Best Way to Support Troops--Pray for Peace!



As someone who has served this country as a member of the Armed Forces I agree!



From the Chicago Catholic New World:



The best thing American Catholics can do to support the men and women in the armed forces is pray for peace, said Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of the Archdiocese for the Military Services of the United States.



“The only way we’re going to get away without a war at this point is to pray,” said Archbishop O’Brien, as he prepared for a March 14 visit to St. Barnabas Parish on the South Side for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Family Liturgy. “That’s the first step. I think all our troops would benefit by not going to war.”



Parishes and individuals should also do everything they can to support the families, especially the children, of soldiers and sailors who have been deployed, he said. Having a parent—perhaps someone who serves in the National Guard or reserves—suddenly gone for a lengthy and indefinite time creates huge stresses on families.



And in the meantime and especially if we do invade, parishes can help by remembering their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers and friends who are in uniform during the prayers of the faithful and as intentions at Mass, he said.