In Flanders Fields
By John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly.

Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

As we commemorate our fallen soldiers on this Memorial Day weekend, I was reflecting on this specific poem written by Colonel John McCrae, a surgeon with Canada's First Brigade Artillery, who wrote this poem on Flanders' battlefields during the First World War in the late 1910s. According to the story, McCrae was inspired to write this poem in the cemetery border between France and Belgium after reflecting on the rows of graves that lined the cemetery of those who had died during this so-called "War to end all Wars."

On this Memorial Day weekend, I began to think about the flags and flowers that we plant at the tombs of our fallen soldiers in our cemeteries throughout the country. At this time of year, I especially think about the poppy plants which are often associated with our fallen soldiers, a plant that the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Organization adopted as its official memorial flower some eighty years ago. I also began to reflect how, in 1868, the United States Congress realized the sacrifices of these soldiers from the Civil War who had died for their country and consequently designated May 30 as a "Day of Decoration," where the government encouraged her citizens to adorn the graves of our fallen soldiers with flowers in honor of their dedication to this country. As this tradition took root, the country began to honor all those in the armed services who had given of their lives throughout all our wars and conflicts to such a degree that, in 1971, our country redefined this celebration as "Memorial Day" and designated the last Monday of May as its official commemoration.

As we commemorate this "Memorial Day," I started thinking about this image of rows upon rows of soldiers' graves that fill national cemeteries throughout the country. Whether we focus on our National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia or our own Abraham Lincoln Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois, the reflection of one row of white crosses after another marking the graves of these brave men and women are reminders of the sacrifice that makes our lives and our freedom possible. In these cemeteries, ministers of all faith traditions and religious will celebrate services in honor of those who died in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard and other institutions of national service. Fr. Ron Nietzke, a lieutenant-commander of the Navy and pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Church in Joliet, will preside at a National Service on Monday at Abraham Lincoln Cemetery; on a much smaller scale, we will hold a special Mass at St. Patrick's Cemetery on Monday at 9:00 a.m. as well.

As I reflected on all these images that recall the service of our men and women in the armed forces, I started to reflect on our readings today and what this image would look like if we could line up, row by row, the faithful of God who truly embrace what the body and blood of Christ means in their lives as a testimony to our own Catholic faith. I started thinking about how many times within the scriptures our God has lined up the faithful in order to feed them. Beginning as far back as the Book of Exodus from the Old Testament, I reflected how our Lord fed the scores of chosen people who were led from the land of Egypt, that place of slavery, and led by our Lord to the Promised Land (Exodus 16: 12-36). I reflect how our Lord fed these people with a bread from the wilderness called manna, which fed these special men and women for over forty years in their journey of faith.

I thought how, in the Gospel of Mark, our Lord fed the multitudes twice with a simple meal of bread and fish. In the first story, Jesus sits with 5000 of the faithful (Mk 6: 30-44) and in a second story, then feeds a second group of 4000 others (Mk 8: 1-26).

I thought how, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus eats a meal with the faithful at the house of a tax collector (the eponymous figure of Matthew himself in Mt 9: 9-13) and fills the lives of all who were present with the grace of God. I reflected on how, in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was able to fill the heart of the tax collector Zacchaeus in the same manner (Lk 19: 1-10). Later in the Gospel of Luke, the resurrected Jesus walks with two disciples on their journey to the city of Emmaus and reveals himself at a simple dinner where he breaks bread with those of the faith (Lk 24: 35-46).

And, in the most important of these stories concerning table fellowship, our Lord shares a Last Supper with his disciples that perpetuates itself to this day (Mk 14: 22 ff.; Mt 26: 26 ff.; Lk 22: 19 ff.), a meal that does not symbolize the presence of Christ but re-presents this Real Presence of Christ's body and blood over and over again, a Real Presence that Pope Urban IV felt important enough to recognize in 1264 through this special celebration we commemorate today.

If we could line up all those who truly embraced this Real Presence of Christ and were strengthened by the life of this Real Presence, imagine the image that would be placed before us today. Imagine all of our "soldiers of God" who turned from the defense of our country towards the defense of our God, soldiers such as St. George (the one associated with the slaying of the dragon), who was a third century soldier in the army of Diocletian and was beheaded for turning his allegiance to Christ. Imagine the life of the fourth century saint named Martin of Tours (the patron saint of soldiers). As the story is told, St. Martin came upon a beggar who was shivering in a cold winter night. In an act of charity, St. Martin ripped the clothing that he was wearing and gave half of his tunic to this beggar, only to dream later that night that Jesus was wearing the clothing that he had just shared. Imagine the lives of St. Joan of Arc, St. Sebastian, St. Paul the Apostle, and all the other saints who served in some form of the military corps, only to sacrifice their lives as a soldier of Christ and a model of the faith.

On this feast of the Body and the Blood of our Lord, the question that we must pose to ourselves is whether we are willing to pick up the mantle in order to become the soldiers of God for today's age. Are we willing to defend our faith in the same way our soldiers protect our country? If we are able to do so, if we are willing to die for the same faith for which those before us have died as well, then the words that John McCrae offers to the fallen service men and women of the past can apply to those of faith as well:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

May we always honor those who protect us and may we protect those of our country and our faith through the grace of God. This is our prayer.

And this is our prayer.