The native of Brooks, Alta.’s third novel is a riveting tale of a Catholic military chaplain determined to be spiritually present for the Allied Forces confronting Nazi Germany even as he is imprisoned in the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Fr. Joseph Benson is the protagonist of this historical fiction story. Those initiated with Galeski’s oeuvre to date will recognize Benson as the main character of his last book The Good Heart, a tale of a fresh-faced Canadian infantryman trying to hold onto his soul amid the hell of First World War trench warfare.
One of the strengths of The Good Heart was that Galeski’s strong descriptive prose vividly described the chaotic hell of combat. This strength is on display again in Through Whom the Light Shines, starting with a first chapter that depicts the dramatic Operation Jubilee raid on the French sea-side village of Dieppe.
It is during that first chapter when Benson makes a fateful decision that sets the stage for the rest of the story.
Instead of retreating to safety with fellow wounded soldiers following a failed offensive, Benson made the daring — and foolish in the eyes of his compatriots — decision to jump off the watercraft and remain behind. He sought to offer whatever support he could to the Allied soldiers who could not join the retreat as they were still ensnared in combat with German forces. Capture by the enemy — if not termination — would be the highly likely fate for these remaining combatants, and now Benson.
In the first chapter, Benson observes that it was perhaps providence that God wanted him to return to the front 20 years after barely surviving World War I.
Throughout this account, one of the messages that becomes clear is how sometimes the Lord calls each of us to bravely head into the storm because He has a plan in mind to transform you through adversity. Even more potently, He may use the shining example of a strong faith and character that endures amid trial and tribulation to spark some of the most unlikely and inspirational born-again conversions imaginable.
Through Whom the Light Shines is also a compelling literary illustration of faith conquering fear. Even amid experiencing the horrors of starvation, torture and beholding death while confined, Benson’s courage and devotion to the Lord remains unwavering. He knows that no physical or psychological scarring can touch his spirit that rejoices in his Heavenly Father.
Leading up to last Remembrance Day I had the pleasure of speaking to Fr. Alexander Varga, the vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Roman Catholic Military Ordinariate of Canada, and Major Tom Hamilton, a senior Presbyterian chaplain and military historian based in P.E.I. I was enthralled and enriched by the information and anecdotes they shared with me about how Catholic and Protestant chaplains were so relied upon during the Second World War. Described as “agents and guardians of morale,” chaplains would buoy the spirit of soldiers engaging in a beachfront raid and pilots stepping into an Avro Anson for an air offensive.
Chaplains would also be totally present to provide comfort and healing for soldiers experiencing what was known as battle fatigue during the Second World War and post-traumatic stress disorder (P.T.S.D.) now. And when these soldiers were worried about pieces of news they received from the home front, they would go to the chaplain for counselling.
It is a darn shame that chaplains and soldiers are so often overlooked for their contributions to Canadian society, even on Remembrance Day. And it is also abhorrent that these servants of God cannot even invoke the name of the Lord at public military events because of woke “inclusive” policies that actually discriminate against the faith of well over half the country.
Perhaps considering that 2025 does indeed mark the 80th anniversary since the end of the bloodiest 20th-century conflict, the sacrifices and spirit of our soldiers will loom a little larger in people’s minds and there will be a larger outpouring of gratitude.