Keeping Watch (Philip Berrigan)

“May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” - Mark 13:36

As I ponder this passage from Mark, my thoughts return to the winter of 1943, to a nineteen-year-old draftee at Camp Gordon, now Fort Gordon, Georgia. The old Springfield rifle is heavy, the Georgia winters are damp and cold and dark and - Lord, Gawd! - I've gotta walk guard for four hours. And do I ever watch! I watch for the officer of the guard. If he hears a weak challenge ("Halt! Who goes there?") or finds me forgetful of the password (Geronimo) or hiding or smoking, it's weekend KP for a month. The minutes and hours drag agonizingly by. I'm cold to the bone. Do I ever watch for six in the morning and the dawn!



Peace Forever,
Firacub.