Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

As  I look out my window and see the hills of buildings here in Bethlehem I think of that morning, after the birth of our Lord, when Mary and Joseph started planning their next move to Egypt so they could escape Herod's massacre of all infant boys (Matthew 2:13-16).  I too will be leaving Bethlehem, in about two weeks, and traveling in the footsteps of our Lord.  While Egypt is not one of the stops my seminary classmates and I will be making we will be traveling to Nazareth, Galilee, and then Jerusalem.  We are making a pilgrimage, much like the one Mary and Joseph made from Nazareth to Bethlehem to Egypt back to Nazareth and then Jesus' pilgrimage from Nathareth to Jerusalem.  During my pilgrimage it is my intention to write at least one blog a week as a way to reflect on my pilgrimage.  My seminary brothers are keeping a daily blog that you can follow here if you wish.  

One week has past since landing here in the city of David. I would have to say that the main theme that has stuck out to me this week has been the awesome spiritual tradition of our faith, specifically the monastic tradition, both East and West.  Almost every site that we visited this week either had or currently has a monastery.  When we visited Masada, an ancient fortress built by Herod the Great around 37BC, and since then many people have taken pocession of it for various reasons including an ancient Byzantine Monastery dating back to the 4th century.  This mountain was in the middle of nowhere, next to the dead sea, and it was so peaceful and quiet.  No wonder Monks went there for peace and solitude to reflect on our Lord.  As I stood in the ruins of this monastery I could feel the monks still praying on our behalf to the Blessed Trinity.  

This week we also visited Mar Saba, an ancient Monastery built in the 5th century, and the beauty of this place was breathtaking.  Even though the Lord is not calling me to monastic life I could definitely be a monk there.  Just knowing, and in the case of Mar Saba seeing, monks praying for the world is a beautiful thing.  These holy men don't leave their monastery, have no connected to the outside world at all, don't have any luxuries, and they are joyful and filled with the Love of Jesus Christ.  This is a Love I wish to cultivate in my own heart and God willing this pilgrimage is a time where I can start this cultivation.  

Please, keep my brother and I in your prayers as we continue traveling to various Holy sites and walking in the footsteps of Jesus.  Be assured of my prayers for you.

Experiencing the Wounds of Christ

                After naming this particular blog post I see an unwarranted pun…trust me it’s not intended and you should understand by the end of the post.  This summer I have the opportunity to gain experience in a very specific ministry known has hospital chaplaincy.  Part of our seminary training here in the U.S.A (and I’m sure other countries as well) is taking part in a hospital chaplaincy internship.  Most diocese’s take advantage of a nationwide program called Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE).  This is a program designed to train hospital chaplains and involves a very rigorous certification process (praise Jesus we are not required to be certified).  Chaplains who are CPE certified are held to a prestigious level and take precedence in hiring (most hospitals require at least some CPE training).  For this reason many Bishops make good use of this resource to assist their future priests. 

       My CPE site is right here in Chicago at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.  This is a very busy hospital due to our level one trauma center, top doctors in multiple areas of medicine, our children’s hospital, and our prime placement on Chicago’s Southwest side.  Christ Medical Center is a great hospital with a wonderful staff who truly care for each patient and work hard to keep people alive.  I must admit that I am very impressed by all the doctors, technicians, nurses, security, secretaries, maintenance, etc. and how well we all work as a team for our patients.  However, because this is a busy hospital, full of sick and suffering patients, the chaplains have a lot of work to do and people to minister to.  I have seen more pain and suffering in this hospital than I have ever wanted to witness.  From gunshot victims to car accidents, domestic violence to failed burglaries, kids making mistakes to children drowning in pools, cancer patients to strokes, I have seen it all and ministered to these people and/or their families…and it isn’t easy. 

                Amid all the suffering, pain, exhaustion, depression, and sadness that I have witnessed I have also witnessed a profound love of God.  I can honestly say that most of my patients love God very much and don’t blame him for their suffering.  As a matter of fact they grow closer to God through their suffering.  I have witnessed this for not only my Christian patients but also non-Christians.  These people seek prayer and feel its benefits even if their prayers don’t seem to have been answered.  My Catholic patients I've visited trust in redemptive suffering, where one unites their pains to Christ on the Cross for the salvation of their soul or others, and which St. John Paul the Great wrote about in his Apostolic Letter, Salvifici Doloris (on the Christian meaning of Human Suffering).  These patients have, in a way, proven to me that God exists.  I have not been questioning Gods existence at all but these patients who love God amid their terrible pain and suffering are just more proof that God is present and real.  Much like the Apostle, St. Thomas, who needed to touch the wounds of Christ, I feel that I am touching those wounds when I interact and pray with these holy men and women.  I should be ministering to them; however, they are ministering to me and I feel God speaking to me through them.  I hope that they feel God speaking to them through me. 

While hospital chaplaincy is not my vocation within priesthood I have a new respect for hospital chaplains.  This is not an easy ministry and it is certainly not for the faint of heart.  These brave men and women are willing to sit, talk, pray, and even be silent with many different people who experiencing terrible pains and suffering.  Their main concern is the comfort of the patient and then we focus on the family.  This is one of the most selfless ministries I have been a part of.  Please say a prayer for full time hospital chaplains and their families and please keep my brothers and me in your prayers as our summer chaplain internships come to a close.  And always keep the suffering members of the Body of Christ in your daily prayers that, if God wills them to come home, they may be welcomed into his Heavenly Kingdom.