June 22, Feast Day of St. Paulinus of Nola (c. 354–431 AD)

Today, June 22, in the Catholic and Orthodox Church is the feast day of St. Paulinus of Nola (c. 354–431 AD), who was known for his staunch opposition to military violence and participation in the military.  In his Letters on Military Service, Paulinus writes two letters to a man named Crispinianus, a Christian serving in the Roman military. In these letters, Paulinus explicitly argued that secular military service is incompatible with the Christian life. He exhorted Crispinianus to lay down his arms and become a “soldier for the eternal King.”.

If you went to Mass today, how many of you heard this significant fact about St. Paulinus of Nola even mentioned in the homily at Mass or during Mass on this his feast day. If you receive one of those “daily sermons” by email related to the Mass of the day, how many of them mention this fact of this Saint of the Universal Church, Catholic and Orthodox?

A minor matter? Maybe. unless it represents a long standing policy and systematic practice of Church censorship in formal Church liturgical rites, catechesis and education.. How many Catholic elementary schools, high schools, colleges, universities or seminaries do you know that teach a single course in the history of Catholic Pacifism or in the history of Pacifism in  Christianity? Both of which are lived history that stretches uninterruptedly from St. Stephen in the generation of Jesus to this very hour all over the world.

-Emmanuel Charles McCarthy