St. Martin’s Lent A Season of Prayer, Peace, and Preparation: An Invitation from Christ Catholic Church

“Lord, Heavenly Father, help us to become peacemakers, that we may be called the children of God.”*
— From the Litany of Peace by Archbishop Karl Prüter

On November 11th, the Feast of St. Martin of Tours, Christ Catholic Church will once again mark the beginning of St. Martin’s Lent, an ancient Christian season of prayer, fasting, charity, and spiritual preparation for the coming celebration of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a tradition that has largely disappeared from the modern Western Church, but one that I believe has something particularly important to offer us in these troubled times.

Long before Advent became the familiar four-week season leading up to Christmas, Christians in parts of Western Europe observed a longer period of preparation beginning around the Feast of St. Martin. Sometimes called the Forty Days of St. Martin, or St. Martin’s Fast, this early form of Advent encouraged the faithful to prepare their hearts for Christmas through fasting, repentance, prayer, and generosity toward those in need. By the sixth century, the practice had become well established in parts of Gaul, where the faithful were encouraged to fast on certain days of the week between Martinmas and Christmas.

St. Martin himself is a particularly fitting patron for such a season. A fourth-century Roman soldier who eventually became Bishop of Tours, Martin is perhaps best remembered for encountering a poor man shivering in the cold and cutting his military cloak in half to share it with him. According to the ancient account, Martin later dreamed of Christ wearing the very cloak he had given away. In that moment, the young soldier discovered something that Jesus had already taught His disciples: whatever we do for the least among us, we do for Christ.

Martin eventually turned away from military service, embracing a life of prayer, simplicity, and service to others. His witness reminds us that Christian discipleship isn’t simply a matter of what we believe, but of how we live, whom we love, and what we are willing to give of ourselves for the sake of another.

Over the centuries, St. Martin’s Day, also known as Martinmas, developed its own rich traditions. Across Europe, communities marked the end of the harvest with shared meals, charitable giving, lantern processions, and celebrations of thanksgiving before entering the quieter, more penitential weeks preceding Christmas. The contrast was intentional. Feasting gave way to fasting, abundance to simplicity, and celebration to reflection. The purpose wasn’t to make life miserable, but to make room for something greater.

There is another remarkable connection to November 11th. On that date in 1918, the guns of the First World War finally fell silent with the Armistice that brought an end to the fighting on the Western Front. Today, we remember that event through Veterans Day in the United States and Armistice or Remembrance Day in many other nations. For Christians remembering St. Martin, a soldier who laid down his weapons to follow Christ, the convergence of these commemorations offers a powerful invitation to reflect upon the human cost of war and the Gospel’s call to peace.

Within Christ Catholic Church, this day holds a special place in our common life. In keeping with a tradition dear to our community, we gather on the Feast of St. Martin to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and dedicate the day to prayer for peace. Following Mass, we observe a Day of Prayer for Peace, returning **every hour on the hour to the Litany of Peace**, composed by our beloved Archbishop Karl Prüter, of blessed memory.

This hourly rhythm of prayer is a simple but meaningful discipline. It interrupts the ordinary business of the day and turns our hearts again toward Christ, the Prince of Peace. We pray for peace among nations, peace within our communities, peace in our homes, and peace within ourselves. We remember those suffering from violence and war, those displaced from their homes, those grieving their dead, and those whose lives are burdened by fear, hatred, and division.

But our prayers must never become a substitute for the work of peace. Jesus didn’t simply tell His followers to admire peacemakers. He called them blessed. He commanded us to love our enemies, forgive those who wrong us, show mercy, and seek reconciliation. Those Red Letters of the Gospel leave us very little room to imagine that peace is somebody else’s responsibility.

And perhaps that is the deeper invitation of St. Martin’s Lent. We aren’t simply preparing to celebrate the birth of a child in Bethlehem some two thousand years ago. We are preparing to welcome Christ more fully into our lives today. We are making room for His peace in a world that seems determined to live without it.

During these weeks leading toward Christmas, I encourage you to consider what you might set aside and what you might take up. Perhaps a little less noise and a little more silence. A little less consumption and a little more generosity. Less anger and more forgiveness. Less attention to the things that divide us and more attention to the people who need our love. Fasting need not be limited to food. Sometimes the things we most need to surrender are the habits of heart that keep us from loving as Christ has taught us.

On November 11th, I invite the faithful of Christ Catholic Church, our Coworkers of Christ, our friends, and all people of goodwill to join us in observing this Day of Prayer for Peace. Whether you can gather with us for the Holy Eucharist or pause wherever you happen to be, you can share in this common intention. At the beginning of each hour, turn your heart toward God and offer a prayer for the peace of Christ to take root in our troubled world.

Let us enter St. Martin’s Lent not with dread or a sense of religious obligation, but with hope. Let us remember the soldier who shared his cloak, the bishop who served the poor, and the Savior who taught us that the greatest commandment is love.

May this ancient season help us become more generous, more merciful, more prayerful, and more determined to be instruments of reconciliation.

And may the peace for which we pray become the peace we ourselves are willing to make.

+Brian Ernest Brown, CWC
Abbot Bishop, Christ Catholic Church
Province of the Prince of Peace