November 11 is Veterans Day in the U.S., and it’s also Martinmas, the feast of St. Martin of Tours. The history is worth sitting with on a day we honor people who have served.
The story
Martin was born around 316 in what is now Hungary, to pagan parents, and was enrolled in the Roman army as a young man. The 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Vatican’s saint-of-the-day note retell the episode that made him famous: stationed at Amiens, he met a shivering beggar, cut his military cloak in two, and gave half of it away. That night he had a vision of Christ wearing the piece he had given. The line handed down is that Jesus said Martin, still a catechumen, had clothed Him. Martin was baptized, later left the army, and became bishop of Tours. Medieval Europe marked the day with fire and feasting as winter came on. He is remembered as a patron of soldiers and of the poor.
My take
Whether you know this as church history or just as a soldier’s kindness, the point is the same one Jesus made: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). Today, thank a veteran, and ask the Holy Spirit who around you needs a share of the cloak you’re wearing. Mercy is a way of serving too.
God Bless, and May the Source Be with You!
