Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.įor these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest - until the victory is won. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph. Lead them straight and true give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith. It has come to pass with success thus far.Īnd so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:Īlmighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our Allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. (After prayers and scripture reading) there followed one minute of silent prayer as a deep hush fell over the entire crowd standing with bowed heads…Singing of two hymns, “O God Our Help In Ages Past” and “Abide With Me,” was included in the service.Īnd then there was the prayer offered up by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that same day 75 years ago, who asked that the American people join him in a day of “continuous prayer” for those who fought on their behalf: And many thousands of that great and solemn crowd, there is no doubt, directed their own private prayers to loved ones who at this moment are offering their lives that the world may be freed and that their homes may endure… It was a solemn and magnificent sight as that mass of people - the largest in Calgary’s history ever to be so grouped together - listened in cathedral silence to the prayers for their men-at-arms on the seas, on the land, and in the air. to stand with bared heads while representatives of Church and State evoked God’s blessing upon the men who are storming Hitler’s citadel of evil. And in Calgary nearly fifteen thousand crowded silently into one block of 1 st St. From the Calgary Herald on June 6, 1944:Ĭanadians throughout the land bowed in prayer today for the success of Allied arms in their march of liberation into Europe. In the city of Calgary, Alberta, 15,000 people gathered to pray that day. It is easy for our post-Christian societies to forget that the men who surged up the beaches were buoyed by the prayers of distinctly Christian nations. We should treasure these commemorations while those we are honouring are still here to receive our thanks. Slowly, the events of the Second World War are fading from memory into history. The Greatest Generation is almost gone now, and I am keenly aware when I look at my little daughter that she will probably never hear the stories of the men and women who lived through that inferno first-hand. Listening to the live-cast from Juno Beach on my way into work this morning, I heard the rousing cheers of men, women, and children as the veterans walked by, waving tearfully as they receive the gratitude that they so richly deserve. Today marks 75 years since D-Day, and still some of the men who survived the bloody slog up the steel-swept beaches are with us. The mindboggling sight of the sheer cliffs that were scaled by farm boys and factory workers and men too young to know what they would have done if they hadn’t ended up here, the tip of the spear flung by Christian civilization at the Nazi beast. To see the thousands of pure white gravestones, standing sentinel over the spots where the warriors sleep in crisp rows. It is solemn to stop and listen to the eternal lapping of the waves that once washed up onto the sand crimson with the blood of young men who gave their lives, so many of them barely begun, to liberate strangers-including my grandparents. Anyone who has walked the Normandy beaches will agree that it is a profound and moving experience.
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