"Father, what are you doing in Iraq?" This is a question that friends will ask once in a while, wanting to know about my new ministry as chaplain half a world away from my home, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
It is a ministry of presence, and it is maybe the most rewarding ministry of all. Just being present for our Marines, sailors and soldiers has been enriching. I celebrate 13 Masses a week for the Catholics in my base and tend to the spiritual needs of everyone.
They are young American men and women of all backgrounds, many of them born in different countries (especially Latin America), but all call the USA home and they all look the same in uniform: good young men and women wanting to do the right thing. Some need a little guidance; they have questions about faith and God, and that is why we chaplains are here. We are here to help them see God even in the middle of war. Sometimes it is they, by their action, who help me see God.
It is sad to see that the media focuses so much attention on a few bad things that have happened. They would have been moved, I think, if only they had only experienced what I experienced: the actions of our military personnel here in Al Taqaddum (TQ), Iraq.
A truck bomb exploded outside a Mosque in Habinayah, killing nearly 40 people and sending 58 Iraqi civilians to Al Taqaddum Surgical --- the largest mass casualty the facility ever handled. Four chaplains and four Religious Program Specialists (RPs) responded instantly to the call, while Marines, sailors and soldiers hurried over to help the injured as they arrived. The RPs immediately began helping moving supplies and prepping IV bags for the docs.
The chaplains were right in the middle of it all, trying to bring comfort to the few young Marines and sailors who had never seen anything like this, while at the same time helping lift patients off their beds for x-rays and helping move patients to the operation room. Doctors or nurses would say, "Padre, get a blanket," "Help me lift this patient," "Go get the attending doctor" or "Please go get me my surgical light."
For nearly seven hours straight, the 2D Marine Logistics Group (Forward) and the Air Combat Element chaplains worked together as one team and made their presence felt. They came together with three common missions: help save lives, give comfort to those saving lives, and comfort those who were wounded.
Together Marines, sailors and soldiers put actions behind the words that the Iraqi people have heard: "We are your friends" and "We are here to help you." This message was communicated not only by the doctors, nurses, corpsmen, RPs, Marines, soldiers and chaplains who worked together to heal the wounds and to put the victims back together, but by all who donated blood.
More than 200 service members responded to the call for the walking blood bank --- U.S. military personnel giving blood to wounded, innocent Iraqis. Every time I looked over to see our young men and women donating blood, Jesus' words at the Last Supper --- "Do this in memory of me" --- kept resounding in my head.
Their donation was an action, I am sure, that was understood in spite of any language barriers, an action that spoke louder and more clearly than words ever could:
"I am giving you my blood that you may live. We are not just your friends; we are now your brothers, for now you have our blood in your veins. God created all of us; we are all his children. And this explosion which brought destruction, pain and death has also brought God's children together."
God wants his people to take care of others regardless of who they are. The strong should protect the weak, the rich should aid the poor, and the literate should teach the illiterate. In the midst of a terrible tragedy, the chaplains and RPs of Camp Al Taqaddum stood side by side with the medical teams, volunteers and Iraqi civilians and lived out the Gospel.
May we continue to be willing and unselfish towards helping one another.
Father José Antonio Bautista, 40, is currently serving as a U.S. military chaplain in Iraq. A native of Guadalajara, Mexico, he was ordained for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1999 from St. John's Seminary, Camarillo, and has previously served at St. Anthony, San Gabriel, and St. Elizabeth, Van Nuys. |