“I Will Not Avoid the Toil”: The
Motto of Veterans and St. Martin Alike
by Marge Fenelon 11/11/2015
Here's one of my favorite quotes from St. Martin:
“Lord, if your people still
have need of my services, I will not avoid the toil. Your
will be done. I have fought the good fight long enough. Yet if you bid me
continue to hold the battle line in defense of your camp, I will never beg to
be excused from failing strength. I will do the work you entrust to me. While
you command, I will fight beneath your banner.” (St. Martin of Tours, Bishop
and Confessor, Patron Saint of Soldiers)
I will not avoid the toil. Six
little words that say volumes.
Not avoiding the toil means
hanging in there, day after day, through thick and thin, and remaining faithful
to my Christian ideals and all that the Church - that Christ himself - asks of
me.
It means not shirking my
responsibilities to my fellow man and not skimping on my prayer and
sacramental life.
It means following God's every
command without question and to the best of my ability, regardless of whether I
agree with it or not.
It means showing fervor and love
of Christ in all I do, in spite of human frailty, laziness, or indifference.
Sounds a lot like the life of a
soldier, doesn't it?
It is. It's the life of a soldier
for Christ.
That's what St. Martin of Tours
was and still is. He's a great example for all of us and the perfect patron for
our military men and women who face the toil of military life day in and day
out.
So, today, on this Armistice
Day/Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, pray with me. Pray for the physical,
emotional, mental, and spiritual safety of all our military personnel. Pray for
the repose of the souls of the departed military. And pray, for yourself and
for the entire Church, that we may be given the grace and strength to fight the
good fight and not avoid the toil.
From the Collect of today's Mass:
O God, who are glorified in the
Bishop Saint Martin both by his life and death, make new, we pray, the wonders
of your grace in our hearts, that neither death nor life may separate us from
your love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son. who lives and reigns with
you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
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