‘so what is a chaplain then?’ – inspiration from st martin

This post is copied from CatholicYouthWork.

“The story of chaplaincy begins at the gate to the city of Amiens in CE. Martin, a young soldier in the Roman army, was walking into the city during a bitterly cold winter.

I claim no credit for this work. Wednesday the 11th of November is the feast of St Martin de Tours, the first chaplain! Martin, a young soldier in the Roman army, was walking into the city during a bitterly cold winter. The crowds were hurrying past a half-naked beggar who was close to death. Martin, unpaid and having only his military uniform, stopped and looked at the man who gazed back at him expectantly, with hand outstretched.

After a slight hesitation, Martin took out his sword and then removed his cloak and sliced it through the middle giving one half to the man and using the other half to cover himself again. Some bystanders laughed at him and the ridiculous way he looked, wearing only half a cloak. Later that night Martin had a dream, he saw a vision of Christ himself wearing the half a cloak and saying to others Look at the cloak that Martin gave me today, and he only a poor soldier and a lay man too.

This chaplain was acting in the spirit of St Martin: fixing the fences was like cutting a cloak and putting it on the farmer’s shoulders.

The dream so affected Martin that he tried to leave the army and in CE he was released into civilian life. From there he went on to work for the poor and increase awareness of the presence of God in ordinary people. He created a number of communities and became a church leader. He died at Tours in CE. His cloak, or half a cloak, became a precious object in military and royal circles.

It became a spiritual symbol for the whole community. The cloak was used in the taking of oaths and was carried into battle and came to symbolise all that was best in humanity, a symbol of the spiritual dignity of each person and a powerful reminder of the need to seek God in ordinary things. The cloak was called a cappella — a cape.