April 23—St. George, Martyr

So, there’s this dragon outside a city, and there’s a pretty maiden who’s going to be eaten by it, and then there’s this soldier on a horse who kills it in the name of God, and he’s St. George, right?  Wrong!  The legend comes to us from the crusaders who told it in the manner of a medieval romance.  Nonetheless, there are elements of truth, even in legends.  What we know of St. George is that he was a martyr during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, who persecuted the Church severely in about the late 3^rd century.  It was a requirement by Diocletian that all Christian soldiers either renounce their faith or be executed.  St. George accepted execution.  But what about the dragon?  The dragon is a common symbol for Satan.  Therefore, we can see that St. George defeated Satan through his faith, suffering, and death.

St. George is the patron saint of soldiers.  Many people wonder how a Christian can be a soldier, one who takes the lives of others.  A soldier may take life, but only in defense of life.  It is a common principle of the Just War Theory, started by St. Augustine and expanded upon by St. Thomas Aquinas, that defense of life may involve the taking of another life, but only as a last resort and not intended in itself.  This means that soldiers may enter into war with other combatants, but not with non-combatants, such as civilians or prisoners of war.  War is never a desired activity, but it may be necessary in the manner of defense.  Soldiers defend.  We offer our prayers for the men and women who put themselves in harm’s way for our defense and for others.