The Catholic Weekly 10 May 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 16 10, May, 2020 WORLD Visits bring peace Priests stay by the dying Brother’s back on duty Chaplains are discovering the importance of their ministry ROBERT MULDOON was close to death, infected with the coronavirus, as he waited for a visit fromDominican Fa- ther Patrick Hyde. When the priest greeted him in his room at a nursing home in Bloomington, Indi- ana, Muldoon was overjoyed. “Father, I’m so glad you’re here,” he said. “Now I can go in peace.” Father Hyde recounted the graced encounter on Twitter without identifying Muldoon at the time. “This is the power of the sacraments and why I’m a priest,” he wrote. For more than a month, churches have been empty. But priests still go out to those who are dying to administer the sacrament of the anoint- ing of the sick, even to those who are suffering from the virus. A select group of priests across central and south- ern Indiana have committed themselves to ministering to people who are quarantined. AN IRISH Dominican broth- er who trained as a doctor is back treating patients with COVID-19. Brother Chris Gault, who has been studying for the priesthood with the Domin- icans, has returned to his na- tive Belfast, Northern Ireland, and donned surgical scrubs to be part of the fight against the virus in the Mater Misericor- diae Hospital where he once served. He graduated fromQueen’s University in 2013 and com- pleted foundation training as a doctor, but he left medical life behind when he decided to answer a call to enter the priesthood. However, when he heard calls for any avail- able medics to return to the “IT’S ABOUT being present to the human person in those moments of need when we come to experience how vul- nerable we all are, and though I may not be able to do some- thing to change the situation, I can still be with that person in need and offer what I have, my very presence to give com- fort.” The words of Dominican Father Benedict Faneye are echoed by the many Catholic chaplains – priests, religious and lay – serving at hospitals throughout the US state of Maine. These days, the job descrip- tion has changed due to the historically stringent safety restrictions now in place at all hospitals due to the COV- ID-19 pandemic. “The difference I see is that hospitals are almost empty as far as the normal patients are concerned,” said Father An- thanasiusWirsiy, a chaplain at Northern Light Mercy Hospi- tal and Maine Medical Centre in Portland. “There are hardly any visitors for patients.” “The hospitals don’t want to take any chances in having COVID-19 brought in by a vis- itor and affecting the care they are offering,” said Father Paul Marquis, also a chaplain at the same facility. “The amount of family who can visit is ex- tremely limited. The hallways are empty. The visitors’ area is empty.” “I can’t hold someone’s hand who might be fright- ened. It feels very artificial to me, but I suppose this is the new normal,” said Mary Haz- zard, a lay Catholic chaplain at Maine Medical Centre. “The presence of a chaplain helps bring comfort to pa- tients in situations like this,” said Father Faneye, a chaplain at four facilities in Lewiston. “There was an older patient on comfort care I was visiting shortly before COVID-19 set in. Once all the restrictions of COVID-19 were put in place, the patient was by herself. I went in to visit her and all she did was to hold on to my hand and kept saying, ‘Thank you.’ “I have been struggling with some of these and ask- ing myself if and when peo- ple are going through an illness which could drastically change who they are, how do we support them?” Even in extraordinary times, the answers chaplains ¾ ¾ Sean Gallagher ¾ ¾ Dave Guthro Brother Chris Gault in front of Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Bel- fast in April 2020. PHOTO: CNS/MAL MCCANN, COURTESY IRISH CATHOLIC “It was beautiful just to be able to be there,” Father Hyde toldThe Criterion newspaper. “As we Catholics believe, the priest acts in the person of Christ when he acts sac- ramentally. So, being able to bring and to be Jesus for him in that moment was a power- ful experience.” Being asked to be a priest to minister to the dying led Father Sengole Thomas Gna- naraj to prayer. “I was praying for the min- istry and preparing myself mentally so that, if someone called me, I would go,” said Father Gnanaraj. Inmid-April, that call came. Three people from the same front line to help in the fight against the coronavirus, he decided he had to help. “I talked to my superiors and they were happy and en- couraging,” he said. “My skills are quite limited in comparison to a lot of my colleagues who I met today and were so welcoming. They have been on the front line now; their training is better than mine ... I will be looking to support them. They are true heroes. I have a great admira- tion for them.” He said if he had to give people a message, “it would be one of hope.” “Staff here are committed to beating this thing and they are committed with the help of God. I have no doubt that there is great hope.” find are beautiful in their sim- plicity. “The human connection is powerful, it is spiritual, and it has a healing effect on our ex- periences as well,” he said. Father Arokiasamy Santhi- yagu, a priest of the Heralds of Good News order, serves as chaplain at MaineGener- al Hospital in Augusta. It is a ministry that Father San- thiyagu has always found re- warding, especially now. “During this time of pan- demic, to serve as a chaplain really gives me a good feeling and a satisfaction,” he said. “These days, patients in the hospital are feeling more isolated than ever before. They said that they are not able to see even their own family members and friends. Some patients have told me that chaplains’ visits and the chance to receive the sac- raments means so much to them.” Their visits elicit gratitude and create it in themselves in the process. “I am so thankful to God for giving me such a wonderful ministry to meet the sick peo- ple and administer the sacra- ments, particularly in a time of social distancing,” he said. Father Wirsiy said “It is wonderful because you feel happy when you are able to give consolation to people who are reeling, people who have been sick.” “They are going through suffering, and when you talk with them, they are happier. I think that is what is really ful- filling in the ministry. Then, the difficult part is standing to see people suffering, seeing people dying, and seeing the family grieving for them. You are going there, and you don’t knowwhat you are going to go and say, but by the time you are leaving, you realise that something happened to a pa- tient, and the patient is kind of happy. I think God is giving us the graces to do that.” - CNS family living in nearby Con- nersville were sick. Two had tested positive for the corona- virus. A third was presumed to be infected. One was believed to be close to death. Father Gnanaraj drove to their home, put on a protective suit and went in to anoint all three of them. “It was a feeling that I’ve never had before,” he said. “I couldn’t describe what I felt. I was not scared.” It was also a moving mo- ment for those who were anointed. “They thanked me pro- fusely,” Father Gnanaraj said. “Deep within myself, I was very happy to be able to do this ministry, giving God’s mercy and sacraments when people are in dire need of it. We do what we can and God takes care of the rest. We are his in- struments and his ministers, always serving the Lord.” Father Hyde said being asked to minister to the dying during the pandemic empha- sizes the commitment that priests make at their ordina- tion. “Just like (Archbishop) Fulton Sheen said, the priest is not his own,” Father Hyde said. “It’s a commitment to be faithful to what the good Lord is asking of us in whatever sit- uation in which we find our- selves.” He admitted that the pros- pect of ministering to people with the coronavirus gives him pause. “It’s scary. You just don’t know. At the same time, I became a priest not so that I could go to heaven, although I hope and pray that I go to heaven, but because I felt called to lead other people to heaven,” he said. - CNS Some patients have told me that chaplains’ visits and the chance to receive the sacraments means so much to them.” Fr Arokiasamy Santhiyagu As we Catholics believe, the priest acts in the person of Christ when he acts sacramentally. So, being able to bring and to be Jesus for him in that moment was a powerful experience.” Fr Patricvk Hyde OP Father Sengole Thomas Gnanaraj is pictured outside Reid Health Hospital and in his protective gear during the Coronavirus Pandemic. PHOTOS: CNS/SEAN GALLAGHER,THE CRITERION/COURTESY FR SENGOLE THOMAS GNANARAJ