The chaplaincy classes have ended. It seems unlikely that I will see the men in my cohort again, though God has been known to arrange things. I have come to care about the people who walked this path with me, and although we were never on call in the hospital at the same time, we heard one another's stories.
One man grew up in Tanzania, and is an economics professor. His generosity includes having established a library in his home town there. Another mentioned that each time he comes to Philly he brings packages of underwear and socks to hand out. A man whose roots are in the Jesuit faith told us about a foster son they took in from South America who "blessed us more than we could ever
have blessed him." The fourth is a priest from India and has seen what it means to be hungry.
One of my goals in joining this program was to expand my awareness of what it is to be a human being. This has happened. I stood with people in some of their most poignant moments, offering nothing more than my presence, and if they asked, a prayer. I have heard more languages
than I could keep track of, including the one with no sound. I have spoken with people waiting... for answers, for a miracle, for a diagnosis, for last rites, for discharge papers.
One wife played a You tube of her husband singing in church. He lay beside her asleep, unable to sit up, much less sing. Yet she loves him, and is putting her trust in the God he sang
for.
I chatted with the security guards, whose orders were to keep the hospital safe. They were armed, and looked tough enough. Some were women, which intrigued me. On dark nights when I had to visit the other building, I would ask for one to escort me, which they were gracious enough to do.
It remains to be seen if the CPE credits I earned will lead to anything. Perhaps they will. Then again, maybe God just wanted me to peek behind the curtain of what it means to be sick.
"I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me
in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Matthew 25