Epiphany, 1996  

Preaching in Hospitals

The Church's Ministry to the Sick

The Gospels speak to us of Jesus' great concern and love for the sick. Throughout His public ministry, Jesus' compassion and love for the sick shine through. We read how Jesus cured the sick and restored them to friendship with His Father. The Church continues Jesus' ministry of caring for the sick with deep compassion and respect for human dignity.

The Gospels also speak to us of a Savior who experienced the depth of human suffering and death itself. Jesus suffered and died for our sake in loving obedience to His heavenly Father; that is how He redeemed us: "dying, He destroyed our death; rising He restored our life." By suffering, dying, and rising, the Lord gave the mystery of human suffering a profound and salvific meaning. Seen in the light of Jesus redeeming love, sickness can help believers to overcome all that separates them from God. Enduring great suffering and facing imminent death, people of faith often experience deep inner healing and reconciliation; theirs is a special witness to the love of Christ. They can also help others to open their hearts more fully to Him. To be sure, the Church teaches the importance of preserving life, and prays for the health and well­being of its members. Through balanced and compassionate teaching, the Church helps to make morally sound decisions concerning the course of our health care even as it helps us prepare for death with the unwavering hope of eternal life.

The Church continues Christ's ministry to the sick and dying through the Sacraments. In providing the Sacrament of Penance, the Anointing of the Sick and Viaticum (Communion of the Sick), the priest brings the loving and redeeming embrace of Jesus to those who are ill. In these moments rich with grace, the priest, acting in the person of Christ, brings to the patient forgiveness, inner healing and strength for what lies ahead. Together with deacons, religious, lay ministers and volunteers, the priest shares with the patient, and with the patient's family, the Good News of Jesus, the Gospel of life and salvation. Through the grace of God, patients are enabled to unite their sufferings with the Lord's so as to share His everlasting joy and glory. So as the Church reaches out to families facing the serious illness of loved ones with deep respect for the precious gift of life and with the hope for the gift of eternal life.

1n Him Who is the source of

my strength, I have strength

for everything.

Phil. 4:13  

Santa Teresita Hospital,

by Sr. Michelle Clines, OCD
Santa Teresita Hospital, located near the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, is a non­profit, acute and long term care facility. Besides serving the acute medical needs of the surrounding and long term care community, the Santa Teresita campus a/so includes a 156­bed skilled nursing facility and a five­story medical office building, a resident for seniors, and a child day care center.

Santa Teresita Hospital in Duarte, California, has come to have many meanings for people of the San Gabriel Valley especially, and even beyond. To some it is the hospital where they go for surgery, for others the emergency room where they take their child or family members, for still others the place where they tell their children, "that's where you were born." For an unknown number Santa Teresita is the place of old memories where they suffered tuberculosis in the 30's and 40's. Today it might mean the place where Mom or Grandma lives. It's where many on their way to work bring their children for day care. At Santa Teresita the Sisters speak often about Bethany, Lourdes, and the Chateau. For more than 400 people, Santa Teresita is a place of employment, and for more that 40 Carmelite Sisters, Santa Teresita is the apostolate to which they are currently assigned.

A six­minute video giving a visual picture of the beauty of Santa Teresita and its mission is dubbed with the song, "This is holy ground, these are holy hands..." And that is why Santa Teresita was founded -- to call all who come through its doors to holiness.

Never has a day gone by in these past 65 years since August 2, 1930, that souls have not been touched by the lives of the Sisters at Santa Teresita. Each Sister truly living her Carmelite vocation calls out to others who see her to know the Lord and seek His will for them. Discharged patients fill out questionnaires with positive comments about the Sisters, the atmosphere, and their desire to return to Santa Teresita if they need health care services again.

Last August more Sisters were assigned to the Pastoral Care Services department. In addition to the three Jesuit priests who also serve at Santa Teresita, the Sisters do a great work of evangelization by patient visitation, grief counseling, seasonal displays throughout the hospital during various feasts, assisting as Eucharistic ministers, coordinating religious events, and maintaining a resource supply of religious articles for patients, families, and the personnel.

For the past 12 months, there were pictorial displays on the lives of St. Therese, St. Claude Colombiere and the miracle of Father John Houle's cure at Santa Teresita. There were also Lenten posters, Easter posters, posters with quotations from the new catechism, Respect Life month events, and a picture display of the history of the hospital. Visitors and staff who walk the halls from department to department, find the brightly decorated and colorful displays lift their thoughts to God.

A focus on End­of­Life care has taken on new meaning at Santa Teresita with the current legislative attempts to legalize assisted suicide. Committees have been formed to discuss how well each person is cared for in the last stages of life. Are they pain­free; is someone always with them; are they allowed to share with others what is most important to them ­­ questions, regrets, hopes, fears, and joys.

Because death is not a rare phenomenon in the health care apostolate, a number of Sisters spend hours with patients who are preparing for this important moment. They are their friends, relatives, their own sisters, former co­workers, volunteers, and benefactors. Death is no respecter of persons, age, beauty, or social status, but it teaches intense lessons about life. The Sisters not only pray for and with them, but also give a cool cloth, refill ice water, bring food trays to visitors, or just be present. They are constantly told that their presence is a living Gospel. And frequently they are asked to be a part of the funeral services following the death.

The staff and Sisters at the Child Care Center at the Hospital teach about Jesus all through the day. Graduation from kindergarten takes place during Holy Mass and the big Christmas production of the year takes place on Epiphany evening. Attendance at First Friday Mass is regular and "Jesus time" each day is part of the curriculum.

People make donations to Santa Teresita out of gratitude often because of a Sister who became a part of their life even by just a word. Last September a man was very sick and was dying with cancer. His wife told the Sister who entered the room, "Sister, you have the face of Jesus" to which Sister responded with a smile. "Maybe it's because I belong to Him!" The lady was touched enough to repeat it.

A significant amount of time is given by the Sisters to the local community and parishes through religious education, participation in parish and city events, and all hospital events and functions. The Sisters work in Food Services, Nursing, Business Services, Inpatient and Outpatient Surgery, Volunteer Services, Manor Nursing, Pastoral Care, Manor Activities,

Administration, Staff Development, Central Services, Ceramics, Child Care, Sewing, Switchboard, Housekeeping, and Medical Offices. Each is evangelizing in a particular way and each differently. The seed is planted during community prayer and, to the degree that their fraternal life in community is lived according to their Carmelite Rule, God gives the growth and increase.
Sr. Michelle is currently an administrative Assistant at Santa Teresita Hospital.
 

Who are the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart?

This Community of Carmelites is a modern active branch affiliated to the Order of Discalced Carmelites. It was founded by Reverend Mother Maria Luisa Josefa of the Blessed Sacrament in 1904, with the ideal of "joining the spirit of Carmel (prayer and sacrifice) with the apostolate." Therefore. it is a contemplative­apostolic community. It was in the providence of God that Reverend Mother Foundress should find religious sanctuary in the United States as she fled persecution in her native Mexico it 1927, and this should lead to the establishment of the Carmelite Sisters in this Country. In 1952, the Holy See granted approval for the erection of a separate American Province in California with its Novitiate for the training of Sisters for work in the United States. In 1983 the California Province was given canonical status as a separate institute of pontifical right by Our Holy Father Pope John Paul II and was aggregated to the Carmelite Order in 1984. From small beginnings and in approximately 80 years, this Community, which is now under the title of Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of LA, has run a swift expansive course and at present, the Sisters are devoted to the care of the sick and aged, the apostolate of teaching, retreat and missionary work, and child care. These sisters are healers of souls as well as bodies at Santa Teresita Hospital, Duarte, CA ­ a fully accredited General Hospital with a clinical Laboratory, Pharmacy, X­ray, Physiotherapy, and Emergency departments, and surgical, medical, and obstetrical sections.  

From the Director's Desk ...

Dear Friends in Christ,
Of the 6,872 hospitals in the United States today; 11% or 749 are Catholic hospitals. Most of these service emergency rooms and outpatient clinics. In addition, there are 309 Catholic health care centers. Last year Catholic hospitals and health care centers combined treated 74,937,696 patients, or about 23% of the total patient population of the United States. Of these Catholic hospitals, 323 are run by religious institutes such as the Alexian Brothers, The Sisters of Mercy, and the Sisters of St. Joseph.

A Long History

One important ministry of the early Church communities was hospitality, the special care of the local bishop. To fulfill this responsibility, bishops ordained deacons to administer hospices, inns for travelers, orphanages, infirmaries, even homes for the aged.

While hospices were established to provide permanent medical care, hospitals evolved to provide temporary care for the seriously sick. Sometimes a single institution provided both forms of medical assistance. During this early period, deacons became quite skillful at medical practice.

As time went on, most hospitals were staffed by members of monasteries or religious institutes of men or women who had vowed themselves to the religious life. At times, even patients took some form of religious dedication. Nevertheless, dioceses and local churches continued to have medical care facilities as part of their ministry.

Enter the Military Orders
In the 12^th and 13^th Centuries, military orders provided protection and medical care to travelers on pilgrimages. During the crusades to the Holy Land they nursed the wounded and buried the dead. Among these orders were the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, known today as the Knights of Malta. The Knights took vows, observed the canonical hours, and often required their patients to do the same. This ancient order, still in existence, has a fascinating history ­­ the stuff of which legends are made.

Founded around the same time (c.1120), the Hospitallers of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem were dedicated to evangelization. They spread the Christian faith as an integral part of their works of hospitality, defense of travelers, and medical services. After a stormy history, the order no longer exists.

A Religious Orientation
Many saints of the middle ages are associated with hospitals, including St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Alexius of Edessa, founder of the religious brothers who bear his name and who run many hospitals today.
Because of their religious orientation, hospitals were laid out like churches, with an altar as the center of focus on which would be offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Divine office would also be recited, and the patients were encouraged to assist at both.

The Care was Good
Medical practice in these hospitals was evidently quite good for the time, because the death rate in medieval hospitals was moderate. The motive for the care was religious, a real labor of Christian love. Medical care was usually free to the patients, with the cost borne by the sponsoring religious institute and private contributions.

The 18^th Century saw the rise of public hospitals run by the government, especially in England. The first American public hospital was founded by Ben Franklin in Philadelphia in 1751.

Love is the Driving Force
The sacred tradition of Christian love continues to be the driving force behind Catholic hospitals. Only now that love finds expression in attentive personal care of patients, as well as in the development and utilization of the latest medical procedures. Because of the professionalization of the medical practice side of the hospital and the demands of modern medicine for special training, Catholic hospitals find it necessary to delegate most spiritual care to hospital chaplains, men and women, ordained and lay. With 51% of the patient population non­Catholic, our hospitals also utilize the spiritual services of Protestants and Jews for their respective members, but proselytizing by them is firmly discouraged.

Religious & Financial Issues
The legalization of abortion and sterilization causes financial and legal difficulties for Catholic Hospitals aiming to be loving sources of the latest in medical treatment and, at the same time, to witness to the infinite value of every single human being, born or not­yet born. Strong efforts are being made by pro­abortion forces to limit government aid to Catholic hospitals who refuse to treat patients using methods contrary to God's law. Also, the cost of running a modern hospital is great because of the high cost of medical equipment and salaries. Furthermore, hospitals are personnel­intensive with at least three professional staff members for each patient.

Evangelization
In this issue, our contributors will be offering insights into the place of Catholic hospitals in the "new evangelization" so eloquently called for by Paul Vl in Evangelii Nuntiandi, and reaffirmed by Pope John Paul II in Apostolic Letter, Tertio Millennio Adveniente. Our issue explores the place of evangelization in Catholic hospitals today.

John Burke, OP

Executive Director  

Preaching in Hospitals

by Rev. Brian Mulcaby, OP

In 14th Century Italy, when cancer was considered a hideous, contagious disease, much like leprosy, young Catherine Benincasa left the peace and security of her family home to care for cancer patients in the public hospitals of Siena. In her white habit and black cloak of the Dominican Third Order, she tended to the unfortunates, often abandoned out of ignorance by their family and friends, as if she were attending to Christ Himself.

In 20^th Century New York City, Dominican friars have been going forth from the Church of St. Catherine of Siena on East 68th Street to care for the sick and dying since the parish was founded in 1907. Within the parish boundaries on the Upper East Side of Manhattan lie three world­class hospitals: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center, and The Hospital for Special Surgery. The Dominican friars of St. Catherine of Siena Priory have been ministering to the needs of the Catholic patients and their families in these hospitals with love and devotion for the better part of a century. St. Catherine, I like to believe, would be pleased with the work that continues to be done under her special patronage ­- she who is invoked as the patron saint of Catholic nurses.

In the decades that the Dominican friars of the Province of St. Joseph have been engaging in the hospital ministry, the hospitals they serve have developed into leading research and teaching facilities. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's name is synonymous with the leading edge in cancer research and treatment throughout the world. The patient census on any given day reflects the hospital's worldwide reputation. I have the privilege of working at Memorial Sloan Kettering as a full­time chaplain, ministering to patients from throughout the world.

New York Hospital, long the premiere private hospital of New York City, is also the site of Cornell University's School of Medicine. Its reputation for cardio­thoracic surgery, as well as innovative and sensitive care for patients who are HIV positive, continue to make NYH one of this country's leading medical centers.

In poll after poll taken that seek the opinions of medical personnel, the Hospital for Special Surgery consistently ranks at the top of the list of worldwide facilities specializing in orthopedic and reconstructive surgery. In HSS, originally named the "Hospital for the Lame and the Ruptured", it is not unusual to find oneself ministering to the famous (and not­so­famous) who come from all over the world for knee and hip replacements!

The opportunities to preach the Word ­­ the healing, consoling Word of God ­­ are numerous throughout the day as one goes from room to room visiting patients and their families. In addition to weekly Sunday Masses in the hospitals with preaching that is especially focused on the needs of the sick and their families and friends, the Dominican friar engaged in the hospital ministry must constantly draw upon his own contemplation of God's Holy Word so that the word he speaks ­­ to the patient, to a grieving spouse, to a frightened child ­­ is a life­giving one, a Spirit­filled Word that increases faith, builds up hope, and spreads charity. St. Dominic's own example of "speaking either to God or about God" remains the ideal for the friar called to preach God's Word to the sick and the dying.

Rev. Brian Mulcahy, OP is an Eastern Province Dominican living and working in New York.

Continued in Part 2...