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Holiness in Hospitals
Reflect
It’s understandable why we fear hospitals, for ourselves, and our loved ones. But at some point, we all end up there. Perhaps you are dealing with this now, or thinking back to when you were in the hospital: taking someone to the ER, or having a surgery yourself. As scary as this can be, and even if the outcome was heartbreaking, can you see how God’s healing presence was there?
Pray
You, God, are not just in
the hospital chapel,
but in the long, sterile hallways,
the fluorescent lights,
the waiting rooms
alongside strangers.
of the surgeons and nurses
using their gifts to heal.
You are in the fragments
of prayers we murmur while we wait.
As we suffer.
It feels so strange to discover you here,
and yet, of course you are here!
When fear strips everything away
we find you again
in the places we need you the most.
Act
Take time to acknowledge a doctor, nurse, or medical assistant who was there for you or a loved one. A card, a text, even a positive review online, to honor those who, as St. Theresa of Avila says, are “Christ’s hands on earth.”
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/pausepray/holiness-in-hospitals/
Maureen O’Brien is the author of two spiritual memoirs from Franciscan Media: “What Was Lost: Seeking Refuge in the Psalms” and the most recent, “Gather the Fragments: My Year of Finding God’s Love” She can be found on Instagram at maureen_obrien_writer.
