love is when someone gives their life for the sake of their friends. Those who have made the ultimate sacrifice defending their country and protecting others deserve honor and respect.
Praying for the dead is an important part of the Catholic faith. Catholics remember the dead in their prayers, asking God to show his mercy and to grant them everlasting life.
On Memorial Day, American Catholics honor fallen soldiers through prayer, offering Masses, visiting cemeteries, and supporting the families of those who died while serving in the US military.
Memorial Day 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 in the United States on the last Monday of May each year.
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:
I greet the civil and military Authorities and in the first place the Mayor to whom I am grateful for the welcome address with which he greeted me on my arrival in this Piazza Miranda, which from this day on will be called after me, although I do not deserve it. I greet the catechists, the pastoral workers, the young people and all those who in various ways see to spreading the Gospel in this region, laden with history, which experienced periods of great suffering during the Second World War. Silent witnesses of it are the numerous cemeteries that surround your rebuilt town: among them I remember in particular those of Poland, Germany and the Commonwealth.
Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, 24 May 2009
Recovering the fundamental meaning of the holiday:
Remembering those who gave all for our freedom:
Through Baptism, we all become foreigners and pilgrims in this world and servants of God. We are called to follow Him, pass through Him – do as He has done. That may mean enduring suffering with patience. It is clearly a call to imitate the generosity of Jesus. In that context, the Archdiocese for the Military Services gathers to remember, to pray, and to give thanks for the sacrifices of many in the service of our country. We think of so many who have died. We remember the wounded and those who are impaired in any way as a result of their generous service.
Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, Homily, 15 May 2011
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.
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.
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Enamored with the living God:
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