VISIT THE SICK

One of the responsibilities every priest fulfills on a regular basis is to visit his or her parishioners who are in the hospital. To be sure fulfilling that ministry is not always a pleasant experience. It is no joy trying to comfort those who are in extreme pain especially because you can do nothing on your own to alleviate that pain. All you can do is be with them and pray for them. And yet, that is all the sick person really desires and expects from you.

Many years ago I was attending a local gathering of clergy. We used to meet once a month to talk shop, catch up on what was going in our small town and, if possible, have a speaker talk to us about something that might aid our ministries. On one of those occasions the chaplain at the local hospital spoke to us. He was rather pompous sort and a little condescending in his remarks especially when he told us that the medical professionals at the hospital looked upon clergy as merely “clowns”. His word.

I was initially taken aback and, frankly, insulted. But later I thought about what he had said and took it as a compliment. Clowns are people who try to uplift those who may be down, give joy to those who may be sad, put a smile on the faces of those who may be grimacing in pain. My presence at the sick bed of a parishioner was and always is meant to try to uplift, as best I could, that person, even for a moment.

When we are ill, sometimes that is all we need and all we want: someone to be present with us to hold our hand, to help see us through the moment. We are not looking for a miracle worker, just someone to be present in love and out of love. Yes, it is my responsibility as a priest to visit the sick, but it is also the responsibility of every Christian to do the same. It is one of those corporal works of mercy that Jesus says will be the basis of how we will be judged, in fact, how we are judged right now.

Visiting the sick, as I have learned from personal experiences of being in the hospital, is a tricky business. I never sit unless am asked to sit. I never stay very long. The sick person needs to rest in order to heal. When I am asked to sit, it is for one of two reasons. The person is on the mend and is feeling much better and has the energy to hold a conversation or the person has a serious question to ask and it does not matter how he or she is feeling at the moment.

When confined to bed, it is easy for loneliness, even fear, to set in. That is why we need personal comforters to uplift us out of the doldrums that can quickly consume us. And when we are well, that is why we need to be those comforters. If nothing else, if we cannot personally visit those who are ill, and it is certainly not nothing, we can pray for them. We know the power of prayer. We know how uplifting it has been for us when we were sick to know others were praying for us. We must do the same for them. If we can, making a personal visit is even better. Doing both is best.