Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day, commemorates the Armistice signed between the Allies of the First World War and Germany at Compiegne, France. The agreement ended major hostilities on the Western Front and took effect at eleven a.m. on November 11, 1918―the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Remembrance Day is an important occasion. We take time to remember the women and men, young and old, who have served, or who are serving, in the Canadian Armed Forces. From coast to coast, services and ceremonies are held with moments of silence, prayers, and wreaths and crosses laid down to honour these brave men and women, as well as honouring all members of militaries and armed forces and civilians who have died in or during times of war around the world.

The Pledge and Motto of The Royal Canadian Legion is Memoriam Eorum Retinebimus. The phrase is Latin for “We Will Remember Them.”

Regardless of our political affiliations and opinions of war and military action, it is important to acknowledge the people who have given their lives for others. Remembering is a deliberate and intentional act of thinking about and reflecting upon their stories and lives. To remember is to honour. To remember is to celebrate. To remember is to give thanks.

The Shrine of Remembrance resides in Melbourne, Australia. It is a war memorial honouring those who have fought and or died for their country. The Shrine of Remembrance was built following the First World War and has since been expanded to honour and remember those who have served in conflicts since that time.

A hall of the shrine contains a carved stone that reads: “Greater love hath no man.” Every year at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, a mirror reflects sunlight onto the stone to highlight the word “love.”

The words carved into the stone are from John's Gospel: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13, King James Version).

Christ was speaking to his disciples in John 15 and admonished them, and us, to love each other as he loved us. His words were a reference to what would come at Calvary. Jesus was about to show the greatest act of love. He was about to lay down his life for others.

Today, Thursday, November 11, is Remembrance Day. Today we remember, celebrate, and honour women and men, young and old, who have laid down their lives for others.

“Greater love hath no man” or woman.

Captain Mark Braye and his wife, Nancy, are the officers/pastors of The Salvation Army Tri-Town Community Church in Temiskaming Shores, Ont. They have two children, Hannah and Micah. The four of them love to play and watch Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, and The Wiggles.