How do we evangelize to the soldiers?

[St3746]

drudgereport.com/flash4.htm

I found this a little sad. What are we as Catholics doing to keep our Catholic soldiers and Marines, Catholic? If there is a shortage of Catholic chaplains, how can we expect them to stay in the Church?

What happens to them if they die without the sacrament of reconcilliation!???

 

[Fidelis]

I don’t see anything in this particular report to indicate that at least some of these Marines and soldiers are not Catholic. In fact it mentions no denominations at all. The minister annointing one soldier with oil sounds rather Catholic to me.

Having said that, I think in the main you are right. We do not send our sons and daughters to war with the means to preserve their Catholic Faith against the onslaught of a pagan lifestyle found in much of military life, or from well-meaning Evangelicals and Fundamentalists who will draw those weak and uninformed in their Faith away from it. I remember my own experience in the military and how the pull from both was very strong. Anyone who knows someone who is off defending their country should take measures to help them defend their faith as well. Send them good, solid Catholic material, especially in apologetics, so they will be more confident and enthusiastic about their faith in a very trying situation. You probavly couldn’t do much better than to send them a subscription to “This Rock” magazine.

catholic.com/magazines/thisrock.asp

 

[Seatuck]

Provide support to the Catholic Chaplains.

milarch.org/

 

[Spunky]

This is a wonderful question. As someone who watched a newly baptized and confirmed Sailor (he became Catholic in boot camp) struggle with questions about his new faith and not being able to find anyone who could really help him, I turned to a Baptist organization who were willing and able to visit and talk to him. Unfortunatley, they were not able to help him and at the present time, he is not practicing his faith. The original job he had signed up for when he went in had been changed (in order to build a leaner, stronger Navy ) and he was now responsible for identifly targets, calling strikes and watching the video of the bomb drop. He was sure he would be going to hell and no amount of explaining “just wars” or any we could think of could help this young Sailor. It was thoroughly heartbraking to watch him go through this struggle and not be able to go to him and help him or to find anyone Catholic that he could go to without fear of loosing the job that was causing him to struggle with his faith in the first place. Even the Catholic Chaplain whom I spoke with so that the Sailors idenity would remain unknown said that if the Sailor came to him and he felt he could not do his job, that he would have to let his superiors know. Thus, the reason the young Sailor was afraid to confide his fears to this Chaplain. I think we need a Lay Ministry to include retired service people who would be able to be a support group for these service people.

 

[St3746]

Fidelis:

I don’t see anything in this particular report to indicate that at least some of these Marines and soldiers are not Catholic. In fact it mentions no denominations at all. The minister annointing one soldier with oil sounds rather Catholic to me.

Having said that, I think in the main you are right. We do not send our sons and daughters to war with the means to preserve their Catholic Faith against the onslaught of a pagan lifestyle found in much of military life, or from well-meaning Evangelicals and Fundamentalists who will draw those weak and uninformed in their Faith away from it. I remember my own experience in the military and how the pull from both was very strong. Anyone who knows someone who is off defending their country should take measures to help them defend their faith as well. Send them good, solid Catholic material, especially in apologetics, so they will be more confident and enthusiastic about their faith in a very trying situation. You probavly couldn’t do much better than to send them a subscription to “This Rock” magazine.

catholic.com/magazines/thisrock.asp

Do you know how I can send them these gifts?

 

[Spunky]

www.CatholicMil.org

You will find a place at the bottom of the page where Chaplains ask for specific items you can buy that Catholic soldiers have requested and the Chaplain will see that they get it.