Today, the University celebrates Veterans Day and the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours. Patrick Cooper, Ph.D., assistant professor of theology and the director of the Benedictine Institute, wrote a reflection for the lantern procession the University community held in honor of Saint Martin on Friday evening.
“On Friday, November 8, the greater Saint Martin’s community, as well as people from all around the South Sound region, will commemorate the life and sanctity of our University’s namesake, Saint Martin of Tours (316 – 397) with a lantern procession. It is indeed a rich, beautiful, and very old tradition that should naturally find a home here and be made new at our University.
But why such a procession with lanterns? The procession of lanterns as winter fast approaches and the days grow ever shorter possesses deep eschatological resonance with the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids (Mt 25, 1-13), five of which possess enough oil to keep their lights aflame in their continued searching throughout the night for the promised coming of the Bridegroom, whereas the others quickly run dry of oil and become increasingly discouraged and impatient with such searching. Herein, faith is seen as a light that makes visible our hope – that hope, for which we yearn for that remains otherwise invisible and fleeting. This light of night, unlike the sun of day, sees darkly, yet clearly and beyond the mere appearances of things, while it is our charity, our love for God and neighbor alike, which like oil, keeps this light aflame.
In the case of Saint Martin, for whom we will celebrate, this light did indeed enable him to see beyond mere appearances when he encountered the poor beggar at the city gates. He was able to see beyond the roughness, beyond the labels, beyond the shame, embarrassment and inconvenience of another seen merely as nothing more than a problem to be solved. Martin was instead able to see his human dignity, as a man, wounded and depraved, and yet resolutely glowing as one created in the image and likeness of God. In other words, he was able to see Christ in the least of these. Inspired by such holiness, such examples like that of Martin renews our own courage and nourishes our hope as a University to keep our lights aflame.”
(Please note that Saint Martin's will be closed on Monday, November 11 in observance of Veterans Day)
