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Veterans Day, which falls on Sunday, pays tribute to the Americans who served the country in time of war or at peace. Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, also recalls that the toll war can attack the women and men who serve. This week's clergy are discussing the role that faith can play in the healing process for veterans.
James J. O Donnell
US Army veteran, mentor at the St. Joseph's College Veterans Resource Center in Patchogue and author of "Sons of Value, Parents of Faith" (WestBow Press)
In John 14:27, Christ said to his disciples, "I leave you peace, I give you my peace, I do not give it to you as the world gives it, do not let your heart be troubled or frightened." Unfortunately, for many veterans, serving in the military is a risk to mental health, the most common diagnosis associated with combat being post-traumatic stress disorder.
Clinicians have also encountered another problem that affects veterans: moral harm: an attack on the fundamental morality or moral vision of an individual's world as a result of a stressful or traumatic event. Typically, non-pecuniary damage occurs when a person experiences such events that she commits, fails to prevent or witnesses acts that transgress her moral beliefs. Attack on morality results from the violation of what a person considers fair or unjust, and causes grief, shame and alienation. Veterans returning with religious affiliations may ask their churches, synagogues and mosques to help them in their moral recovery, just like veterans of previous wars. Caregivers familiar with a moral injury recognize the role that faith can play in the healing process. For Roman Catholics like me, the sacrament of reconciliation offers a special chance of healing. For members of other religions, the acceptance and inclusion of veterans can provide comfort. Traditional clinical methods are somewhat limited in the treatment of moral injury. Faith-based groups offer veterans a community willing to dialogue on moral issues.
Rabbi Yakov Saacks
The Chai Center, Dix Hills
According to the Torah (the five books of Moses), Judaism allows for war in some cases. However, the possibility of waging war is limited and it is imperative to always seek a just peace before making war. Therefore, a religious soldier who goes to battle knowing that he is waging a fair war, either to defend himself or to face a danger if the threat is not eradicated, is in a certain peace. This does not detract from the fact that even a just war is tragic, traumatic and has a deleterious effect on any soldier, especially when many of them suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
There is a beautiful prayer that many soldiers in Israel recite before going into battle. They ask God to save them from the enemy, to wound them or to kill them, and to imbue them with a sensitivity allowing them to do nothing immoral on the battlefield. Here is a sentence from their prayer: "Please, let their bullets not hurt these children of our enemies whose guards deliberately place them in dangerous areas; shoot our soldiers, then protect yourself behind their own people, so as to blame our soldiers when their children are injured or even killed.
Reverend James Barnum
Pastor, Bellmore Presbyterian Church
In this centenary of Armistice Day, it is good to take a break at 11 am, as we will do in my church, and to enrich ourselves with moments of silence thanking God for our veterans. As a country, we owe a lot to our veterans and to the families who sacrificed so much for us. I find in my ministry as pastor and chaplain that so many veterans, because of their faith in God and in their country, continue to serve in many ways, including as firefighters and other first responders .
Healing, which is essential for everyone, but especially for the veteran, comes from achieving the balance of the inner journey and the outer journey. Veterans can improve their faith and healing by learning to slow down and take care of their souls through prayer and meditation. As a wounded soldier knows from experience, he will have to be put out of action, even if he wishes to stay in battle. The veteran has been taught to stand up, but some veterans really need to seek help from their higher power, first step of healing, as anyone knows in a 12-step program .
Healing is about giving veterans the time and space to understand the importance of their own story. So let's take the time to listen to the veterans, to allow the spirit of God to connect our soul with the wounded soul of another.
