Continuity of Spiritual Care: Military Chapels "Mission and Miracles"
Welcome! So now that you are totally aware of my completely biased inclination toward Life Teen, I would like to provide some evidence and share the overall mission, which simplified is that we are ALL called to holiness, let's get the job done together and let's make it possible in every Chapel EVERYWHERE... God Bless!
CONTINUITY OF SPIRITUAL CARE: MILITARY CHAPELS
The Six Part Series
Part 4: Mission and Miracles
Part 5: Many Parts, Many Hats
Part 6: Bid Farewell, Not Goodbye
CONCLUSION: Don’t Let the Sun Set
A message for widespread awareness of service member and military family needs from Military Chapels called:
“Continuity of Spiritual Care”
The Short-Term Mission & Miracles
One word as we prayed and prepared to meet this unique needs of our teens kept bubbling up....VOCATIONS. And so it was our intention, that we would pray for vocations and offered the entirety of all that we would do from that moment forward to our Patroness, Our Blessed Mother and the Holy Spirit. We have been blessed in abundance and not in the ways that one analyzing "success" would look for. We did not exponentially grow in numbers. We did grow in FAITH. Two of our adult Core members began to feel a call to discern vocations to the priesthood. In fact, they attended the Discernment Retreat with AMS (Archdiocese of Military Services) in D.C. One of our boys requested attendance to the same retreat and was unable to go but keeps his heart open to the call. 49% of current seminarians said that they have had some involvement with Life Teen and nearly 30% of seminarians said that their experience with Life Teen leed to their discernment for seminary! 
A few of our girls have shared a openness to the religious life (they have confessed the intense wish to see more religious sisters in action and available to military communities...they hear so much about the vocations to the priesthood and the need for Military priests but don't hear much about the need for Sisters in the world). We experienced multiple miracles with the fragrance of roses (including and especially to a Core member who has permanently lost their sense of smell!) and that of Escarcha.
We have had some of our pre-Catholic teens and spouses start or will begin Catechesis for the Rites of Initiation and many teens received the sacrament of Confirmation and still more were inspired to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time! Those who have graduated or come up on orders to PCS (lol there's that word again) have enthusiastically shared they will participate in the Life Teen Programs in their next adventures (provided that there is a program available to them ....ahhhemmmm.... Continuity of Spiritual Care). In my own personal life, I have seen these young men and women thrive in their openness to ask tough questions, explore their relationship with Christ in new and deep ways and become more confident in evangelizing to their peers and in some cases their parents! I must say that the miracles we would have dreamt to ask for have been far surpassed by those we have witnessed. Conversions of heart, abundant love, and healthy curiosity and yearning for more devotion and discernment have been granted to our small community. We have also experienced and rich and generous relationship with the local community parishes and Diocese. We shared in participating with Life Teen Empower training, Diocesan Youth Day, and faith formation trainings as well as partnering with the Social Ministry Department to serve and share in works of mercy for our local community.
Long-Term Mission
I am desperate to witness and share the miracles that happen when adults who are passionate about loving Jesus through teens in our distinctive military experience. When they commit themselves to prayer and the Eucharist and are gifted the amazing resources Life Teen provides the Holy Spirit delivers and in spades. The mission of Life Teen is to lead teens closer to Christ through the Eucharist. This is also the need ALL of us have as a Catholic person. Whether we are men, women, children, teens, married or single. We arrive in our locations needing to be seen, to be loved and to be served. Out of that abundance, we then become eager to serve and it becomes a fun circle of love and service that expands and envelops our Military communities as well as the local community. When we are spiritually sick, it is a blessing to be able to depend on the pastoral and Sacramental support of our priests who ideally have time and availability to walk with us and help us on our healing journey and when we are well to celebrate the joys of the Sacraments and blessings and support in our sharing of those joys with our communities.
The ideal finish line here was best articulated by Father Uce Iheke (pronounced OOh- Chay) when he was our community Pastor in Ansbach, Germany. He pointed to congregants, "You! What's your name?" "Cassandra, Father. My name is Cassandra." "Cassandra, you are a woman. You BELONG with the women...Cassandra, this is Kerry. Kerry is the Catholic Women's leader. Kerry, welcome Cassandra." "You!" His slender finger pointed to a man in the pews. "Yes, Father." "What is your name?" He asked in his Nigerian accent. "Rick." "Rick, yes, you look like a Rick! You are a MAN! You belong with the Men!" He did this until every person at Mass that day knew there was a place for them. He called them by name and with authority (much like this Sunday's Gospel where we hear of Jesus teaching with Authority) declared their rightful place. To be served and to serve. Brother with brother, sister with sister, a community of believers. It set something on fire in me that I believe will last for the rest of my days, God willing. WHO I am, matters and where I BELONG must be answered or my Catholic identity loses something fundamental, something sacred. Our God calls us by name, He tells us we are one body. If your chapel is not serving mothers and fathers, men and women, children and teens, singles and married, you are not a healthy body. Christ is our head and yes, we can do the work with limited budgets and experience but the reality is that just because a body CAN function without let's say, its right arm, doesn't mean it SHOULD. It is my dream that we would have Continuity of Spiritual Care for ALL individuals at every installation.
I challenge you, whomever you are reading this...are you answering God's call? Are you taking the commands to evangelize seriously? If your parish is lacking, ask God...how do we heal this broken part of our body? Trust me, The Great Physician was just waiting for you to make your appointment. Our Lady of Good Counsel is ready for your consultation, and the Holy Spirit will be ready to give you your prescription. Let us not accept defeat or mediocrity! Jesus suffered and died that we might live and live abundantly! You are not alone. So I say, YOU! What is your name? YOU BELONG HERE. Let's roll up our sleeves together and get started...your miracles are waiting.
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