“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
Those words – spoken by the late President John F. Kennedy and repeated countless times around paying homage to those who have served this country – continue to hold meaning each year as Americans observe Veterans Day.
For Catholics, the occasion of Veterans Day is one not only to show appreciation and to extend prayer – but also to recognize the intersections between faith and service.
“[A person in] military service is human like everybody else – they need the strength and benefits that only faith can bring,” says Father Matthew Weber, pastor of Holy Cross Parish, Bridgeton, and chaplain for Catholic War Veterans Immaculate Conception Memorial Post 1578. “Faith can serve them on a personal or family level. Faith can guide them as they carry out the important duties that their service requires. Faith can perhaps help them through a crisis moment. Whether in or out of the service, faith can lead us to that ultimate peace and joy that only a relationship with God brings.”
Father Weber sees Veterans Day as an important occasion to recognize those who have answered the call to duty.
“The freedoms and rights that we enjoy as a nation have often been protected and supported by the sacrifices of veterans,” he says. “For a not small number of veterans, they have paid a great personal price in order to protect and promote the common good that we enjoy.”
One of Father Weber’s parishioners is Anthony Scafidi, 95, a lifelong Catholic who served in the Army Air Corps in the South Pacific from 1945 to 1946.
“It is an honor to be a veteran,” he says. He belongs to Post 1578, and describes members as “a terrific bunch of guys.”
Sam Pace serves as the commander of Post 1578, which was established in 1947 and is the only Catholic War Veterans post in the Diocese of Camden. The group includes some 30 people, and its membership has been growing in number and age range, including a 24-year-old Marine Reservist.
“Our members have served this country from present day to WWII,” says Pace. “CWV members come from all walks of life and a multitude of jobs and careers. All are faithful practicing Catholics.”
Pace served in the New Jersey Air National Guard for 21 years, a tenure that included activation as a member of the Air Force in the wake of September 11.
“If you see or know any veterans, acknowledge them and of course pray for them. But let us not forget our fallen brothers and sisters either,” he says, encouraging prayerful recognition beyond just a single day each year. “Like we say as Catholics, ‘Every day should be like Christmas and Easter’; every day should be like Veterans Day and Memorial Day, too.”
Major D. W. Janszky has served in the U.S. Army Reserve for more than 16 years. A resident of Haddonfield, Janszky has had six deployments, including to Iraq, Afghanistan, Serbia, Africa and Germany in combat, occupational, training and disaster recovery and relief roles.
“Devotion to duty manages to explain the intersection of military service and faith to me,” Janszky says. “As Americans, we observe a civic religion as well as a liturgical one for anyone who accepts the discipline of religious commitment.”
When asked about how faithful can honor and support veterans, he notes opportunities to participate in organizations like Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, as well as volunteer roles with groups like the Military Support Group of New Jersey, Philadelphia Treats for Troops, Adopt-a-Soldier Platoon, and Operation Yellow Ribbon South Jersey.
Henry Szychulski is a member of Saint Joseph Church, Camden – a worship site of the Parish of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception – and he heads the Saint Joseph Historical Society.
Members of the society, along with the Saint Joseph’s Polish Catholic Apostolate, were on hand for a memorial service held Oct. 24 at Cooper River Park, Pennsauken, which honored Polish war veterans. The park features monuments to Polish Revolutionary War heroes Thaddeus Kosciuszko and Casimir Pulaski, as well as a memorial honoring parishioners of Saint Joseph’s who died in World War II.
“At that time, about 1,200 parishioners were serving in the Armed Forces,” Szychulski says. “In doing research, what struck me was that the men who died were ordinary people called to do extraordinary things.”
Szychulski believes in looking to the past to understand today’s world.
“For people who did not serve, it is important that we bear witness to those events and to remember those who are serving now,” he says. “Veterans Day reminds us to say thank you to former and current military members. Unfortunately, there is evil in the world, and we should be grateful to those who protect us from it.”
Father Weber also encourages Catholics to pray for those who are serving or have served.
“We can personally thank them for their service or give to organizations that help veterans, especially those most in need,” he says. “In the end, we should feel in our hearts a deep gratitude for the sacrifice that those in the military, as well as their loved ones, make so that we may enjoy our freedom and peace.”
RELATED VIDEO: Catholic War Veterans Immaculate Conception Memorial Post 1578
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