Sister Angela, a doctor working in a large and busy hospital, sees that a patient needs some tests done. The family looks upset, and are about to leave the hospital. The kind sister realizes that the reason must be money. She approaches them and asks them: “Are you short of money?” “Yes, Sister,” they reply. She asks them to wait, and goes to ask someone to lend this family the money they need. “You can give it back when you come next,” she tells them. What a relief for the patient’s family!
Medical work is the second commonest ministry of religious in India, especially of sisters. The Catholic Church is the second largest provider of health services in India—after the government. It runs over 3400 health centres. According to CHAI (Catholic Health Association of India), the Catholic Church in India has about 1000 sister doctors, 25,000 sister nurses and 10,000 para-medical workers.
Like any profession, medicine can be exercised for different reasons— to serve people, especially the poor, or to make money, or to feel important.
When someone is sick, the condition is more than a physical ailment. In addition to the disease, the person (as well as the family) also suffers a “dis-ease”—emotional discomfort, such as, anxiety, depression, anger, loneliness, etc. And money is a huge problem for many. The person needs more than medicine; he/she needs a loving/healing human being nearby.
If you are engaged in this ministry, you can be a deeply healing presence. There is a world of difference between just giving a prescription or a medicine in a cold, indifferent way, and doing the same with warmth and concern. And there is an intense difference between treating a patient with kindness and treating him/her rudely. People are particularly vulnerable when they are sick; they need an extra dose of kindness from us.
Medical competence is, of course, a must. At a personal level, the presence of a prayerful, kind and compassionate doctor or nurse can do wonders.
– Jeff T. Manning
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