September 19, 2009
‘We are the body of Christ’
Dedicated lay ministers bring the Eucharist to hospital patients
By Susan Laird
Herald correspondent
Ken Heidger, left, a resident of The Palms assisted living community in Roseville and a member of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Roseville, shares a light moment with Barbara Turner, coordinator of a eucharistic ministry to the sick and homebound that involves volunteers from the parishes of St. Rose, St. Clare in Roseville, St. Joseph Marello in Granite Bay and Saints Peter and Paul in Rocklin. Susan Laird/Herald photo
Every week at Sutter Roseville Medical Center, Kaiser Hospital in Roseville
and care facilities in south Placer County, Jesus comes to be with his people
— by way of a dedicated lay ministry that brings the Eucharist to
Catholic patients and those in nursing care.
Father Michael Cormack, pastor emeritus of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Roseville, and Deacon Peter Silott initiated the program some 21 years ago at the parish. Since that time, this ministry to the sick has grown to include some 50 lay volunteers from four parishes: St. Rose of Lima and St. Clare in Roseville, St. Joseph Marello in Granite Bay and Saints Peter and Paul in Rocklin. Today the program is under the direction of Father Michael O’Reilly, current pastor of St. Rose of Lima, and Deacon Silott.
In the early days of the ministry, Catholic patients would receive visits from lay ministers who would bring the Eucharist, holy cards, rosaries and prayer. Under the direction of Father Michael McKeon, then pastor and now pastor emeritus of St. Rose, the ministry began to focus exclusively on the Eucharist — to bring the source and summit of the Catholic faith directly to those in need. Volunteers allow themselves to be used by Jesus as his instruments to help those in need.
“That’s when we realized that we are the body of Christ,” Deacon Silott said. “To perform this duty correctly, we cannot be ‘present,’ in a sense. It is the presence of Christ within us that goes to the people. That’s when we stopped bringing the religious articles to the hospitals, and focused exclusively on bringing Jesus — the Eucharist — to the people.
“We give ourselves totally to the will of God so that he can visit his people,” he added. “Once we took ourselves out of it, we realized that we were not in God’s way. He does the healing — not us.”
Barbara Turner, ministry coordinator, said the ministry is carried out in the hospitals every day of the year except Holy Saturday. “That’s the only day we cannot bring the Eucharist,” she said. “Then we are present in prayer.” The ministry is also for some 23 nursing homes, the homebound and those in residential care.
Nearly 1,000 Catholics are visited each week in the south Placer County hospitals alone, according to Turner. The program began with St. Rose Parish, and gradually expanded to include the other parishes as the area grew. Because of strict federal laws, St. Rose Parish acts as the originator and coordinator of the ministry.
“Health care centers are visited by volunteers once a week,” Turner said. “When there are special circumstances, such as the end of life, we go daily.”
Volunteers in the ministry have been present to witness the comfort Jesus brings to the sick.
“We’ve seen miracles, conversions,” Deacon Silott noted.
“We center ourselves in Christ: his hands, his feet, his word, his body,” Turner said. “We’ve witnessed healing of souls, sometimes healing of bodies also. We meet people who haven’t been to Mass for decades. There are tremendous conversions.”
The procedure is simple. Volunteers introduce themselves to Catholic patients, letting them know that their visitor is a Catholic.
“We ask them, ‘How are you doing?’ and tell them that we’ve brought them communion if they would like to receive,” Turner said. “The majority are often too sick to receive, and we pretty much know who can and cannot receive due to dietary restrictions. Then we offer them prayer.”
If a Catholic has not received Communion in a long time, volunteers can help them to pray the prayer of contrition before receiving in a hospital setting. If the patient wishes to see a priest for the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, volunteers call for a priest.
“The Eucharist is for healing and forgiving,” Deacon Silott said. “We have no right to deny Christ to touch a human life.”
Cathy Gallegos is a sacramental ministry volunteer from St. Joseph Marello Parish. She and her husband, Steve, visit Sutter Roseville Hospital every week. Jesus visits those who aren’t able to receive also, according to Gallegos.
“Steve visits the people who are mostly on respirators, comatose,” Gallegos said. “He calls them ‘his kids.’ He always announces who he is and why he is visiting, and then says a prayer for them because they can’t receive Communion in their condition.”
“Sometimes I feel like an evangelist,” said John Matthys, a volunteer from St. Clare Parish. “When you go into a room and they say they aren’t active Catholics — or maybe the children still are, but the parent is no longer Catholic — you can pray with them. I always invite them to come back to church. I also enjoy the opportunity to meet other Catholics and bring communion to them.”
Volunteers often see Jesus in the faces of those they visit.
“It amazes me that the church allows the laity to perform this service,” Gallegos said. “To see Catholics in the hospital receive — it changes their whole demeanor. They emanate something so special. It just makes your whole day. I was an ICU nurse, and this gives me more joy and comfort than you can imagine. As a nurse, I could never give comfort such as this to my patients. No matter how hard your day is, this eucharistic ministry makes it all worthwhile.”
Catholic patients receive such comfort from the ministry that hospital officials have also taken note.
“On behalf of Sutter Roseville Medical Center, I would like to thank you all for your dedication and service to our Roman Catholic patients,” wrote Patrick R. Brady, chief executive officer. “We have received very positive feedback from a number of our patients noting the comfort they received with regular visits from your ministry team. Members of our chaplaincy team have shared their appreciation. They have noted that our patients feel reassured knowing that they have the support of their faith tradition throughout their hospitalization.”
Eucharistic ministry visits to nursing homes, the homebound and those in residential care can include slightly longer visits that include praying the rosary and keeping parishioners connected to the Catholic community.
At The Palms, an assisted living and memory care community in Roseville, Catholics are visited on a weekly basis.
“Religion and spirituality are so important to this generation,” said Julie Davis, life engagement coordinator at The Palms.
“This ministry makes us feel like we’re still completely a part of the church and not ostracized,” said Mary Hess, a resident at The Palms.”
Madeline Mezek, another resident at The Palms noted, “I like that we are able to receive Communion every week, because I can say the rosary alone, but we come together in one body when we receive Communion.”
Eucharistic ministry to the sick requires a major commitment from those volunteers who participate in it, some of the ministry’s volunteers told The Herald.
“It’s a wonderful ministry,” Matthys said. “But you need to be led by the Lord. It’s not for everyone. What you see can be tough.”
“You can’t be a ‘holiday’ minister — here one week and gone the next,” Turner noted. “You can’t let those people down, because they are counting on you. It also depends on the depth of your faith. This is Christ you are bringing to the people. And Christ is not part time.”
With that caution noted, those involved with this ministry encourage Catholics to prayerfully consider volunteering to bring Jesus to the sick, as the benefits are “amazing, simply amazing.”
“It’s one thing to talk about the sacramental ministry,” Deacon Silott said. “It’s something else to feel it. What people sitting in the pews don’t realize is the graces and blessings that come from doing this ministry.”
“Once you let Christ into your life, he will be your strength, teacher and guide,” Turner said. “That’s what makes this ministry so exciting.”
