As a military chaplain, I have the opportunity to serve many people from different faith, cultural, and spiritual backgrounds that are way different than mine. Even though I grew up in Viet Nam and was used to being exposed to other spiritual beliefs and ways of life that are different than what I believe as a Catholic, there are some spiritual and cultural practices that I have come to know that are way outside of my comfort zone. Even though I feel uncomfortable at times with what these practices represent and try to do, I try to find the delicate balance between protecting their First Amendment rights and staying true to my faith. It is a delicate balance and a fine line to walk at times. Still, I have also learned how to never stop loving the Lord and His truth without making compromises to my professional duties, ministerial responsibilities, and priestly vocation.
To be honest with you, I have learned a lot about different religious, cultural, and spiritual practices being in the military because it is a microcosm of diversity with so many people from many different backgrounds and walks of life. The military environment, at times, too, has become the experimental ground for people who are now free and detached from their past, cultural, and familial ties to do whatever they like. Therefore, it oftentimes becomes a mélange of ideologies and spiritualities that are all over the place and very different than what I truly hold dear and believe in as a Catholic priest. There were times that I was astounded or shocked by some of the lifestyles or “spiritual” practices that our military members are embracing for the sake of whatever reasoning they have bought into or made up for themselves. Nonetheless, as a chaplain and priest, I do have the freedom and need to hold true to who I am without compromising my faith, values, and what gives me life and defines me as a beloved child of God.
I do not say that I have the perfect answer, but here is how I approach my priestly ministry in the military. First, I understand my duty and responsibility as being a priest for some (Catholics) but a chaplain for all. I have to learn and read up on the different spiritual beliefs and practices, especially when members come to us asking to support and help them seek religious accommodations for their particular ways of life or practices. I try my best to listen to them, determine the consistency, sincerity, and legitimacy of their descriptions (in accordance with other subject matter experts, teachers, and verifiable and common sources), and give my professional advisement to their supervisors or commanders regarding their particular belief system. Sometimes, we are asked to provide resources, materials, or relevant matters so they can carry out their spiritual practices. Other times, we are asked to be the official liaison present when those practices are taking place, too. Hence, that is when the tricky, challenging, and “fine line” situations would arise…
Nonetheless, I remember growing up in Viet Nam where Catholics are still a minority in comparison to the general population of Taoists, ancestral worshippers, Buddhists, Cao-Dai, and other eastern religious beliefs. Even among my own extended family members, where many on my maternal side are not Catholics, I find myself being “odd” as a Catholic and priest. Many of my uncles, aunts, and even my maternal grandparents did not understand why I could or could not do certain things! I had to be present for some of their rituals and ceremonies out of respect (being a member of the family), but respectfully had to draw the line when I did not participate in what was contradictory to my own faith. Hence, this is where dignity and respect have to be the foundation. For sure, my own personal background has helped me to be a military chaplain in a pluralistic environment, holding on to my Catholic and priestly identity but able to care for and be present to those who are different than me.
Hence, when it comes to my own Catholic faith and priestly identity, I will never make any compromises. I know who I am and what the Church asks of me because this is not something that I like or am able to create as I like, for I am ordained and called to be in persona Christi capitis. I have never let my faith be compromised in any way or allow foreign elements to come into our liturgies and how I teach and hand on the Church‘s teachings. Even though it sounds like a fine line, there is a very distinctive and uncrossable line because, at the end of the day, I am and will always be a priest first and foremost.
I am grateful that the United States Air Force, our Chaplain Corps, and leaders understand that fine line. While there were times that I had to share and educate others on what I believe and who I am, I never had to feel ashamed or pressured into becoming someone who I am not. I know that I belong to Him first; it is He who gives me life and calls me into this particular ministry, and I am here to serve because He has led me here. It is never about rank, title, money, power, influence, or prestige, because it has always been a response to where He has led me — and that cannot be compromised. What gives me life, who I am, and what I am called to be is Christocentric because I belong to Him!
At a Priestly Ordination Mass, the Bishop often quotes the homily section of the Rite of Ordination. There are certain passages in the prepared text that really personally move me, and I would like to share some of them with you:
Now, dear son(s), you are to be raised to the Order of the Priesthood. For your part you will exercise the sacred duty of teaching in the name of Christ the Teacher. Impart to everyone the Word Of God which you have received with you. Meditating on the Law of the Lord, see that you believe what you read, that you teach what you believe, and that you practice what you teach.
Likewise, you will exercise in Christ the office of sanctifying. For by your ministry the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful will be made perfect, being united to the Sacrifice of Christ, which will be offered through your hands in an unbloody way on the Altar, in union with the faithful, in celebration of the sacraments. Understand, therefore, what you do and imitate what you celebrate.
…remember that you are taken from among men and appointed on their behalf for those things that pertain to God. Therefore, carry out the ministry of Christ the Priest with constant joy and genuine love, attending not to your own concerns but to those of Jesus Christ. Keep always before your eyes the example of the Good Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve, and came to seek out and save what was lost.
As you can see for yourself, the Church asks me and my brother priests to speak, preach, and guide you on matters of the faith. We are not experts in other fields, and should not give vocal opinions on certain politicized matters because our opinions should remain personal and ours alone. It is dangerous when priests begin to become involved in political matters, especially when they use the pulpit and their congregation (or through other means) to voice their individual desires and dislikings.
If we live according to true love for God and our neighbors, we would not count the costs, worry about the politics, or be divided by vocal news but be good, faithful, and prudent stewards of His gifts to us. If we truly understand what we receive at each and every Mass, our hearts will be set on heavenly matters and eternal values. If we truly love the self-giving and intimate gift of Christ Jesus, and receive it with humility and obedience to His will, we will not be easily agitated, shaken, moved, and distracted by useless noises, opinions, trends, and ideologies. When we choose to live for Christ, we find that we speak louder with our actions than our words; we testify with our lives and deeds more than what the world wants from us. When we are able to love God genuinely and wholeheartedly, we will stop trying to do things and simply be everything that we are able to be as a response to His love for us.
At each and every moment in time, we have to remember that we first belong to Christ and are called to be obedient in serving Him first and foremost. Nothing else is more important than this one eternal, redemptive, and salvific mission and purpose for us as believers and disciples of the one true Master! The world will always try to silence, manipulate, and make us become political, secular, power-hungry, and worried about lesser goods and matters, but we need to remember that there is only one thing that matters the most, one name that we bear by our faith, and one mission that we are called to live each and every day. It is so easy to make the Church be influenced by the world, moved with it, and be popular with it, but it is very hard to make the Church be the one who moves the world, lifts it up from its mundaneness, and makes it know its Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.
If we want this world to truly change, let us begin everything from the ground, where it matters the most, deeply connected and intimately giving from the bottom of our hearts the gift of our very own selves to one another! We need to constantly remind ourselves of who we truly are and to love Him in others according to their dignity and respect without compromising our true faith and values. If we really want the world to change, we have to begin with our very own self-giving gifts of service to those who are around us. If we want our society to know that God exists, we have to be His loving presence in words and actions. We can only become life-giving when we value that very relationship with Him who loves us. We can all begin somewhere. We can all serve someone. We can give ourselves wholly and completely in some ways. Therefore, let us give, serve, and share Christ with one another through the loving and sacrificial gift of our very selves.