In 2008 Maurais, now a staff officer in the Chaplain General’s Office in Ottawa, was with Canadian forces in Afghanistan on a three-month technical assistance visit. Armed with only his rosary beads — as chaplains are non-combat soldiers — Maurais took every opportunity he had to leave the safety of the main base to visit soldiers on the front.
“It is a privilege for us to be able to work with soldiers in the danger zone,” he said. “Even though I was only there for a very short period of time I was able to get outside the wire very often to be able to get to visit the troops in the FOBs (forward operation bases). It was like a prayer being answered and I was asking God to help me to just be a sign of His presence in the midst of that.”
That experience will no doubt be on his mind during Nov. 11 Rememberence Day events.
While deployed, Maurais helped soldiers deal with everything from troubles with their families back home to coping with the stress of living up to the expectations of a soldier and dealing with the death of comrades, seven of whom died while he was there.
But it isn’t just on the frontlines where the chaplain plays a critical role in the spiritual health of the military’s men and women.
“The chaplain has a very, very important role in all aspects of operations, in preparing, deploying and coming back,” he said.
Prior to deployment, chaplains help soldiers understand the severity of the task at hand and have them accept they may not return home.
“They have to face the possibility of death and also they have to face the possibility of using lethal force and executing an order where what they do can kill. So the chaplain is there to help them think of the consequences of that.”
Similarly, the chaplain assists returning soldiers shift their mentality when back on home soil. That’s an adjustment Maurais said is often more difficult.
“The soldiers, they love operations, that is what they are trained for, and then to come back to a normal routine of just training, it is a time of adjustment that is sometimes difficult for them,” he said. “Also there are some of them that have been exposed to extremely stressful situations and there are some of them that are coming back wounded with PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder.”
While Maurais said adjusting to things like time zone change, climate and a different daily routine happen relatively quickly for most, it is coping with fulfilling the duties of a soldier that causes the most stress.
“Sometimes it is difficult for them to share what they have lived in operations because the intensity of what they experienced in combat is so great that it is difficult to express it even to your loved ones,” he said. “That is the reason why with the padre, by being with them, by being one of them, they can open up and share openly to us what they are living.”
That’s not something that happens overnight. Sometimes that support is needed long after a soldier lays down their weapon.
Even when no longer an active member of the military, Maurais said it is not uncommon for veterans to continue to seek support from military chaplains because they can relate to them more easily.
“When you have that condition of life it stays with you forever and you have a natural connection with the people who have gone through the same things,” said Maurais, describing the life-long brotherhood of military personnel. “There is a lot of not only the active chaplains, but there is a lot of our colleagues who are retired who are giving some help to the veterans. Sometimes you don’t need to speak to the veteran but just shake hands and pray and be with them; they feel when we have a presence of compassion to them.”
Although Maurais is grateful to have such a vocation he does admit that the role of a military chaplain is burdensome. That’s why it is essential chaplains support each other in their ministry.
“Day in and day out when you are in operations, when you are really visiting everybody, you just don’t know what your day is going to be,” said Maurais. “And when you make yourself accessible to people and you go out and they start to talk to you I am telling you the people really appreciate that. But what you receive in the struggle of what the people are going through you’ve got to be really prepared to not carry that burden alone.”
Beyond the support he received from those around him, Maurais finds comfort in his wife and two daughters and in knowing that he is doing what Jesus did.
“I think this is precisely what Jesus had done with us, in His humanity walking with us and looking at us and seeing what is the best in us and never to condemn us to our failures but to see what is possible,” he said. “When you nourish your life with this fantastic good news of His so strong presence in our world, and when other people of faith nourish you to that presence of His body and blood and try to be a sign of that presence to the world, it makes such a difference to your personal life.”