I Prayed A Rosary for You...

This posting began as a light-hearted exchange Saturday afternoon between myself and a Navy corpsman friend of mine. I trained with my Reserve unit this weekend. We were just finishing our training for the day and I was heading off to the Vigil Mass at a nearby Church. My friend asked me to say a prayer for him at Mass and I replied that he needed more than just one.

Not long after...as I waited for Mass to begin...I reflected upon my friend's request and upon the responsibilities that we as members of America's armed forces had voluntarily taken upon ourselves. Whether we are active duty or reserve or National Guard, we take an oath to defend our nation, with our own lives if necessary. We can be sent and are sent into harm's way anywhere and anytime that our leaders decide to do so. We risk everything for the freedom of our country and the defense of our way of life. In doing so, we place great burdens upon our families and loved ones, who oftentimes don't know where we are or if we are safe. And we don't always come home alive.

And again, remembering my friend's request, I pulled out my Rosary beads and implored my loving Father's assistance on behalf of my brothers and sisters in arms...

For my brothers and sisters in arms around the globe, I prayed for a Rosary for you...

for you sailing upon the seas or beneath the waves...

for you standing the watch upon a hilltop in Afghanistan or checkpoint in Iraq or a base gate in Texas or a guard tower in South Korea or a flight line in Turkey...

for you flying through friendly and unfriendly skies...

I prayed a Rosary for you - Chris, John, Don, and Hugh, my friends who have been mobilized and sent forward into harm's way in Iraq...

And I prayed for your families back home who wait in anxious worry...

I prayed for you who ride a HUMVEE or LAV or 7-ton down an Iraqi road expecting an IED at any moment...

for you who kick in doors looking for the enemy and often finding trouble...

for you who suffer from the blast of an explosive device or the fragment of rocket or a bullet, I prayed to God to spare your life and thanked Him when He did...

for you who treat the wounded, I prayed a Rosary for your skills and for your physical, spiritual and mental well-being in the midst of the ravages of war...

for you who are recovering from burns, wounds, loss of limbs and illnesses in Landstuhl, Walter Reed, Bethesda, Balad and other hospitals...

I prayed for Navy 'Doc' Travis who lost his life to an IED while on foot patrol with Marines in Iraq...

for Marines Daniel and Carl who were killed by an IED in western Iraq last year and whose memorial service I attended shortly thereafter at our base - even though I had never met either of them...

for Chris, a National Guardsman from my hometown, who was killed by a bullet while on a convoy and for his wife and child that he left...

for Marine James who lost his life to a sniper's bullet, despite the best efforts of Navy doctors and the prayers of a Navy chaplain to save him...

for Gerald and Michael who were killed in a helicopter crash near Ramadi last year, I prayed a Rosary for you...

for all my friends and colleagues in Navy blue serving with Marine green, I prayed a Rosary for you.

I prayed a Rosary in Thanksgiving to our most merciful Father for bringing me home safely from Iraq and returning me to my fiancee and family.

I prayed a Rosary in Thanksgiving for all of us who have come home alive and for all of your families who have had to deal with the long months of endless worry and uncertainty.

For you did not come home alive, I prayed a Rosary for you and for your widows, your widowers, your sons and your daughters, your grandchildren, your mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and everyone else who mourned your death and pain because of your absence.

Serving our country in a time of war is a tremendous responsibility wrought with danger and sacrifice for both the service member and his/her family.

So for all of us who serve and have served and will serve and have died in the service of our country and for all of your families...

...I prayed a Rosary for you.