Winston Churchill saw the Christian soldier as the sure hope of the world in George Washington called his men to this way of life in Jesus Christ himself was impressed by the faith of a Roman Centurion in the first century?
What did it mean to be a Christian soldier then and what does it mean now? I first discovered the Enchridion Militis Christiani a few years ago reading Lt. The presentation in On Combat is brief, and in the spirit of The Ten Ancient Principles , makes the secular case for the benefits of Biblical truth. This approach lets the information into places that it would not otherwise be accepted, however, the work is not secular at all.
Desiderius Erasmus was a Catholic priest and theologian who clearly had Christ in mind when he penned it in For the complete text as translated from the original latin, click here.
Rule Always have a plan of action. Battles are often won or lost before they begin. Rule Always think through, in advance, the consequences of your choices and actions. Rule Do nothing — in public or private — that the people you love would not hold in esteem. Rule Virtue is its own reward; it needs no applause. Rule Life is demanding and brief; make it count. Rule Admit and repent your wrongs, never lose hope, encourage your brothers, and then begin again.
These rules are good counsel for all members so the Order, but it should be remembered that Erasmus was writing for men, and for young men actively involved in the world.
Women will have different priorities, and differing roles in society. To end with a quote from Archbishop Chaput's letter which need repeating over and over again in our topsy-turvy age:. Posted on Sunday, February 11, Category click to see all related : Catholic life , Faith. Newer Post Older Post Home. Order of Malta Foreign Aid Service. Order Prayer card Latin A5. Anthem of the Order music score.
I f the tepid mind is not aroused by the prospect of reward, it must be admitted that fear of punishment can awaken even the most indolent. Christ refe rred to the Pharisees as whitened sepulchers. Because they carried their dead souls about within themselves. The bodies of holy people are temples of the Holy Spirit. The bodies of eveil men are s epulchers of dead corpses. No cadaver is so dead as that soul that has been ab an doned by God. And c ertainly no corpse offends the nostrils of men to the extent that the evil odor of the buried soul offends the sensibility of the heavenly court.
We must be ever inflamed with the hope and conviction of final victory. Victory is not something that depends upon chance; it is entirely in the hands of God and, through Him, also in our hands.
Anyone who has failed in this struggle was simply lacking in a will to conquer. I think we can truthfully say that nothing is more important in military training than a t horough kno wledge of the weapons to be empl oyed and the nature of the enemy to be encountered. I would add to this that the need for preparedness, of having the weapons close at hand, is also of the utmost importance.
Since our enemy is incessant in his attacks, we must be constantly on the battle ling, constan tly in a state of preparedness. As a matter o f fact, our enemy, when he appears peaceful, when he feigns flight or a tru ce, can at that very moment be assumed to be preparing for an attack.
He is most dangerous when he appea rs peaceful, and it is during his violent attacks that we can actually feel most secure. It is for this reason that our primary concern must be to keep the mind armed. There is nothing that you can believe with greater certitude than what you read in these writings.
The senses themselves cannot offer greater certainty. On your right you will find the arms of justice, on your left the armour of truth, the breastplate of justice, and the shield of faith, a sh ield w ith w hich you can ward off the fiery darts of the devil. You will find also the helmet of salvation a nd the sword of spirit, which is the word of God.
Carefully fortified with these w eapons, a man can fearlessly utter those courageous words of Paul: "Who shall s eparate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or peril, or persecution, or the sword? You must be on guard when you eat or sleep, even when you travel in t he course of wo rldly concerns and perhaps become weary of bearing this righteous armour.
Never allo w your self to be totally disarmed, even for a moment, lest your wily foe op press you. Do not be ashamed to carry this little sword with you. Now is the time for us to teach ourselves a kind of "manual of arms. Meanwhile all hope of safety should be placed in your arms and your armour. Peace is the hi ghest good Christ alone gran ts that peace that the world cannot give. There is but one way to attain it; we must wage war with ourselves.
We must contend fiercely with our v ices. A friend is distinquished from an enemy by such a fin e line that there is great danger of inadvertently defending an enemy as a f riend, or attacking a f riend thinking him to be an enemy.
Our notoriou s enemy always takes on the appearance of an ang el of light. We need always ask, " Are you on e of ours or one of our adversaries? M an is a very complex creature composed of several contending parts: a sou l, which may be likened to a sort of divi ne will, and a body, comparable to a dumb beast. Inasmuch as the body is itself visible, it delights in things visible; inasmuch as it is mortal, it follows things temporal; inasmuch as it is heavy, it sinks downwards.
On the contrary, the soul, mindful of its celestial nature, struggles strenuously against the weight of the earth ly body to press upward.
It distrusts things seen because it knows such things to be trans ient. It seeks only those things that are true and everlasting. Now, with the natur al order of things dist urbed [ through the fall of man ], t he passions of the body seek to override the reason Man, hampered as he is by this perplexing division, may be compared to an unruly s tate.
Such a state is composed of various sorts of men whose dissensions create frequent di sturbances and factions.
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