FORT LEWIS, Wash. – Roman Catholic Soldiers of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division took a break from their training schedules to attend a Soldiers’ Mass held here by military Auxiliary Archbishop Joseph W. Estabrook March 1.
“This bishop is putting a premium on the spiritual welfare of these Roman Catholic Soldiers,” said Red Bull Division Chaplain Lt. Col. John Morris, who is currently mobilized for his third deployment to Iraq. “I think that fortifies and strengthens those Soldiers. It shows that the church goes with them and God goes with them as they go into harm’s way.“
Miles away from home, Red Bull Soldiers sat alongside Fort Lewis’ deploying Army 1st Corps Soldiers to discover that although they are far from familiar faces and normal routines, they could still find solace at church.
“When deployed, it’s always nice to come together as a worship community for comfort and support. It gives us a time to take a pause from our training and our duties and reflect on what’s most important in our lives, like our family, friends and our spiritual faith,” said Capt. John Donovan, chief of the 34th Red Bull Visitors Bureau.
Many Servicemembers were also present for Ash Wednesday services on post. This first day of Lent, a 40-day season of fasting and prayer, was marked by a symbolic ritual in which Soldiers received ashes on their foreheads to display recognition of one’s own mortality and repentance.
“Our life on earth is a kind of deployment,” said Post Chaplain Lt. Col. Austin Coe, a Catholic priest who has volunteered to hold additional masses for the Red Bulls during their stay at Ft. Lewis. “Lent is a season of abstinence and penance that helps us detach ourselves from all that is transient and prepare for Easter. In other words, Lent is a season of training for new life, and our whole life journey on earth is, in fact, a Lent.”
Estabrook, a former Navy Chaplain for more than 20 years, concurred.
“Lent is a time for you to look at yourself and say, ‘when I go out into the world, do I have something to say or have I become infected?’ So what I have to do is take a look at myself and see what part of the problem I have become and let God change that,” explained Estabrook.
While many Soldiers experience fear and anxiety from going to war, some believe that Soldiers of faith have a mental advantage that strengthens the unit.
“In the most dangerous settings that I’ve been in, people of faith can generally fight effectively, and I’ll give you a simple reason: If you’re a person of faith you’ve thought about life after death and you’ve come to some sort of peace about your death … you can fully live because you believe ‘if I die, there’s something better,’” explained Morris.
The 34th Red Bull Infantry Division recognizes the importance of faith-based support for deploying Soldiers and provides many services to meet their spiritual needs. This includes daily bible studies, mass, services for a variety of denominations, a multitude of free literature, several full-time chaplains and an open door to any Soldier in need of spiritual or emotional support.
