Lourdes, France, May 22, 2019 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Gen. Jeff Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Africa, and Lt. Gen Chris Cavoli, commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, are two of the highest-ranking members of the American military. And over the weekend, they joined the thousands of military pilgrims who traveled to Lourdes seeking healing and peace.
Harrigian and Cavoli were asked to join the official American delegation to the International Military Pilgrimage, Warriors to Lourdes. Warriors to Lourdes is a program of the Knights of Columbus and the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.
Although the two generals are both Catholic, neither had been to Lourdes previously. Both explained to CNA how their faith impacts their military career, and what the pilgrimage meant to them.
Harrigian has been in his current position for only a few weeks, but joined the Air Force in 1985 and attended the Air Force Academy.
“I wanted to fly airplanes,” he explained, which led to him applying to the Academy.
Harrigian was unfamiliar with the story of Lourdes prior to this trip, but he said his wife taught him about the significance of the site, and thought the pilgrimage would be fruitful for the family, for a multitude of reasons.
“She thought it would be a great opportunity, first to experience it but also to be with some of our warriors here and have an opportunity to interact with them,” said Harrigian.
The size and scope of the pilgrimage came as a surprise to the general, who repeatedly used the word “extraordinary” to describe the event. Approximately 12,000 servicemembers from about 40 countries traveled to Lourdes.
“The first thing I would say is, I didn’t truly understand the breadth of all the nations that participated in this,” he said. “And to have an opportunity to interact with the different nations, the families, the warriors, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one that I’m not sure I truly appreciated as I read about it.”
“But now that I’m here I find it to be an extraordinary experience,” he added. Part of this experience included talking to senior French military officers and members of the Italian military.
“The interaction has been extraordinary,” he said. “It’s been a great opportunity to interact with them on a personal basis and get a sense of what Lourdes means to them as well.”
Harrigian said that he considers his Catholic faith to be an important facet that helps him maintain balance in his life and helps him with his military duties. He told CNA he is “always praying for our troops that are deployed down-range.”
“Reflecting on what your faith brings to you, your background, and having that underpin who you are is very important to any person,” he said. “And for me personally, it really helps in the command role that I have now.”
Cavoli is also visiting Lourdes for the first time. Unlike Harrigian, he was very familiar with the story of Lourdes and had been wanting to visit.
“I’ve been hearing about [Lourdes] my whole life, since I was a kid, so this is a unique opportunity to get to do something I’ve wanted to do so much,” he said.
Cavoli told CNA that he finds his faith to be “intertwined” with his military career, and calls upon his faith to provide the graces needed to carry out the duties of his job.
“Of course, I have my strictly military duties, which are mainly secular in nature, but the moral compass that religion gives me, the moral compass and the ethical fortitude, as well as the emotional strength to deal with what is a pretty hard profession, that helps me a great deal,” he said.
Additionally, Cavoli credits his faith with giving him the wisdom to make the choices in tough decisions, as well as “the strength to carry on when things are hard.”
One of the benefits of the International Military Pilgrimage is that it gives servicemembers a chance to be surrounded by people who have similar experiences and can understand and empathize.
“It gives folks time to be together and to share their thoughts. In this case, in the context of their faith, which adds strength to the discussion.”
Of course, soldiers, sailors, and airmen train and deploy to defend lives and to risk their own in the service of others. But an inherent truth of military service is that it can involve armed conflict and the taking of human life.
Even in pursuit of the noblest cause or in defense against the clearest of evil, killing and death leave marks on the consciences of all those involved. The “moral injuries” of armed conflict can be as real and as in need of healing as physical wounds.
“Moral injury is a serious thing,” Cavoli said, offering that civilians could best help in the healing process by not make assumptions about the experiences of servicemen and women. Listening comes before understanding, he said.
During the pilgrimage, there were major events for all pilgrims, and smaller events for subsets. Both Cavoli and Harrigian said that they considered a shared Mass for English-speaking pilgrims, including servicemen and chaplains from the U.S., the U.K., and Ireland at the Lourdes Grotto, to be a highlight of the journey.
“The Mass at the Grotto was absolutely moving. It was beautiful,” said Cavoli. Afterwards, he joined a group for the Stations of the Cross, something he said added up to a “beautiful, beautiful morning” that was “just perfect.”
Harrigian called the Mass was “a great chance to just reflect upon everything that this experience brings to the entire community of warriors that are here, along with our families.”
And while neither had visited the baths when they spoke to CNA, both were carrying specific intentions with them.
“Personally, internal to our family, I’m always looking for grace and the opportunity to appropriately look over all those that I work with and work for, in the role that I currently have,” Harrigian told CNA. He said he was extremely grateful to the Knights of Columbus for orchestrating Warriors to Lourdes, which he called “an incredible event.”
Cavoli had similar intentions, saying he would be praying for “Peace, my soldiers, [and] my family.” He has appreciated his time in Lourdes, saying it was a place that made him feel “very calm” and fully aware of the presence of God.
“It’s just a wonderful pilgrimage,” he said.
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How ghoulish! Enter the door marked “Superstition”. Is it any wonder some take amusement at the Church of Rome.
Bury the skull, instead exalt Christ!
Brian: First, read some history; secondly, deepen your theological understanding of God, Christ, the Incarnation, the body, etc.
It’s not ghoulish or superstitious. Or amusing. You are speaking like a 21st-century American, not a Christian rooted in Tradition faith, and eschatological hope.
Everything to do with the saints (relics, prayers, devotion, etc) is about Jesus Christ, precisely because the Catholic Faith has a far deeper, more robust, and authentic understanding of the Church, communio, and the material realm than do Protestants, who are so often (as one Protestant author rightly called it years ago) quite gnostic in their understanding of the created world.
Carl with comeuppance for yours truly. One of the reasons to enjoy CWR is to learn. The forum attracts able writers and educated, godly responders. We don’t have to be correct on every point, yet we are enriched as we encounter dialogue from fellow lovers of Christ. CWR is a catalyst for developing faith, eschewing misconceptions and aiding those who do not know Christ.
Perhaps you are correct in your summation, however, I would not be putting the skull of this giant of the faith on my mantlepiece anytime soon (providing some thoughtful soul sent it along)!
Allow me to compliment you and your staff on your God honouring work!
Ever in Christ,
Brian
James 1:9-10 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.
1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Romans 10:2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
Brian. God be with you.
Dear Georgina:
God’s richest blessings as you strive to serve Him!
Yours in Christ,
Brian
Dear Carl:
The gnostic perspective and Philip K lee!
A true protestant will reject gnosticism because it is unbiblical. You must review numerous drafts that present irregular and sometimes unorthodox views. Training and good scholarship allows you to separate the wheat form the chaff.
In John’s letters to the church, he uncovers the gnostic perspective. He does not endorse those views as sound theology. While these ideas may help a person to understand Christ’s message and decline conclusions that are contrary to Holy Scripture, should we not study the excellent while rejecting substandard analysis?
In Colossians, 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus and 2nd Peter, again, admonishment is given against the heresy of the gnostics. Perhaps scripture says it best in respect to the follower of gnosticism:
2 Timothy 3:7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Ephesians 4:14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Blessings,
Brian
“A true protestant will reject gnosticism because it is unbiblical.”
And yet, Brian, you apparently accept and promote sola scriptura, which is completely unbiblical. But we’ve covered that ground already…
Dear Carl:
How can the word of God be incomplete? He who has given us everything we need, in some such way, left something out? While I deeply respect your work, it will happen that we disagree from time to time. However, could you point to a specific instance where scripture fails to address a particular need that man has?
Matthew 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Ephesians 6:17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Blessings upon blessings,
Brian
Let those who take amusement at the church of Rome enjoy their laugh. They will laugh last as the Church honors the material remains of a saint of profound reason, deeply blessed faith, heavenly inspiration, and unearthly industry, skulls and its contents could greatly benefit. They will also laugh last as Jesus the Christ honors in heaven what the Church honors on Earth, as He holds bound what His Catholic Church holds bound. He is her Head. What body part does Protestantism hold with which to amuse, enjoy and believe itself blessed by that part?
Dear Meiron:
Thank you for responding and offering your perspective. You have said a great deal in a few sentences. Allow me to attempt to reply to you.
We agree on the excellence of Aquinas. We celebrate his faith, words and work. How could we laugh at such a godly legacy? Praise God for such a man.
If we discuss godly matters, our framework should be the guidance of God.
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
You point to: Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
We ask ourselves is there a restraining mechanism that all believers in Christ should adhere to?
Revelation 22:18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
Peter is liberated by the word of God and constrained by eternal precepts ordained by God, as well.
Malachi 1:6 “A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honour? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’
Isaiah 29:13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
Though I stand to be corrected, Catholics and Protestants celebrate the resurrected and holy body, plus spirit of Jesus Christ the righteous.
Blessings,
Brian