*This brings us to the Nursing Home. I volunteer once a month at a nursing home, serving as a Eucharistic Minister where I have the supreme honor of bringing Jesus to these beautiful but lonely souls. I knew when I chose this type of ministry that it would require some bravery on my part due to the soft spot I have for the elderly. It breaks my heart to see them failing and so alone. It amazes me each time I visit, the grace I come away with. It touches my heart to the depths of my being and I'm left questioning the motives of family members. I realize that we are all in different life situations, but how can we just forget about those we love and of those who have loved us so dearly? Why are so many left alone? No time for them? As I view the photo's strewn about the space they now call home, my heart breaks with all the memories they are trying to hold onto. I wonder how much of themselves they gave to their own families in their days of health? I would go to my own mother and aske these questions and she would tell me what her mother used to say..."One mother can take care of seven children, but seven children cannot take care of one mother." How's that for an eye opener?
My parents sacrificed as newlyweds by leaving their home and moving into my grand-parents home to help my grandmother care for my mother's ailing father. Her father had a stroke and suffered brain damage resulting in extra care. My grandmother was diabetic and could not handle him on her own. This went on for four years until the eve of my birth when my grandfather passed away. I can only imagine the struggles my Mom went through, but somehow I knew this has made me more sensitive to these types of situations.
When it came time for me to visit the Alzheimer ward on my day at the Nursing Home, my heart became the heaviest. I prayed that Jesus would give me the grace and strength to bear it. With a lump in my throat, I walked from room to room, through the activity centers bringing Jesus to those ready and able to receive Him. I entered a room where two elderly women resided. But, only one was listed to receive the Eucharist. I read the chart...wait...the other woman is catholic, why can't she receive? I was told that she was not coherent enough to receive and should only receive a blessing. I walked over to the incoherrent woman whose head was hanging down almost into her lap. I made the sign of the cross on her forehead and something came over me at that moment. I knelt down on my knees, cupped my hands around her cheeks and prayed out loud, "Dear Jesus, please touch this beautiful woman today and let her feel Your love in her heart. Please bring her peace and hope." Just then, this supposedly incoherent woman reached for my hand with her head still hanging down. I held her hand in mine. It was a tiny, fragile, bone ridden hand with such a gentle touch. I knelt down and she lifted her head to meet my eyes and I gasped! 
I saw the eyes of Christ staring back at me...firey, deep blue! I truly felt the connection. There He was, right in front of me, holding my hand, gazing at me with Those Eyes! We can see Christ through all people. He lives in all of us every moment, if we only take the time to see.
I saw the eyes of Christ staring back at me...firey, deep blue! I truly felt the connection. There He was, right in front of me, holding my hand, gazing at me with Those Eyes! We can see Christ through all people. He lives in all of us every moment, if we only take the time to see. Is there someone you've been meaning to visit? Let's pray to God that we all treasure those we love while we have them on this earth. God Bless!
Copyright 2008 Marge Oliveri
1 comment:
Marge, you have such a beautiful, loving heart and you share God's love & mercy with everyone. I used to work at a nursing home for many years. The poor men and women in these homes always seemed so abandoned and so alone. The majority of the families rarely came to visit. Each wing had forty residents and usually there was 1 or 2 lucky ones who had frequent visitors during the week or weekend. Most had rare visits and many had no visits. I remember one beautiful woman who I thought of while I read your story. This woman, I think her name was Ruth or Rachel, and she was always hunched over with her head down, hands folded inward and could not speak. This woman had such a beautiful personality and great love that it radiated from her gentle face & eyes. The nurses would say she had no family at all and only a lawyer who took care of her bills. But even in her invalid condition, she shared God's love with me. I enjoyed taking care of her and being with her. God bless all the men and women who have been abandoned by their families and left to the loneliness and coldness of nursing asylums. They are not homes. There is not much love there except for those rare nurses and nurses' aides & other workers who step out and share God's love.
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