November 11 is Veterans Day, the day we honor the sacrifices — including their lives — that men and women of our armed forces have made for their country. Veterans Day emerged as the day we honor soldiers because it was originally Armistice Day; on the eleventh day of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour in 1918, the guns that had begun the “Great War” (as World War I was called before it became the First World War) fell silent. That is why it is also honored as the day of veterans in many Commonwealth countries that were part of the World War I victors: the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

“There is no greater sacrifice than to give one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13), and soldiers have given their lives for friends they knew not. The generations that followed them enjoyed the blessings of freedom because of their sacrifice.

I never tire of repeating a story attributed to Padre Pio. It seems that one day, after the cloister gates were closed and the friars were after supper, a booming chorus of men’s voices were heard: “Long live Padre Pio!” But the doors were locked and the entrance hall empty. Asked later how to account for the phenomenon, Padre Pio answered that the voices were those of soldiers who had died in battle for whose salvation he had prayed and offered Masses and who were now on their way to heaven.

Catholic tradition has long provided for a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in Purgatory, under the usual conditions for those who visit a cemetery between November 1-8, the beginning of the month of Holy Souls. I have for three years advocated that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops petition Rome to extend this plenary indulgence for the souls of fallen military under the usual conditions for those Catholics who visit a cemetery on November 11. (I also recommended the USCCB consider doing this jointly with the Episcopal Conferences of England and Wales, Scotland, and Canada, all of whom observe the same day.) To date, although I have raised this issue with various bishops, no action has occurred.

I push this proposal for two reasons.

First, as Catholics, we have nothing better to offer than the spiritual treasury of suffrages for the salvation of fallen soldiers. Those who have given their lives and stand before God’s judgment seat do not need wreaths. They do not need bouquets. They do not need politicians’ speeches. They need our prayers “to conduct them to the house of God.” I think that is especially relevant in a land whose spiritual heritage is, in many ways, culturally Protestant and thus finds the tradition of efficacious prayer for the dead something alien.

Second, we have seen a cultural devaluation of military service. Failure to meet recruitment targets over the past four years seems attributable, at least in part, to a loss of a sense of nobility in the role of protector, even when a protector has to fight, bleed, and die for the protected. And while, once upon a time, the Church vocally lauded her sons (and now daughters) who fought for their country, a kind of “functional pacifism” has beset some ecclesiastical quarters that seems to call into question the soldier’s role, including his role as a keeper and maker of the peace. That mindset must end.

The bishops assemble for their annual plenary assembly in Baltimore this week. Please reach out to your bishop and ask for action on this matter. Catholics can give nothing better.