Memorium | Memorial Day 2015

 

"The work and sacrifice of all of you

help to ensure the peace and security

of individuals and societies.

 

I pray that you yourselves

will always be kept safe as...

you fulfill your professional duties,

and that the divine gifts of wisdom and

strength will ever accompany you

in the service of your own countries

and of your fellow men and women.

 

Upon you and your families,

I invoke the grace and peace

of our Lord Jesus Christ...

 

I would like to raise my prayer

to the Lord for your many colleagues

who have died in these years

during various missions of peace

and in the defense of law and order.

 

May their sacrifice not have been in vain!

 

May their hidden and silent witness

be an encouragement to everyone

not to be resigned to injustice,

but to conquer evil with good!

 

May God welcome them into

his kingdom of peace

and grant serenity

and comfort

to their families

and to all their loved ones."


—Saint John Paul II

Angelus message to members of the armed forces around the world, November 2000.

Reference: Ignatius Press