Memorial Day - Celebrate, Honor, Remember

05-26-2024Pastor's CornerFr. Bob Deehan

Many people regard Memorial Day weekend as the unofficial beginning of the summer season and take the opportunity to get away, enjoy a cookout with family and friends or just sit back and relax. It’s wonderful to take such a break like that. Still, in keeping with the real purpose of the Memorial Day holiday, it is also fitting that we remember and pray for those who have died in service to our country.

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, honors those who have made the supreme sacrifice for us. Many decorate graves of deceased veterans by placing wreaths, flags, candles or flowers by their gravestone. As Catholics, each of us can offer a special intention at the Mass we celebrate this weekend for the repose of the souls of those men and women who once served our country.

In an effort to re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed in December 2000. It asks that at 3:00 pm local time, all Americans “voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to Taps.”

Sacrifice was the hallmark of the service our deceased veterans offered for our freedom and well-being. Much the same could be said about their family members. And so, in addition to our prayers for those who died in service to our country, please pray for their family members left behind who continue to have an emptiness in their heart.