THe Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Our Catholic Faith

I intended to post this excellent observation by Fr. Victor Brown’s Catholic Daily Message last week. Tonight there is going to be a great story on a Baton Rouge station how the LSU Football team went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A guy from Denham Springs that's a guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery had his day madeto see the Tigers up there. When that gets posted on the net I shall put up here.

However a discussion of why we have Soldiers guarding the tomb in the first place that occured on LSU board brought Father's post which is located here to mind. The whole thing is a good read but let me excerpt a few parts:
I have the privilege of being chaplain to a monastery of contemplative Sisters whose main function within the Church is the adoration of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Saint Paul likens the Church to a human body with its many functions. We have eyes with which to see, ears to hear, a tongue to speak, hands to perform many tasks, feet with which to walk, etc. The Church is something like that. In the Church we have bishops to lead and govern us, priests to provide us with the Sacraments and preach the gospel to us; religious teachers to explain our faith to us; the married faithful to provide the vast majority of our Christian community by whom the entire world is to be sanctified. And then we have the contemplatives—usually cloistered men and women—who are the official pray-ers, adorers, thank-ers of the Church before the throne of God. Every morning after Mass, I put the consecrated Host in the monstrance and place it in a special place of honor above the tabernacle in the chapel where all the Sisters can see it clearly. Then, all day long, they come either to take part in the various parts of the Liturgy of the Hours, or to pray privately and individually before our Divine Lord in the Blessed Sacrament I have heard people say, “What’s the use of that? Why don’t they get out and do something practical for people in need?” Questions like this betray a failure to understand the very nature of God and man and prayer..............

Have you ever wondered why the American government pays military personnel to do nothing but stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.? Is that a waste of money, and the time of the ceremonial guard? Those who see no reason for the contemplative life would say YES! Those who understand adoration, tribute, and prayer say NO! These latter know perfectly well that no one in the world does things more “practical” than our Sisters here, who sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to him. Like Saint Mary of Bethany, they have “chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from them.” Thank you for seeking God’s truth. God bless you. Father Victor Brown, O.P.

I think that is true and a great example!!! I have been to the Tomb of the Unknowns three times. What we are seeing is indeed tribute, and Contemplation. Is not their dedication never to leave the tomb absent 24/7 even in the middle of a hurricane a form of prayer. In fact the very intricate movements with their bodies and their weapons are indeed a prayer at least in a secular sense.

I have never thought of this before , but do you realize as the Pentagon was being bombed on 9/11 , quite near them, and could hear the explosion, see the smoke , and while the whole world seemed to be falling apart with Jet Aircraft flying all over the place that those guys did not stop. They stayed at perfect attention and just kept doing what they do 24 hours a day 365 day a year.

I think there is a meaning in that that shows a deep truth