This weekend as a Nation we celebrate Memorial Day – a time for remembering and honoring all those persons who have died while serving in the United States Armed Services. The custom of laying flowers at the graves of soldiers goes back to before the Civil War, but it grew rapidly after that war. Apparently, according to Wikipedia, the history of Memorial Day is so controversial that it constitutes an area of research. I certainly do not want to wade into any kind of controversy. When I think of Memorial Day, I think of parades, picnics, leaving flowers and small flags at the graves of some relatives who died in one war or another, and of course it being the unofficial start of summer.

Yet there is something else that we can think about as we celebrate Memorial Day this weekend – the virtue of patriotism. We all realize that a person who died in defense of our country is someone who was brave, honorable, and a patriot. But I want to reflect a bit on patriotism as religious virtue. Before I begin, I want to thank the late Fr. Benedict Ashley, O.P. and his book “Living the Truth in Love: A Biblical Introduction to Moral Theology,” for his clear explanation of not only the virtue of patriotism, but the whole theology of virtues.

TheCatechism of the Catholic Churchdefines a virtue as “A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good” (#1803). It then goes on to define a human virtue as “firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith,” and a moral virtue as “acquired by human effort. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts; they dispose all the powers of the human being for communion with divine love.” There are four cardinal (or principle) virtues – prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance – and all other virtues are grouped around one of these four cardinal virtues

The virtue of patriotism is grouped around the cardinal virtue of justice. Justice is the “the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor” (CCC#1807). Just as we have debts to God (the virtue of religion) and to our parents, we also a debt to our country; and like the debts we have to God and our parents, it is a debt that we cannot repay in full. The virtue of patriotism enables us to be fair to our community and country, and to pay due obedience to government officials. The virtue of patriotism also calls us to pay all due respect to the civic symbols of our community and country. For example, while the US Supreme Court might say that we have the constitutional right to burn the US flag (as an expression of our right of free speech), doing so would violate the virtue of patriotism.

In case you might think that I am just giving you a “civics” lesson, the virtue of patriotism is rooted in the New Testament. In his letter to St. Titus, St. Paul says, “Remind them (the Christians in Crete, where Titus was the bishop) to be under the control of magistrates and authorities, to be obedient, to be open to every good enterprise” (Titus 3:1). The author of the Letter to the Romans similarly says, “Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves” (Romans 13:2).

Of course the New Testament also puts a limitation on obedience to both secular and ecclesiastical leaders; they cannot exceed their lawful authority, nor violate natural or divine law since, “We must obey God, rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

So go that that Memorial Day parade, visit a soldier’s or sailor’s grave, grill up some hamburgers, hot dogs, or we still have kielbasa – you will be exercising the virtue of patriotism.