January 14 2016
Martin Niemoeller
January 14th
Good morning Saint John’s students, faculty, and staff. Let us pause in our day to pray with Martin Niemoeller, who was born in Germany on January 14th in 1892.
Martin was a highly decorated German commander during World War I, and he supported Hitler’s promises, until the Nazis turned to hateful extremism. He organized a petition against the Aryan laws that thousands of pastors signed, and because of this he was sent to Dachau concentration camp. He survived the war and became a prominent figure in the international pacifist movement until he passed away in 1984.
Today we pray for the courage and strength of all of those who work for peace and justice.
-pause-
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
Merciful God, we thank you for the lives and testimonies of holy men and women like Martin Niemoeller.
We ask for the strength to oppose all violence and injustice, as we remember these words Martin spoke:
“When the Nazis came to get the Communists, I was silent, because I was not a Communist. When they came to get the Socialists, I was silent. When they came to get the Catholics, I was silent. When they came to get the Jews, I was silent. And when they came to get me, there was no one left to speak.”
Amen.
Saint John's High School
Saint John’s High School has educated young men under the sponsorship of the Xaverian Brothers since 1898. Through the Saint John’s strong college preparatory curriculum, over 900 students in grades seven through twelve pursue personal and intellectual growth in an environment that is committed to the development of the whole person and recognizes a moral dimension of life through service to God and to others.