Three soldiers rose up from their tents
And went to join their regiments.

And one said: “Captain, I report
Because I think that war is sport!”

And one said: “Captain, I am here
Because my duty makes it clear.”

And one said: “Captain, I’m afraid
I was not for a soldier made.”

So one in fervor, one in fun,
And one in fright took up a gun.

Three soldiers steps for step went forth
And wheeled from south to west to north,

And while they marched with drums and tunes
Respectively in their platoons,

Beneath three helmets one could trace
A grinning, grave, and groaning face.

Three soldiers lay upon their backs
When bombs came down on bivouacs

And, wildly bursting in the air,
Destroyed all soldiers everywhere.

So one for pleasure, one for pride,
And one for love a soldier died.

THIS poem is called “Three Soldiers,” and it is by Fr. Leonard Feeney, the founder of my Community. Along with being profoundly beautiful, I find this poem beautifully profound because it contains a perfect illustration of Catholic battle joy. Which is not the same as natural battle joy.

Natural Battle Joy

Natural battle joy is a feeling. It is a feeling of intense exhilaration, an emotional high that soldiers sometimes feel in the midst of a fight or athletes in the midst of a game. It is an infusion of enthusiasm and adrenaline that magically absorbs all pain and fear into one grand, euphoric sense of purpose. Think of the power of the half-time pep talk that the coach uses to rev up his players and send them back out on that field determined to slaughter their opponents. (I have never played sports personally, but I have seen enough football movies to know how that works!) If you are a Lord of the Rings fan—think of the Rohirrim overlooking the besieged Helms Deep or Aragorn calling words of encouragement to his men outside the Black Gate. Or, for all you history lovers, natural battle joy is the Spartan army looking out at the hordes of Persian invaders from their post of death at the Pass of Thermopylae. That is natural battle joy. It is the courageous bring-it-on attitude that every enemy fears, no matter how big and tough he might think himself to be.

And it is an impressive, stirring, powerful thing—as far as it goes.

But supernatural battle joy is even better. It is all of that elevated.

Catholic Battle Joy

Supernatural, or Catholic, battle joy is an infusion of enthusiasm, yes, but holy enthusiasm. I would even argue that it is an infusion of actual grace that enlightens our intellect, allowing us clearly to perceive the nature of the battle before us, and simultaneously strengthens our will to embrace that battle for the love of Him Who has willed us to fight in it. Note well: love is at the heart of Catholic battle joy. That is why I can say with confidence that it is not just a feeling.

Yes, we know that the word love — being the most polyvalent, multi-faceted, frustratingly complex word in the English language — does signify an emotion. But in a higher sense, love is an act of the will embracing the good. If the good in question is a natural good, then we embrace it with natural love. Loving one’s children, for instance. If the good before us is a supernatural good, such as, praying our Rosary with attention, reverence, and devotion, then we have made an act of supernatural charity. If the good in question is God Himself, the Summum Bonum — that’s theological charity right there. It follows, then, that if the good we are looking to embrace happens to be the fight for God, for the Faith, for the salvation of our loved ones, then that good deserves to be embraced. And the deliberate, conscientious embracing of the good of that holy war for those holy causes — that is Catholic battle joy.

Catholic battle joy is a reality so deep that it is not always apparent either interiorly or exteriorly. Fr. Feeney brings this out in his poem: “Beneath three helmets, one could trace / A grinning, grave, and groaning face.” Whose face was grinning? The soldier who naturally enjoyed fighting. (I am told that’s a guy thing.) Whose face was grave? The one who was naturally eager to fulfill his duty as a citizen. It seems odd, though, doesn’t it, that soldier whose motive was most pure had the groaning face? It feels a bit incongruous, right? Shouldn’t his face have been radiant? Ardent? Something! No. He looked groaning because he was groaning! He did not feel like being there!

Unfelt Joy

This is an important point. Just as love does not have to be felt to be real, so, too, joy does not have to be felt to be real. Our Lord on the Cross and Our Lady standing beside Him — They were not smiling. But that doesn’t mean they were not happy.

They were, actually.

Think about it. What makes us happy? Getting what we want. Christ wanted to save the world — and on Mount Calvary, that is exactly what He was doing. Our Lady wanted to help Him, and standing by Him in that awful hour — She was getting what She wanted. Theirs was a joy unfelt.

Our Vision of Victory

The question then becomes for us: What do we want, soldiers? What does our vision of victory look like? Well, we should want to become saints. Badly. Not only that but we want every soul on earth to be Catholic. Not just Catholic but devout Catholics! And not just devout Catholics, but fervent, passionate, militant Catholics!

And that is where Our Lady comes in.

When going gets tough (and — correct me if I am wrong — it has), the tough need to get Mary. She is God’s secret weapon. She is our unending source of strength and consolation. She is the Virgin most Powerful who has everything that we as soldiers need to be successful in this battle for souls; and She will give them to us if we but ask.

Love Mary and Fear Nothing

Back to Greece. When the little band of Spartan warriors at Thermopylae was told that the Persian arrows would rain down so thickly as to completely blot out the sun, their general, Leonidas, smirked and said, “Then we’ll fight in the shade.” And all the men laughed. That is natural battle joy.

Catholic battle joy is even better. It is the jeer of the prophet Elias to the 450 priests of Baal, “Cry with a louder voice: for he is a God, and perhaps he is talking, or is in an inn, or on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep, and must be awaked!” It is taunt of the boy David as he ran towards Goliath — “I come to you in name of Lord of Hosts!” Catholic battle joy is the “In hoc signo vinces” of Constantine; the “In God’s name, onward!” of St. Joan of Arc; the “Deus vult!” of the Crusaders; the “Viva Christo Rey!” of the Cristeros. Catholic battle joy was the trademark characteristic of St. Maximilian Kolbe who said:

During the first three centuries the Church was persecuted. The blood of martyrs watered the seeds of Christianity. Later, when the persecutions ceased, one of the Fathers of the Church deplored the lukewarmness of Christians. He rejoiced when persecution returned. In the same way, we must rejoice in what will happen, for in the midst of trials, our zeal will become more ardent. Besides, are we not in the hands of the Blessed Virgin? Is it not our most ardently desired ideal to give our lives for Her? We live only once. We die only once. Therefore, let it be according to Her good pleasure.

Catholic battle joy is our patrimony as members — soldiers — of the Church Militant.

Things are pretty bad out there, as you know; and regardless of what the Pollyannas of our age may say — they are likely to get much worse.

That is okay. When the going gets tough, the tough get Mary. She it is who will keep fresh in our minds our Mission of being other Christs on earth. She will supply us with Artillery of love by which we will fight effectively for the souls Providence has placed on our path. She will shelter us behind the Ramparts of the convictions that She Herself has built up in our hearts; She will communicate to us the celestial intelligence by which we may know precisely the part we are to play in the ultimate victory; finally, while instilling in us a reverence for those in authority, She will rectify any misguided notions we may have of the purpose and limitations of that authority, so that we may advance without faltering on the safe path of holy obedience.

How do you like that? These five things without which no battle can be waged successfully — Mission, Artillery, Ramparts, Intelligence, Authority — we have them all when we have Her. M-A-R-I-A. What’s not to be joyful about?

God grant that one day it may be said of us, also: “Not for pleasure, not for pride…it was for love we soldiers died.”