Ministry of Care and Companionship

We follow the example of Jesus and Mary
as we care for the sick and comfort the dying.

As Catholics we are Christian disciples committed to follow the way of the Lord whose response to suffering was to provide care! As Christ healed the sick and broken-hearted with his acts of compassion, our present Christian response to suffering must be in keeping with Christ’s actions by transforming suffering with meaning. When there is no meaning to suffering, that is when it is only pain, and of course people become afraid, angry and depressed. But where there is meaning, because there is love and proper care, in a community of support, suffering can become sacrifice! Sacrifice, in our Christian perspective, is not just another word for ‘put up with’. It literally means, from its Latin root, to make something ‘sacred’. Archbishop Anthony Mancini June 5, 2016 Letter to the Faithful.

Death of St. Joseph

Stain Glass Window, St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica, Halifax, NS

An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the initiative, he has loved us first. It has an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of its own experience of the power of the Father’s infinite mercy. Let us try a little harder to take the first step and to become involved. The Lord gets involved and he involves his own, as he kneels to wash their feet. An evangelizing community gets involved by word and deed in people’s daily lives; it bridges distances, it is willing to abase itself if necessary and it embraces human life, touching the suffering flesh of Christ in others. An evangelizing community is also supportive, standing by people at every step of the way, no matter how difficult or lengthy this may prove to be. Pope Francis 2013 Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel. #24.

Lessons Learned During COVID 19

Dr. Nuala Kenny, SC , recently co-wrote a reflection on lessons learned by physicians during the global pandemic. Written along with four other physicians from across Canada, Sr. Nuala and her colleagues offer thoughts the challenges to heir ministry as Catholic doctors during these unprecedented times. In the introduction they write:

“Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and sickness.” (Matt 9:35)

This reflection from Catholic doctors in Canada is written in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Clarifying physician duty in medical scarcity became an urgent issue with the apparent lack of both transparency and adequate consultation in certain jurisdictions in Canada 2 as reported by the media. However, it also has much broader and deeper ramifications for medicine and society. As practitioners, we are well aware that personal and communal health crises present profound challenges to beliefs and values. Global crises, such as pandemics, raise these challenges for all of humanity. Our faith calls us to prayerful discernment and prophetic action which can inform public policy.

The full text of this article can be found by clicking here or going to the Resources box on the COVID-19 page of the diocesan website.