Daily Reflection

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November 11

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Veterans Day

Reflection

As we think of all those men and women who gave their lives in service of this country, we remember them with gratitude for their courage and strength. We also remember those who mourn them. There are many who have returned home with bodies and spirits scarred by war. We are grateful to them for their service, but, we are saddened by their sufferings. We also consider those who are presently suffering from wars. Today, we take time to pray that the hearts of our leaders and of our enemies may be turned to the work of justice, the search for peace, and the wisdom to solve differences without sacrificing young lives by choosing war as the only alternative.

Prayer

Lead us, O God
From death to life
From falsehood to truth
From fear to trust
From hate to love
From war to peace.
Let peace fill our hearts and our world.
From the Universal Peace Prayer

Action

Reflect on those who have died or been maimed over the centuries in wars, not only military personnel but also civilians. How do you feel about this? When is it really justified? What can you/we do as a civilized people to foster alternatives and support those who promote them? How can we raise our children not to accept a culture of violence?

Suggested Reading

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.
Matthew 5:9

Wars shatter so many lives. I think especially of children robbed of their childhood.
Pope Francis

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy

I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, ‘Mother, what was war?
Eve Merriam

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!
Maya Angelou

No one who fights for this country overseas should ever have to fight for a job, or a roof over their head, or the care that they have earned when they come home.
Barack Obama

The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.
G.K. Chesterton

All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.
John Steinbeck

War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.
Jimmy Carter

Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.
Herbert Hoover

My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.
George Washington