The Formative and Communitarian Aspect of Prayer on International Operations and Missions

This paper explores the role of prayer in international operations and missions from the perspective of the formation of members in terms of mission, values and virtues necessary for the successful and safe performance of tasks, and building unity and connectedness among members. It also examines the role of spiritual care before deployment to an international mission and the provision of spiritual care during the international mission. Prayer, particularly through the celebration of rituals, serves as a support for the accomplishment of the mission. Through repeated rituals, prayer shapes the individual at a pre-cognitive level, that is, at the level of the heart. In this way, it helps the person to become aware of his or her role in the mission of the deployed unit and of the values and virtues necessary for the successful and safe performance of tasks. The second aspect of prayer discussed is the communitarian or community aspect, which helps the unit to build good relationships, connectedness and also trust. The research demonstrates that prayer, as part of the mission support processes, contributes to the successful and safe performance of tasks in international missions when integrated with other support processes.