A book compiling all the lay prayers would be a useful item to “throw in your satchel” when hustling to an emergency situation, he said, and would also be valuable for younger chaplains who don’t yet have the prayers memorized.
Allee serves as regional vice president of mission integration for SSM Health St. Louis, a Catholic health care system. His job, he says, is to keep alive the Catholic charism of the nuns who founded the hospital system.
He noted that the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” — the document from the U.S. bishops that governs Catholic health care — has an entire section on the pastoral and spiritual responsibilities of Catholic health care institutions to their patients.
These include a mandate to make sacraments such as Communion, reconciliation, the anointing of the sick, and confirmation available to patients who ask for them; there are Catholic priests on call, and Masses are offered at the hospital at least weekly, if not more often. In addition, he said, they keep a Rolodex of Protestant clergy, rabbis, and imams to ensure that they can provide spiritual care to people of all faiths.
“Pastoral care encompasses the full range of spiritual services, including a listening presence; help in dealing with powerlessness, pain, and alienation; and assistance in recognizing and responding to God’s will with greater joy and peace,” the directives read.
‘Overall well-being’
Laura Fetters, who serves at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., taught English and religion at Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Washington for 35 years before making the pivot to chaplaincy; she will be eligible for board certification in 2023. She said a pivotal moment in her journey toward this career was the death of her father in 2013.
“I paid close attention to the work of the hospice care team and also reflected on the role of the chaplain who came to minister to our family during that hard time. That was probably the first time the seed was planted for chaplaincy work,” Fetters told CNA.
She said a day at work for her usually begins with a report about what has gone on during the night — updates on patients, emergencies, deaths. Chaplains are assigned units in the hospital, and Fetters said they make sure that each patient has a chaplain visit as soon as reasonably possible once they have been admitted.
“In general, most people are welcoming. Many are lonely and anxious. Some might also appear curious because they have never been visited by a chaplain before so they wonder if they are going to be “preached to or going to be made uncomfortable,” Fetters noted.
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“Others automatically assume that we have been sent because their illness has reached a dire point; in this case we have to alleviate their fears and explain that we visit everyone in the mission of cura personalis — care for the whole person.”
Fetters said she prefers to pray a “personal, extemporaneous” prayer with the patients after conversing with the patients and learning about their families, concerns, and hopes. She said her prayers will include a request for blessings for the doctors and medical team, petitions for peace of mind and comfort for the patient and family members, gratitude for healing if appropriate, and expressions of trust in God’s mercy and compassion.
If the occasion arises to use a book of prayers, Fetters says she uses “A Ritual for Laypersons,” the unofficial — but still useful — prayer compilation mentioned earlier.
In the course of her work, she has come to realize that many patients “feel quite comforted by the presence of a Catholic lay chaplain; we (the patient and I) can create an emotionally safe space together where fears and anxieties can be shared.”
“To be clear, though,” she continued, “many conversations are also light because patients might want a distraction from the heaviness of their medical situations. Consequently, they talk about their dogs, their gardening, and their grandchildren. Typically, the patient should feel welcome to talk about whatever feels most healing and comfortable for him/her; sometimes a lay chaplain is a perfect fit for those situations.”
The presence of chaplains in a health care facility demonstrates that the mission of the program is a patient’s overall well-being, Fetters said.
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