Justice will bring about peace; right will produce calm and security.

I could use this homily to make a strong case for the enduring sacrifice of our brothers and sisters. They most certainly responded when called upon.

Rather than being paid, they paid, paid with their lives. So it is with those who serve our country with honesty and integrity. They aren’t in it based on dollars and cents. Many would take a grease burn at McDonald’s any day, for a little less money, over an IED along a roadside in Iraq.

No, there is something more important to them. It is, I believe, grounding in ideals, ideals based in the gospel reality Isaiah prophesied;

Justice will bring about peace; right will produce calm and security.

No, I will not make the case for their sacrifice. It’s already apparent, just look at the headstones around you.

In the years ahead we will be seeing more and more markers in places like this. 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry, HQ Company, 1987 – 2007. We will also see more and more of the wounded and crippled coming home. They will search for jobs and apartments that can accommodate them. They will seek services in an effort to readjust, adapt, and make sense of it all. They will come to pray along side us in our parish.

In the years ahead we will see the veterans of the Second World War pass into history and we will see our Korean and Vietnam vets pass as well.

Again, none of these facts are a mystery to us. Common sense tells us that death is inevitable. Our Christian faith assures us no death is void of hope.

Their sacrifice endures, yet we still ask the question: ‘Why?”

St. Paul gives us an insight:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Our brothers and sisters who have sacrificed thought about those things, and not by accident. Our history, both as a nation and as a people, founded upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, and owing to the patrimony of the Church, taught them to look for, study, and imitate what is right and good, namely sacrifice.

May their sacrifice be an eternal memory. May their sacrifice teach us to do likewise, to stand for what is right and good against all that would oppress us. May their sacrifice inspire our efforts in protecting the oppressed, and battling against all that is selfish, self-serving, and without merit.

In the end, it is our duty to honor, protect, defend, and promote the Gospel, and the way-of-life shown to us by Jesus Christ in the beatitudes. That duty goes beyond presidents, countries, borders, and even time. It is our Christian duty, the same duty those of integrity have stood and died for throughout the ages. It has been passed on to us and is ours to take-up, cherish, and honor.

Amen.