I expect there will be many gathered at your local war memorial on Remembrance Sunday, as I have gathered there many times, and I will wear my poppy as so many of us will, to remember those who have died in war. It is a tradition cherished in this country, and one for which we should make no apologies. And yet I always feel such gestures to be a little inadequate, and that is partly because of the scale of what we remember, but also because simply gathering and being silent seems rather passive as a response to the suffering and sadness of so many.
As Catholic Christians we have been taught from the earliest days that there are two primary responses when contemplating those who have died in war. The first is our universal response to those who have died – and in this month of November we make it a constant theme of our public – and I hope, private, prayer – to pray for the dead. One of the treasures of our Catholic Liturgy, which never ceases to strike me, is how rich and positive our funeral liturgy is. So often people who come to a funeral comment on how uplifting and upbeat the prayers and the readings are. How the constant references to baptism and its signs that feature in the liturgy insist on pointing to Christian hope that “together with all who have died with Christ”, this person “will rise with him on the last day”. Our Catholic belief is that in baptism, God makes a covenant with the baptised – and though on our side, we may be unfaithful and false, God is always faithful and true – because that is very the nature of God. So we always gather at a funeral in hope, trusting in God’s mercy and love for the one who has gone before us. That is why praying for the dead is a good and noble act, for they are still our brothers and sisters in Christ, and prayer is something that we can always do for those whom we loved – and still love – and who have died. Every time we celebrate the Mass, we, the congregation always pray for those who died, and especially throughout November we are invited to pray for the dead – and that includes when we are gathered at the war memorial.
The second response we make on contemplating those who have died in war will be to seek to be people of peace, and people who work for peace. There is a whole teaching from Popes and theologians, saints and religious leaders on the importance of working for peace, praying for peace and being people of peace, that is an essential part of our Christian calling.
So wear a poppy this month, keep the two minute’s silence, gather at the war memorial, but above all, prayer for those who have died – especially those of your family and friends, and those who have been sacrificed on the battlefield, and seek to be a person of peace whose life reflects your faith in the mercy of God, and God’s desire for all his children to live in faith and harmony.