Thomas Griffin 11/11/25
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On November 11, 1918 World War I came to an end. In 1938 this day began to be observed as Armistice Day, but following World War II it was expanded to include the honoring of all veterans who have served in the armed forces.
November 11th is also the feast day of St. Martin of Tours (316-397). Martin was the son of a veteran who was born in Hungary and grew up in Italy. At the age of 15, he was forced to serve in the army. While serving he was known for his prayerful attitude and his holiness. After serving for 8 years, Martin refused the army bonus that was due to him and told his commanding officer: “I have served you as a soldier; now let me serve Christ. Give the bounty to those who are going to fight. But I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight.”
It was after his baptism at the age of 18 that Martin began his faith journey. He was enamored by Christ and the teachings of the Church. He sought to be united to him in all things and to live for him above everything else.
He was later granted discharge and became a monk in France where he created a monastery and instructed many on the way of discipleship. After about 10 years, the people of Tours, France demanded that he become bishop where he served as a compassionate shepherd as well as an exorcist.
The celebration of the life of St. Martin on Veterans Day is no coincidence. The fighting spirit of Martin to defend his country as well as to promote Christ is not all that different from the courage of countless men and women who have served and died for America. What ought to stand out the most to all Catholics on this day, is the virtue of courage and the fight for holiness.
G.K. Chesterton once said, “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” The soldiers that we honor today were surely emboldened by the evils that they were going up against. However, it was the love of their family, friends and flag that spurred them to be willing to give up the ultimate sacrifice in the face of troubling times.
Applied to one’s faith, it is no secret that speaking about one’s relationship with God and upholding the truth in our culture can cost you something. It takes courage to live one’s faith and to be vocal about it. As Martin had to stand up to his commanding officer to live out his calling, we are often invited to stand up for our faith in the public square of our jobs, families and friends.
The only way to do so, courageously, is to be more focused on the love for Christ. We might be motivated to speak against the evils of our times – and we should be. But, the wisdom of Chesterton can be our guide when fighting for the faith in a verbal way. Our true motivation should be to share the love we have experienced from God. When that is our aim, then our cause will be even more powerful because its armor is love.
The second connection between St. Martin and Veterans Day is to remember that there is no battle more important than the one for souls. Martin once said: “In the name of the Lord Jesus and protected only by the sign of the cross, without shield or helmet, I shall penetrate the enemy’s ranks and not be afraid.”
It was this priority of the fight for building up disciples that pushed Martin to leave the army and become a monk. While most of us are not called to religious life or the priesthood, the purpose of our life is no different from Martin’s. Our ultimate goal is meant to be union with God and service to His name in this life so that we may know Him forever. This does not mean that serving one’s country is not important – nothing could be further from the truth. It only means that nothing is more important than placing Jesus at the center of our lives.
Because he is the one who gave his life so that we could live. He is the one who was willing to sacrifice everything so that we could live in freedom from sin, death and evil. Only Christ can provide the peace that our world so desperately needs because he is the only one that can crush the darkness that we fight in our own lives and the darkness that our veterans fought on the battlefield.
So, on this Veterans Day let us be reminded of all those that fight and fought for us. Let us also be challenged to consider how we can fight for truth and be courageous in our faith so that the witness of our veterans and St. Martin, don’t go to waste.
Thomas Griffin is the chairperson of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island where he lives with his wife and children. He has a masters degree in theology and is a masters candidate in philosophy. Thomas is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine. He is the author of Let Us Begin: Saint Francis’s Way of Becoming Like Christ and Renewing the World.
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