Feast of Saint Norbert (6 June 2013)

Today is D-Day, that is, the anniversary of the massive invasion of Normandy by the Allied forces to begin their liberation of continental Europe from Naziism.  That was [69] years ago today.  It took almost exactly a year to bring about a surrender of the Nazi forces in Europe, and another three and a half months to force the Japanese to end the war in the Pacific. 

 In today’s Vatican Information Service, there is a copy of the letter which our Holy Father has sent to Queen Elizabeth of England congratulating her on the 60th anniversary of the beginning of her reign.  I remember that first D-Day and then the surrenders of Germany and Japan.  And surely the Queen, who is nearly four years older than I, remembers those events more clearly than I do.  I say these things today only to point out that she and I are of basically the same age, and as we come to the end of our lives, the last generation of those who remember those events is coming to a close. Let us thank God today that the Allied forces won World War II.  Let us thank God likewise for the more enlightened treatment that the Allies gave to their previous enemies, so that now we, the Germans, the Italians, and the Japanese, are no longer enemies but rather collaborators in the field of world politics and economics. Our Lord told Saint Peter in the Garden of Gethsemani, “Put away the sword.  Those who take up the sword, die by the sword.”  These words of the Savior have certainly proven true in our own experience. May all the nations of the world come to recognize their truth and value, and thus peace can prevail over all of us.  Our God is a God of peace. Thank you for seeking God’s truth. God bless you.  Father Victor Brown, O.P.

 Note:  Father Brown composed this message some years ago.