Veteran's Day: Reality in America

 STATISTA: The U.S. Military Suicide Crises

Nearly half of those serving in the U.S. military have contemplated suicide since joining the forces, according to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) Members 2022 report. This is a huge jump up from the nine percent that said they had thought about taking their own life before signing up.

According to a 2021 report by Thomas Howard Suitt at Boston University, suicide rates among the active military personnel and veterans of the post 9/11 wars have been climbing in recent years. While the same trend can be said of the general public, in the military and veterans spheres it’s happening at an even faster rate.

To put this into context, estimates currently put the figure of suicides among active duty personnel and veterans of the post 9/11 wars at 30,177 - a high number, especially when considering that 7,057 U.S. service members were killed in war operations in that time.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Today is also the feast of Saint Martin of Tours. He was baptized, left the army and after spending some time as a hermit on an island off the Ligurian coast, founded a monastery at Ligugé in western France, where he lived a monastic life guided by St Hilary. Later he was ordained priest and became bishop of Tours.

The famous story about St Martin is that while a soldier in Amiens he gave half of his military cloak to a beggar and later had a dream in which the beggar revealed himself as Christ.

This is also the beginning of the ancient 40-day Advent fast (observed only on weekdays, not Saturday or Sunday) that lasted until January 6th, the great feast of the Baptism of Christ (Christmas was a later invention originating in the West). 

Since January 6th is now the day when we certify the election, perhaps we could begin forty days of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer for our nation's future.

For fasting I second the suggestion of some here that we fast from the media frenzy about the election and its consequences.

For almsgiving I would suggest greater attention to how we use our time.

For prayer I would suggest praying for the intentions suggested by Bernie Sanders

We must address the reality that the United States is rapidly moving to an oligarchic form of society

We must address the reality that we have an economy in which the wealthiest people have never had it so good, while 60 percent of our people live paycheck to paycheck

We must address the reality that our political system is totally corrupt. It’s not just Trump who is undermining our democracy. 

We must address the reality that our health care system is totally broken and that we remain the only wealthy nation on earth not to guarantee health care to all as a human right. 

We must address the reality that not only is climate change real, its an existential threat to our country and the world. 

We must address the reality that while we now spend a trillion dollars a year on the military, our foreign policy for decades has been counterproductive to peace, democracy and economic development.

SAINT CECILIA EUCHARIST YESTERDAY

Saint Cecilia is the parish in Boston featured in America Magazine, known for being not only a dynamic urban parish but also one whose internet congregation stretches around the country and world.

Father John gave a great homily in which he faced the issue of disunity caused by the election. He ended it with the Litany of the Saints, the Renunciation of Satan, and Renewal of Baptismal promises. A very powerful ending to an honest homily.  A fitting liturgy to begin thinking about a forty day fast.