Jennings honors the pastoral care team during spiritual care week

During Spiritual Care week, the week of October 23, we celebrate the men and women who devote themselves to ministry and support the holistic wellness of others. Compassionate and confidential, spiritual care promotes healing and peace with the comfort of presence. Spiritual care ministry includes chaplains and pastoral caregivers, as well as those who go by other names, and nurture others with their training and companionship.

This year, the theme for Spiritual Care Week is "Chaplaincy and Mental Health, It's Healthy to get Help". The theme highlights the importance of seeking professional help for mental health. Spiritual care is integral to Catholic health care and residential support. Catholic Health Care Association of the United States of America (CHAUSA) explains "Catholic teaching lifts the importance of honoring the whole person — both body and spirit — seeing the two as integrally connected. It would be impossible for us to offer Catholic health care without dedicating colleagues to spiritual care. Most are professionals who've prepared for their ministry with years of study and certification. Others are generous volunteers from the local community. All help us to fulfill our mission in an explicit way. And today we give thanks for their presence in our midst." At Jennings, we specifically honor our Pastoral Care team that includes Sister Valerie Sweeney, SND; Deacon Dan Galla, Father Len Obloy, and Father Joe Pednekar.

Join us in a prayer from CHAUSA to pray for spiritual care ministers:

Every day across the Catholic health ministry, chaplains serve patients, residents and their co-workers. With loving compassion and tender strength, they hold space for the sacred and make meaning in a world of chaos.

This week, we honor them with our profound gratitude and call the abundance of God’s blessings upon these ministers of grace. They are the hands and feet and heart of Christ in our midst.

Scripture tells us ...
And from his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace. John 1:16

We pray that each spiritual care provider and chaplain continue to feel the grace of God in their ministry. May their skill, care, and wisdom be God’s grace poured out. Amen.

Scripture tells us ...
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8

We pray that chaplains and spiritual care providers continue to see God in the faces of those they serve. May their hearts remain joyful in God’s promises and at peace in God’s providence. Amen.

Scripture tells us ...
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

We pray that spiritual care providers and chaplains are renewed in hope. May the flame of their faith in human goodness and witness to a future of promise burn brightly in spite of the darkness of pandemic care, social injustice and cultural division. Amen.

Scripture tells us ...
The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. Psalm 29:11

We pray that chaplains and spiritual care providers continue to feel God’s power and steadfast presence in their ministry. May they always find refuge in their weariness and renewed strength in God’s peace. Amen.

Scripture tells us ...
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

We pray in gratitude for chaplains and those who provide spiritual care. May they know themselves to be a part of a ministry that has existed before them and will outlast them. May that knowledge allow them to do the good work of their vocation with full hearts and unfettered spirits. Amen.

Bless these women and men whom you have called to serve you as spiritual companions of the infirm and suffering. Make them ministers of the "sight" that we all need in our lives in times of trial. We ask this in the name of Jesus, the healer, who attends to both body and spirit.