|
As Christians we are called by Jesus to serve those in need: the hungry, homeless, vulnerable and sick. Jesus’ words from Matthew 25:36: “I was ill and you cared for me”[2] are at the heart of the Ministry of Care (MOC) mission. Ministers of Care bring communion, prayer and church community information (e.g. church bulletins or seasonal information) to people who are homebound, in nursing homes, care facilities, and hospitals. We serve the people in our parish as well as those who are temporarily in our parish, because they are in nearby hospitals or care facilities. As an example, the University of Chicago Hospitals and Montgomery Place in Hyde Park are visited by Ministers of Care from the St. Thomas the Apostle parish.
The first letter of John 3:18 tells us: “Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” Pastoral care for the poor and the sick has been a tradition in the Catholic Church since the early days of Christianity. In her CTU class on Pastoral Ministry, Carmen Nanko-Fernández, Theologian at CTU, discusses the concept of pastoral care as Cura Animarum which is defined as “care of souls.” As baptized Christians we need to make the connection between our baptism into our faith community and our conduct in daily life. Our baptism incorporates us into the Church as sons and daughters of God. Anthony Gittins notes, “If more Christians were more aware of the unrealized potential of their baptism and encouraged to activate it the world would be a very different place.”[3] Before defining the theology of MOC, it would be helpful to define the meaning of “Theology.” “Faith seeking understanding” is a fundamental definition that comes from St. Augustine(354-430) and was popularized by St. Anselm of Canterbury(1033-1109). Clemens Sedmak defines theology as a “way of reflecting on human life in the light of human experiences with God."[4] Liberation Theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez has a simple definition for theology: “talk about God."[5] Theology is our never ending quest to keep deepening our faith through seeking understanding about our relationship with God. How do we "do theology"?Theology is not just about studying scripture or learning doctrine. We have to “do” theology. St. James says: “For just as a body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). Doing theology is an attempt to create a culture of hope.[6] We are trying to make the world a better place and to bring hope to those around us. Hope entails a vision of justice and peace, respect for the dignity of the person, respect for human life, and our planet’s future. We are created in God’s image and are called to be “for others.”
St. Francis of Assisi has a quote famously attributed to him: “Go forth and preach the Gospel, use words if necessary.” Ministry of Care allows us go forth into our communities and actively engage with those who are in need. Older or sick members of our Church communities long to receive communion and not be forgotten in the Church community. Many of the elderly were faithful, daily Mass participants, and active parish members until their health prevented them from leaving their homes. Some members of the parish have injuries that are temporary and keep them in the hospital, nursing home or at home. People undergoing treatment in the hospitals are often far away from the parish communities and loved ones. These are the people who need us and whom we are called to serve in this ministry. Clemens Sedmak offers this interpretation of how we do theology: “an invitation to wake up, to be mindful and attentive, and see the world with new eyes.”[7] Ministry of Care opens our eyes to people who may not be visible to the parish community. It allows us to tend to people who may be forgotten in the busyness of everyday life, because they are not visible. Our prayerful presence with those to whom we minister helps them to affirm that our communities remember and love them. In John 1:39 Jesus tells the first Disciples: “Come and you will See!." By visiting people who have a variety of illnesses and ailments, we come and see the face of Jesus in many ways among those he so loves. History of the Eucharist in Christian CommunitiesThe earliest description of the Lord’s Supper in Christian communities was given by Paul in 1 Cor 11:17-34. Paul stressed the communal nature of the celebration and he insisted that for the people to partake in the bread or the cup without living a Christian life would invite judgement on themselves.[11] Paul affirmed the connection between the sacrament of Eucharist and how we take care of each other as one community. By caring for each each other we carry forward the grace we have have received from Eucharist.
The meals early Christians shared together were a continuation of Jesus’ Table ministry. In the Jewish tradition from which Jesus came, to share food with a person was to share his or her life, and to pledge oneself to the kind of life you shared together.[12] The Acts of the Apostles gives us an account of this practice: They went as a body to the Temple every day but met in their houses for the breaking of bread; they shared their food gladly and generously; they praised God and were looked up to by everyone (Acts 2: 42-47). In the second century, Justin Martyr, a Christian Apologist, described the table celebrations of early Christians. He wrote about how on the “day of the Sun” the local assembly would gather for readings, presiding, prayers, blessings, and the Eucharist. In the early Christian churches, people gathered in each other’s homes to celebrate the Eucharist. When all who could come to the gathering had partaken of the bread and wine, they were then distributed by the men and women to those who could not be present including the sick and those who were in prison. The title used for the people who brought the consecrated gifts out to the community was the Greek word diakonos which means “servant.”[13] |
Art @ CTU - Sergio Gomez
Jesus' Table MinistryJohn 21:17 finishes with Jesus asking Peter to “Feed my sheep.” While the intent of that command is broader than food, the theme of feeding people and food is woven throughout the Gospel narratives. Theologian Thomas Rausch discusses a “table fellowship tradition”[8] that Jesus followed where all were welcome to participate in his ministry and to sit at the table with him. Jesus did not make distinctions about who could sit at the table with him. All were welcome including the clean and unclean, the sinners and the righteous. Jesus brought people into communion with him either at the table or by healing, and then the conversion of the person followed.[9]
The message from Jesus to take into mission is: What is most important is people, their basic needs, and their relationships with each other and God. Jesus came to the people, he did not wait for them to come to him. Ministers of Care take the Eucharist beyond the walls of our parish church to those who are in need. Throughout the New Testament Jesus fed people. He attended banquets, dinners, weddings, and fed the masses on the Mount. In Luke 14:13 Jesus said “when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.” Ministry of Care is a way to ensure that all the people in our communities can participate in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and join us at the table. Jesus' Compassionate Healing Ministry
Christ the Redeemer Corcovado Mountain Rio de Janeiro Brazil
The healing Jesus was often moved with compassion by people who were sick and sought his healing. Jon Sobrino, a Latin American theologian notes that the Gospels have many miracles where Jesus shows us that he is moved by pity and compassion for others in need.[10] Sobrino challenges the Church to be like Jesus and to put the suffering of the people always first in our actions. Sobrino cites four Gospel accounts where Jesus heals after someone calls out “have mercy on me.”
Through Jesus’ healing miracles he demonstrates that people’s basic needs like good health and caregiving for those in pain have to be met so that they can more fully participate and even have to ability to make a choice about joining the community. Jesus does not let the rules of the time stand in his way; he is Healer before all else. Jesus cures a man in a synagogue on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6) and makes his position clear when he asks the Pharisees: “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” |
The Sacrament of Eucharist
The seven sacraments we celebrate today in the Roman Catholic Church were defined by the Council of Trent in 1547: The sacraments of the new law are seven, no more and no less, i.e., baptism, confirmation, the eucharist, penance, extreme unction, holy orders and matrimony” (Session VII, Canon 1).[14] Leonardo Boff, a Brazilian liberation theologian, defines sacraments broadly as an “interplay between Human Beings, the World and God”, and the sacrament of Eucharist as the “latent meaning of eating as participation in the divine life itself.”[15] Theologian Kenan Osborne defines sacrament as a “celebration of God’s action, God’s blessing.”[16]
When we receive the eucharist and enter the sacred banquet we are receiving the body and blood of Jesus and participating in his resurrected life. Fully participating in the Eucharist means we receive the sacrament of Eucharist with true faith and belief in Jesus Christ that enables us to have an ongoing conversion as we seek divine grace.[17]
On Corpus Christi Sunday 2018, Father Robin Ryan delivered the Homily about what the Body and Blood of Jesus can mean to us during these turbulent and often disturbing times we live in:
AMIDST THAT CACOPHONY OF DISTURBING VOICES, WE COME TO
THE EUCHARIST FAITHFULLY TO REAFFIRM OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST
– TO DISCOVER, OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WHO WE ARE AND WHOSE
WE ARE --- THE ONE TO WHOM WE BELONG -- WE HEAR, “TAKE IT;
THIS IS MY BODY; THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT, WHICH
WILL BE SHED FOR MANY” – WE DISCOVER THAT OUR PERSONAL
DIGNITY IS ROOTED IN GOD’S INDOMITABLE LOVE FOR US, A LOVE
POUORED OUT UPON US IN JESUS CHRIST --- A LOVE IN WHICH GOD IS
TENACIOUSLY FAITHFUL TO US – AND WE ARE SENT FORTH FROM
HERE TO PROCLAIM THIS GOOD NEWS TO OTHERS, TO AFFIRM AND
ACT TO PROTECT THAT SAME DIGNITY IN THE LIVES OF THOSE TO
WHOM THE LORD SENDS US – ESPECIALLY WHEN THE DIGNITY OF
OTHER PEOPLE IS IMPUGNED
When we receive the eucharist and enter the sacred banquet we are receiving the body and blood of Jesus and participating in his resurrected life. Fully participating in the Eucharist means we receive the sacrament of Eucharist with true faith and belief in Jesus Christ that enables us to have an ongoing conversion as we seek divine grace.[17]
On Corpus Christi Sunday 2018, Father Robin Ryan delivered the Homily about what the Body and Blood of Jesus can mean to us during these turbulent and often disturbing times we live in:
AMIDST THAT CACOPHONY OF DISTURBING VOICES, WE COME TO
THE EUCHARIST FAITHFULLY TO REAFFIRM OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST
– TO DISCOVER, OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WHO WE ARE AND WHOSE
WE ARE --- THE ONE TO WHOM WE BELONG -- WE HEAR, “TAKE IT;
THIS IS MY BODY; THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT, WHICH
WILL BE SHED FOR MANY” – WE DISCOVER THAT OUR PERSONAL
DIGNITY IS ROOTED IN GOD’S INDOMITABLE LOVE FOR US, A LOVE
POUORED OUT UPON US IN JESUS CHRIST --- A LOVE IN WHICH GOD IS
TENACIOUSLY FAITHFUL TO US – AND WE ARE SENT FORTH FROM
HERE TO PROCLAIM THIS GOOD NEWS TO OTHERS, TO AFFIRM AND
ACT TO PROTECT THAT SAME DIGNITY IN THE LIVES OF THOSE TO
WHOM THE LORD SENDS US – ESPECIALLY WHEN THE DIGNITY OF
OTHER PEOPLE IS IMPUGNED
Ministry of Care Mission and Theology
A definition of mission in the context of Christology is: “The task(s) with which Jesus has charged us (Church)." Theologian David Power shifts this definition by understanding mission as a verb with a short and succinct definition of mission as “how the Christian community follows Christ and speaks his name before the world, in witness and in word.[18] Mission in the Church today requires us to use our hands and hearts in action together to serve those who need help the most.
Ministers of Care have the privilege of taking Jesus’ Table Ministry and following his example of healing compassion to serve those in need. We are the servants or diakonai who are described in accounts of the early Christians whose mission is to bring the Eucharist to those who can not participate in our liturgies in Church.
Ministers of Care have the privilege of taking Jesus’ Table Ministry and following his example of healing compassion to serve those in need. We are the servants or diakonai who are described in accounts of the early Christians whose mission is to bring the Eucharist to those who can not participate in our liturgies in Church.