"Showing God's Face on the Battlefield"


A chaplain explains why he served



Adapted from the Jesuit magazine, "America," article of the same name by Father John J. McLain, S.J., November 17, 2008.

Biographical note:


"John J. McLain, S.J., a former chaplain for the U.S. Army's Special Forces who served in Afghanistan from 2002 - 2003 and was awarded the Purple Heart, now works in secondary education."

Now, for a brief synopsis:

"Why the Military Needs Chaplains

"To my mind, there are four compelling reasons why priests should take up the role of military chaplain.

"First, Christ is present on the battlefield.

"The priest chaplain points as much as possible to Christ's presence, witnesses to it by his own presence with those in the military, attests to it in preaching and praying, in listening and counseling, and offers Christ's real presence through the sacraments.

"Christ's presence also manifests itself through myriad acts of compassion even on the battlefield, which the chaplain sees, articulates, gathers up and passes on.

"On one occasion, as one of our medics treated the grandson of an old Afghan man in a tiny mountain valley far from anywhere, I asked him what he thought of having American soldiers in the valley.

"He looked at me thoughtfully for a moment and he replied:

There are some in the valley who say you are infidels.

They say we should drive you from the valley.

But I know only what I have seen.

"And what I have seen is that the Americans treat people with more compassion than many who would call themselves Muslim.

"Second, even in the midst of what some Catholics (and others) might judge to be an unjust war, a chaplain mnisters to those who need God.

"Without condemning or condoning aparticular war effort, the chaplain ministers to everyone engaged in it..

"Third, the task of the chaplain is to help others find God, and the meaning that only God can provide, in a context where it is difficult to remember even that one is human.

"Persons in the military must work their way through ethical decisions in the midst of the chaos and violence that can call out the worst in human nature and threaten to dehumanize those embroiled in it.

"Frequently a chaplain's work is the source of a word or deed of compassion that calls good people back to themselves and helps them to remember, in the midst of horror, bloodshed and rage, who they really are and who they want to become....

"Fourth, a chaplain offers God's abundant comfort and compassion to the suffering.

"The priest tends to the fearful, the sick, the lonely, the wounded and the dying.

"He also brings stability into an explosive environment because he celebrates the most stable sacrament of all -- the love of Christ that never fails and never ends."