Boston bombings bring chaplains into new ground

They say Chaplains have the ministry of presence.
This is from Webster
Definition of PRESENCE


The job of a chaplain is supposed to take care of people. That is it. We are not supposed to care about anything but the people in need. When I am called, lately way too often, I care about what they need and what I can do for them to ease their pain and give them comfort. I don't care about what happened to me at the grocery store or like Wednesday when my dog almost broke my finger. It swelled up to twice the size before I could get my engagement and wedding band off that has been on my hand for 29 years. The doctor had to cut them off. I had an emergency call to take and the veteran didn't want to hear my problems. I didn't even try to tell him because his were bigger. I don't care I can't pay my bills when I respond to an email. They are my job no matter what.

They also don't want to hear me tell them they go to the wrong church, need to go back to church, or anything that has to do with division in religious groups. Being a Chaplain isn't supposed to be about anything other than the person in need. If done right, it can make all the difference in the world. Friends of mine are in Boston right now doing just that. Putting others first. While I don't know Sister Maryanne Ruzzo, there are many like her and this is a good story to read.

Boston bombings bring chaplains into new ground
Washington Post
By G. Jeffrey Macdonald
Religion News Service
Updated: Friday, April 19, 3:21 PM

BOSTON — Two days after the Boston Marathon bombings, Boston Medical Center chaplain Sister Maryanne Ruzzo was checking on staffers who’d been caring for the injured when she received a page. A bombing victim wanted to see her.

The bedside was fraught with worry. A woman in her 30s had lost a leg to amputation as surgeons deemed it unsalvageable. Still suffering multiple injuries, she was now heading into surgery again, knowing she might wake up with no legs at all.

Ruzzo stood among the woman’s parents and siblings and did what she does best: listen. She heard their fears, including concern for the woman’s husband, who was being treated at a different hospital and who also might lose a leg to amputation. Then she prayed.

“Other people might not want to feel the pain and say,’Oh, it’s going to be fine,’” said Ruzzo, the Archdiocese of Boston’s coordinator of Catholic services at BMC. “We just try to be present and listen to them. ... I prayed for the surgeons and the nurses.”

In a week when Boston hospitals cared for more than 170 bomb victims, staff chaplains were suddenly in great demand. They moved calmly from emergency departments to waiting rooms and employee lounges, offering a compassionate ear and much-needed comfort to anxious patients, family members and staffers.

“People think,’OK, here’s the guy who kind of represents the universe, or God, or the infinite or eternity,’” said Sam Lowe, a Quaker staff chaplain at BMC.

“If I stand there and I’m able to hear their story ... it reconnects them to the rest of humanity,” at a time when they’re apt to feel terribly alone.
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