Fr. Kevin Drew: The Meaning of Ceremony: The Soldier and the Priest

By Fr. Kevin Drew, Catholic Exchange, November 18, 2024

Ordained in 2012, Fr. Kevin Drew is a priest and pastor of the Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph. He is well regarded for his preaching and evangelization. His Daily Mass and homily can be found at Catholic Radio Network.

On November 11, 1918, the disaster for Western Civilization known as World War I ended.  An armistice was signed at the 11^th hour on the 11^th day of the 11^th month.  After the war, the United States, following the lead of France and England, laid to rest the remains of an American soldier—his name “known but to God”—on a hillside in Virginia overlooking Washington DC.

November 11^th is now Veteran’s Day, a day we honor all military veterans, dead and alive.  And that hillside overlooking DC is called Arlington National Cemetery.  It features the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, symbolizing honor and reverence for soldiers who gave their lives for their country.  

Guards stand watch at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  Rain, shine, heat, cold—it doesn’t matter, someone is always there guarding the tomb.  And that someone guards it with his life.  Why?  Because he is a true believer.  That guard understands that a soldier never dies—until he is forgotten. ….