Today the universal Church remembers St. Martin of Tours. And I think it is appropriate that today we also remember Veteran’s Day because Martin is one of our saints that served in the military.

Martin was born in the early 300s into a pagan family in what is today Hungary. He was named after Mars, the Roman god of war, probably at the insisting of his father who served as a Roman soldier. At the age of 15, Martin was forced into military service. During that time, he also felt the call to become a Christian and began his formation to enter the Church. Around the age of 18, Martin has a conversion experience that was brought on by an encountered he had with Christ.

The story goes that on a bitterly cold day, Martin dressed in his military cloak, met a poor man, almost naked, trembling in the cold and begging at the city gate. Martin had nothing but his weapons and his clothes. So, he drew his sword, cut his cloak into two pieces, gave one to the beggar. Some of the bystanders laughed at his now odd appearance, wearing only half a cloak; others were ashamed at not having relieved the man’s misery themselves. That night in his sleep, Martin saw Christ dressed in the cloak he had given to the beggar and said: “Martin, still a catechumen, has covered me with his garment.” He awoke from this dream, resolved to complete his instruction in the faith, later becoming a priest and then a bishop, fighting against many heresies that were arising during that time and safeguarding the true faith against attacks.

Throughout his time as a priest and a bishop, Martin always sought to do what was the will of God, always striving to be Christ for others. His example should remind us of our duty as Christians towards those in need, and our duty to conform ourselves to Christ in whatever vocation we find ourselves. We are called to dedicate ourselves more fully to prayer, striving to detach from material things, and to embrace true Christian discipleship so that our lives might be put at the service of the Lord. Just as St. Martin always strove to bring glory to God and work for the salvation of souls, so, too, are we called.

This morning, may we resolve to follow the example of St. Martin, and therefore follow the example of Christ…let’s go out from this place, being those soldiers for Christ, dedicating our lives to the service of the Lord and bringing others to an encounter with Jesus.

Photo: Stained glass window of St. Martin of Tours, Chartres Cathedral. Photo taken by Lawrence, OP. Used under Creative Commons license, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED, Attribution-Non-commercial, No Derivs 2.0 Generic.