Greatness is too often defined by an unusual act of courage or a life
of extraordinary merit or virtue. But glimpses of greatness can be
seen all around us, and especially in those who genuinely care for
others.
Father Albert Braun was such a man. After his ordination, he
requested to live amongst some of the poorest of the world’s poor. He
was sent to the Mescalero Apache reservation in south central New
Mexico (USA). Father Braun learned to love the Apache. And as he
lived with them, he learned from them and they learned from him. They
became family.
He stayed many years on the reservation but left it twice to serve as
a chaplain during both World Wars. He almost died in World War II
when his Allied forces tried to defend the Philip-pine Islands from
attack. Many of his comrades died during the fighting and Father
Braun risked his own life to comfort the wounded and give the dying
Last Rites. He was forced to march with no food and little water.
Along the way, many more of the men died. And in the prisoner of war
camps, more lives yet were lost to disease, cruel physical treatment
and malnutrition.
Father Braun had learned much from the Apache about surviving off the
land. When he went out on work detail, he found fruit and edible
vegetables that he smuggled back into the camp to help supplement the
men’s diets. Once he acquired the vaccine for diphtheria that he also
secreted into camp, but it wasn’t enough. They drew lots to determine
who would get the medicine. Though afflicted himself, he gave his
portion to a young soldier. Before long, he suffered simultaneously
from diphtheria, malaria, dysentery and beriberi.
He barely survived the war. Later, he asked to be returned to New
Mexico to live once again with the Apache. When he knew that his own
death was near, Father Braun requested to be buried on the
reservation, surrounded by his Apache “family.”
Today, at the church of St. Joseph, one can see portraits of the
Apache’s greatest chiefs and warriors. There is a portrait of
Geronimo, one of Cochise, a picture of Victorio and a portrait of
Father Albert Braun, who came to live among them as a true friend.
Father Braun showed a certain greatness, not by any one heroic deed,
but by the sum total of a life of caring. I believe we can catch
glimpses of greatness in the lives of anybody who genuinely cares.
– Steve Goodier
LifeSupportSystem.com
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