Soldier-saints

“SOLDIERS should feel very much a part, a living part of the Church.” This was what a bishop told a camp of soldiers recently, and I could not agree more with him.

There’s the common impression that soldiers are kind of second-class faithful of the Church, staying in the communion’s periphery, if not out of it from time to time. It’s an anomaly that needs to be corrected.

It’s true that their work puts them somewhere in the walls of society. They do some dirty job. But they are there precisely to render a most delicate and indispensable service. Society depends on them for its security, for its peace and order, a fundamental component of our common good.

And they do that duty even at the price of their lives. So, with that alone, they qualify to be the greatest of lovers, for our Lord said: “Greater love than this no man has, that a man lays down his life for his friends.” (Jn 15,13)

Soldiers and all those involved in the military service should feel very much part of the Church. Once baptized, they get vitally incorporated into Christ’s body, sharing the same dignity, calling and mission as everybody else, be he Pope or bishop or priest.

This truth, in fact, needs to be more widely and more vigorously echoed. There is a fundamental equality among all the faithful, even if there is a vast functional diversity.
The latter is supposed to work for the former. Our differences are meant to strengthen the unity and enrich the equality among ourselves. This is because our unity is not uniformity. And neither is our equality merely a mathematical one.

And so, the soldiers should feel the urge to become saints as everybody else also has to feel the same urge. It is their calling. It is what is meant for them. They need to go beyond the military part, and see that their profession springs from God’s will and meant to fulfill that will also.

Thus, the Church is full of soldier-saints. To mention a few, we can cite the following: St. Michael the Archangel, St. George, St. Martin of Tours, St. Louis IX, St. Joan of Arc, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and St. Sebastian.

St. Michael was the leader of God’s army during the uprising of Lucifer. Devotion to him is common to Muslims, Christians and Jews. He is considered the guardian and protector of the Church.

St. George fought and killed a monster dragon-serpent that was defeating armies and devouring sheep and even maidens. He converted many of the locals in what is now part of Libya.

St. Martin of Tours was a soldier before becoming a Christian and then a bishop. He is now the patron of soldiers. St. Louis IX led two crusades. St. Joan of Arc fought battles to restore the true king of France to his throne during her time.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, was a soldier who was sidelined because of his wounds and later decided to be a soldier for the Faith.

St. Sebastian was an officer of the Imperial Roman army and captain of the guard during the time of Diocletian who persecuted the Christians. He helped the Christians in prison, and converted many soldiers and a governor to Christianity.

Our soldiers today, we can be sure, are well accompanied by their own kind in heaven. Besides, Christian life involves a lot of soldiering. To be holy involves precisely the mentality and skills of soldiers. Thus, the Gospel and the whole Bible contain a lot of references to military terms, techniques and tactics.

We are told that our life is a warfare. We have enemies—inside us and outside us—with whom we do constant battle. We are supposed to be always watchful like sentinels on guard duty. We need to train ourselves like army readied for battle, etc.

In Christian spirituality, we are encouraged to wage a continuing ascetical struggle—an abiding battle against sin and temptations as well as the skill to handle our weaknesses properly.

More importantly, we are encouraged to grow and mature in the virtues, so that little by little we truly become the image and likeness of God, and also children of His as we ought to be.

In short, we are supposed to be all soldiers as well. We need to know how to use a certain forcefulness, since as we are told in the Gospel, “the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away.” (Mt 11,12)