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Chaplains tend to soldiers' spiritual needs

IN HOC SIGNO

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Hey the Citizen has made nice twice in a month about Chaplains. It's a good article I think. Hopefully some on this forum have been benefactors of these folks while in theatre

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=2c242e5c-3587-4aa0-ab99-c1467d651b94&k=18546&p=2

Chaplains tend to soldiers' spiritual needs
 
Kelly Egan
CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen


Sunday, March 25, 2007


OTTAWA -There are 325 chaplains in the regular and reserve forces of the Canadian military, including one Muslim and one rabbi. At any time in Afghanistan, four or five serve on rotating duty.

Here, in a brief but beautiful rendering, is what they do, in the words of Major Rev. Robert Lauder, as published in a chaplain recruiting brochure.

"I discover that a suicide bomber has hit Canadian troops again. Four dead and 17 wounded. We go to the Role 3 Field Surgical Hospital to await casualties, silently whispering prayers for whoever is coming.

"The Blackhawks begin to touch down, and the stretchers are rushed into the triage area. The medical team makes fast, professional assessments and begins treatment. We lift stretchers, and hold the hands of soldiers as they squeeze our fingers and cry out in pain, grief and fear. We lift them for X-rays, and help turn their torn bodies for treatment, praying aloud with those who wish it, and silently for all.

"We report to concerned friends how their buddies are doing. Later, we will help many get in touch with loved ones at home, but not before they have had a chance to tell us their story first. It is too raw to be spoken to family and friends unmetabolized. They thank us for this. Chaplains are keepers of the story. We hold their experience in our hands, and cherish it. Tears come freely and often."

The chaplain, then, is a confessor in camo, a soul miner with a helmet, not a halo.

Maj. Guy Chapdelaine holds the brochure as he sits in his office in Ottawa.

He is a Roman Catholic priest. Now 45, he joined the reserves at age 17 in Sherbrooke, Que., and was ordained at age 27. He travelled to Kandahar in December for a six-week deployment, joining roughly 2,500 Canadian troops.

He would go back in a heartbeat. He did not hold the hand of a dying man during his deployment, but he has a satchel of insightful stories.

One day he was visiting an observation post, one made of wooden beams, overlooking the vast, terra-cotta mountainscape that is the theatre of battle.

A soldier had written a message on a beam, a snippet of the 23rd Psalm:"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me ..."

Chapdelaine took a photo of the message, so struck was he by its juxtaposition beside a gun-toting sentry on the lookout for armed attackers.

"It was a great moment as a chaplain to see this expression of faith,"he said in a recent interview. "You can see the spiritual need of the soldier."

He had great hopes for Christmas Day, perhaps even an outdoor mass, but it dawned grey and cold and wet, with nowhere for anyone to sit. The altar was a propped-up affair using ration boxes.

The priest did his best, delivering a homily in which he compared the soldiers to the biblical shepherds who first saw the sign of the impending birth of the saviour.

"I tried to remind them that what they were doing is bringing the light, what they were doing, they are not alone. God was with them."

Later that day, a young soldier approached him and said he wanted to convert to Christianity.

"He said 'I realized the importance of the place of God in my life.'" The priest spoke to the young man for about half an hour.

War concentrates the mind, he explained, tending to bring big life questions to the forefront. "When you are confronted with death every day, and you can be killed every day, what is the meaning of life?"

This is not only true of soldiers, Chapdelaine said. It is also true of chaplains, a generation of which are not accustomed to wartime work. "Even for me, in my preparations, I have to ask myself, 'Am I ready to die?'"

A chaplain's day is not predictable.

During the week after Christmas, he was visiting with B Company (1RCR) at a position called Strong Point Centre. A group of Christians asked for some kind of service.

He was missing the tools of his trade, so he borrowed a Bible. Four men assemble around a table, first setting a rifle on top beside a coffee cop; decorum be damned. They bowed their heads and prayed.

Mostly, Chapdelaine engaged in a "ministry of presence," meaning being visible and being available for a heart-engaging word is half the battle. One day, a soldier asks for a St. Christopher medal, to guarantee safe travel. Another spoke of living in an environment where Christian values may conflict with a soldier's duty.

"One soldier told me, I pray everyday that I will not have to use my gun."

At home, the priest is involved in recruiting new chaplains. The military generally needs 15 to 20 new regular-force chaplains every year.

"I'm very happy with what I'm doing," said the priest. "I think the Lord was preparing me for this."

Ottawa Citizen

© CanWest News Service 2007
 
It was a good article.

any one else notice this:
Later that day, a young soldier approached him and said he wanted to convert to Christianity.

"He said 'I realized the importance of the place of God in my life.'" The priest spoke to the young man for about half an hour.

just like the saying "there is no Atheists in a fox hole"
 
NL_engineer said:
It was a good article.

any one else notice this:
just like the saying "there is no Atheists in a fox hole"

I think all of us Chaplains have noticed this when we are on deployment, whether we are in a war zone or on a long sea voyage. People have time out and are in situations where they are asking big questions about the meaning of life and whether faith in God is relevant for them.

Personally that is my story. I was a young Navy guy who was in his mid-twenties and wanted more than just the next run ashore. I was asking questions and a Chaplain was there to help me through some of the answers....he certainly didn't shove anything down my throat.
 
I have had the privilege of meeting Padre Chapedlaine. He is a fine man and one of deep spiritual depth.
 
Am I wrong in thinking that, just as in the rest of the population in Canada, there are  some  CF members who have no  need/desire to be "religious " in their life?

Let me put it another way...........long ago as a Sea Cadet, I attended "Church Parades " but asked that I not have to go inside the church. The cadet  corps LT . Commander told me that was my choice to make. Is that still the case?

Are "non-believers " allowed to be them selves in the CF today ?

Jim B Toronto.
 
jimb said:
Are "non-believers " allowed to be them selves in the CF today ?

Yes. And it is the Padre's obligation to both protect that right to religious freedom of expression and to facilitate that.
 
Good story. 

Actually its the first one I have seen about padre's in theater.

:salute:
 
I am not a religious man - never have been.  I have my personal problems with all organized religions, and more personal problems with religious concepts.

However - throughout my career I ALWAYS fully supported the Chaplains (financially, physically, and intellectually.)  These are good folks, doing good things - I don't care what their motivation or "higher purpose" is.  They're just fine people who deserve our support.

Roy
 
I agree with Roy; I was brought up in an old religious backing on the 'Rock'. The older members of my large extended family (grand / great grand parents; their brothers and sisters etc) grew up when the religious leaders of the community held an almost omnipotent role, which they tried to pass on to their offspring. Though I still believe in God, I 'lost' my respect (for lack of a better word) for all organized religion many years ago. But in all my years with the military, I always had the most respect for the military chaplains / padres for all the outstanding dedicated work and guidance they provided.
 
It's very nice to read an article about this as chaplains are sometimes overlooked by the media when in the combat theater. May God bless them!

Twitch
:salute:
 
Thanks guys. Organized Religion is sometimes is target for a lot of agendas.....organized anything makes a good target. Like any trade there are good Padres and bad Padres....we've all known both variaties. I think on the whole people get into this profession to help people and further the cause of Good prevailing over Evil. Most of us don't do it for recognition like newspaper or media articles.
 
There are several interesting accounts in this article ~

http://www.anglican.ca/partnerships/EcoJustice/87_Just_War_complete.pdf
 
As one who also has little time for organized religion (another ex-Irish Catholic refugee from the Rock), I had little to do with chaplains during my time in the service with a few exceptions such as compulsory church parades or being on a course with a couple who turned out be very "social" in the mess.  As was said above there are good ones and some not so good (in terms of quality of service and not their individual spirituality),  but it is good to hear of the fine work done by them. 

This thread has brought back memories of Rwanda in 1994 and the chaplain who deployed with us on OP PASSAGE.  Of all the people on that mission he is the one who stood out the most (for me anyway).  No, he didn't save my soul or bring me back into the arms of the Lord (he wasn't a miracle worker).  He probably didn't have much of a congregation for his weekly services, a photo I have of that time shows him saying mass for 5 or 6 fellow soldiers which would have been a typical crowd for him.  But, I do know that his talks with other soldiers were helpful for them in terms of their emotional or spiritual well being.  And, what I remember the most about him is the burying of the dead.  Little or no plans were made for the disposition of the remains of those who passed while in our care; the assumption having been made that they would be turned over to their relatives or the local authorities.  However, few had relatives able to assume this task and the "local authorities" didn't care.  The first few burials (with the exception of the mass grave) were done by a few available personnel who did not have clinical duties.  It was a very sobering task that took a lot out of people.  The padre, though, took on this burden as things progressed and oversaw the internment of the deceased, the organization of the gravediggers (locals later hired for the job) and the care of the small cemetery that began adjacent to our medical facility.  For that he will always have my thanks and admiration.
 
great storey....i liked the fact that they will sit down and speak with anyone no matter there religious beliefs. i know in my church at home you be the same religion of the church to take part in most of the things the church does. you are welcomed at the mass but you cant do much else but sit there and watch.
 
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