Saint Martin's Lent

November 11th has long been known as “Armistice Day” or, in this country, Veterans Day, and rightly so.  It is the anniversary of the end of the first world war, in which countless lives were lost.  
 
Another connection making the eleventh day of the eleventh month a fitting time to honor those who have risked their lives for their country in military service is that the saint whose feast we mark was, himself, a soldier.  
 
Saint Martin of Tours considered himself a soldier for Christ, and would eventually resign from military service to embrace the monastic life.
 
A less-known fact about his feast day is that, in times past, it was seen as the beginning of a more penitential time in preparation for Christmas.  Just as, before Easter, we prepare by roughly forty days of fasting, prayer, and alms-giving, people would prepare for the Lord’s birth in a somewhat similar manner in late fall and early winter.  The time beginning on November 11th, St. Martin’s Day, became known as “St. Martin’s Lent.”  
 
This reminds me of St. Francis, who also could be called a soldier for Christ, as he would undergo periods of fasting outside of those prescribed by the universal Church.  He would fast between the feast of the Assumption (August 15) and the feast of St. Michael (September 29).
 
Even if you and I never engage in military service, we, too, can be soldiers for Christ like St. Paul who “fought the good fight.”  
 
A large part of this battle is against our own selves and our sinful desires.  
 
We can look to saints like Martin and Francis for inspiration and prayer as we seek to serve our King, whether by offering our fasting, forgiveness, faithfulness or friendship.

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