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Exploring the word

23 Oct 2016 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Does anybody know what we celebrate this week? By “we” I mean Americans of every faith tradition, not just Catholics. It’s Pastoral Care Week! There’s no crepe to hang for this event, no special foods to prepare or rituals to enact. Still, the fact that so many people—clergy and laity together of every creed—bring a spiritual presence and values to those in need is worth an annual acknowledgement. Since 1985, Pastoral Care Week honors hospital and prison chaplains, military spiritual advisors and school counselors, nurses and hospice workers, long-term care facility employees and average folks caring for vulnerable family members—all making sure that God’s compassion and tender care is experienced in the flesh. Our parishioners who bring Communion to the sick or visit relatives whose mobility is limited might be included here too. If you’re on that long list of caring people, you should take a bow. As the American population gets greyer thanks to longer lives and better medicine, the number of people needing pastoral care is only going to grow. When you count up the percentage of Americans in the military (more than 2 million active members and 22 million vets), the incarcerated (1.6 million), those in hospice (1.5 million), or in hospitals and care facilities (900,000 and 700,000 respectively), you see the tip of the iceberg of those receiving some sort of pastoral support annually. That doesn’t count the rest of us who have taken, are taking, and will take primary responsibility for family members, neighbors, and friends for short durations or for the long haul. The face of pastoral care is all of us. How do we do this? How do the strong take responsibility for the weak, and the morally upright for those spiritually at risk? We might suspect it goes against the genetic code: Didn’t Darwin say life is a matter of survival of the fittest? This leads us to imagine that perhaps only the so-called superior creature should survive and leave the vulnerable and imperfect ones to their fate. In fact, Darwin himself made clear that life is only possible precisely because each generation makes sacrifices for the last and the next, and one creature is willing to make room for the needs of another. Interdependence is the natural design of things. By caring for the little, the lowly, the lonely, and the lost, we all become stronger and more human. As Paul says, he competes well, fights his fight, finishes his race—but never alone. God stands by him and gives Paul the strength to accomplish all that he does. Caregivers know that it’s by God’s grace alone that we fulfill our beautiful, vital, humane and holy ministry. Related scripture links Tax collectors paired with sinners: Matt. 9:9-13, 11:19; 18:17, 21:31-32; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32; 7:34; 15:1 God knows the human heart: 1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Chron. 28:9; Matt. 12:25; Luke 16:15; John 2:24; Acts 1:24, 15:8 Saul the Pharisee: Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-6; 22:3-5 Christians vis-à-vis Paul the convert: Acts 9:10-14, 20-22, 26-29 Catching fish: Matt. 4:18-20; Mark 1:16-18; Luke 5:1-11 Catechism links Sinners are forgiven: CCC 1443 Humility: CCC 525-526; 559; 724; 2540; 2559; 2628; 2631; 2706; 2713

Authors Alice Camille

pastoral care week caregivers interdependence

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Featured Exploring the Word

27 Oct 2024 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Bartimaeus is that rare recipient of a miracle who immediately becomes a disciple of Jesus. Immediately, of course, is a favorite Marcan word. Things happen at once in this gospel or not at all. The urgency is not simply symptomatic of the breathlessness with which Mark tells his story. He convinces us that discipleship won’t wait. Make your decision and come away at once! Bartimaeus follows Jesus up the road—”on the way” in some translations, the way being a code word for the Christian journey. Mary Magdalene, relieved of seven demons, does the same in Luke’s gospel. But most folks cleansed, cured, restored, and raised up in gospel stories simply return to their families and their routines. We can’t blame them. There’s a life interrupted they’ve been longing for, and it’s a powerful lure. Jesus acknowledges this impulse when he pronounces Bartimaeus healed by his own faith: “Be on your way!” Jesus bids him generously. Bartimaeus determines at once that “his way” is now the way of Jesus. Wherever you go, I shall go, he says with his feet. The story of Bartimaeus is special to pastoral ministers because it’s an off-the-charts success. Here’s a guy who seeks healing, receives his sight, and winds up with more clarity than most people who were never so deprived. He sees well enough to know which way to go, and that’s a lot. This week, as we honor those in pastoral ministry within the church, we cheer those on who offer this opportunity to many in ways that may seem less dramatic but are nonetheless life-transforming. Bartimaeus forever cries out from the side of the road, and pastoral caregivers are the ones who answer that call in Jesus’ name. Pastoral care is an opaque term to those who still think the priest-pastor does everything. Defined as “the self-realizing activity of the church’s shepherding concern” doesn’t inch us much toward clarification. The definition I prefer comes from Richard McBride: Pastoral ministry isn’t only about communicating theological principles but about applying them to concrete and changing circumstances. It’s where the rubber meets the road in the life of the church, where gospel values encounter real-life stories. It’s where you and I meet Bartimaeus at the side of the road and answer his cry. It’s not enough to dive in and catechize the poor fellow. First, we have to ask the prescient question: “In the name of Jesus, what do you want?” That makes the pastoral person distinct from the social worker. It’s what makes the Catholic hospital different from General Hospital, or the Catholic Worker more than a soup kitchen. Pastoral care is what we offer when we respond to the world’s need not from our limited compassion but through the depths of the heart of Christ. Related scripture links Garments and their significance: Mark 2:21; 5:25-30; 6:56; 9:3; 11:7-8; 13:16; 15:20, 24 Salvation by faith: 5:23, 28, 34, 36 Blind man gradually restored: Mark 8:22-26 Failure of the disciples: Mark 9:18-19, 28-29 Disciples cannot see: Mark 10:35-45 Catechism links Faith: CCC 185-202; 222-227; 548; 1814-1816; 2616; 2666-2668 Adapted from a previously published Exploring the word.

Authors Alice Camille

bartimaeus discipleship christian journey pastoral care pastoral ministry

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