MINISTRY

Ministry
to the sick becomes mature
when the sick minister to the comforter.

Jesus laid the foundation for this twist.
“I was ill and you comforted me.”                                      Matthew 25:36
St. Camillus cherished this truth so much
that each patient became another Christ.
He saw Christ so clearly in their wasted frames,
so transparent in their suffering features
that he begged them the gift of forgiveness for his sins!

It is not too hard,
to sit by the bed of the sick,
gaze on their countenance,
and begin to hear those
inspiring, grateful words
“I was ill and you comforted me.”
The transformation becomes complete.
The sick person is Jesus.
The visitor is the visited.
It is Jesus once again
shifting from guest to host.

Ministry is mutual.
In giving there is receiving.
Jesus is present to the sick
in the visiting minister
in the suffering sick.
“I am with you always,”                                                       Matthew 28:20
every day and every way,
in the sick, in the healthy.

- Fr. Gerald Keefe