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ADVENT 2023
WEEK ON E
B E T H ER E
SCAN FOR PLAYLIST
OUR CARING PRESENCE
Catholic health care believes our caring presence with one another
WEEK ONE | BE THERE
and those we serve is more than can be seen on the surface. It
This first week we focus on the quality of attention in our presence.
extends beyond the words we say and the tasks we do. The presence of our human caring reveals a deeper Divine caring. Our presence
We will reflect on Jesus’ Gospel
is, as the Gospel says, “A light
mandate to “stay awake” and on
[that] shines in the darkness.” In
stories of “being there” in how a nurse
this Advent season we ponder the
and doctor relate with patients.
shining of this light.
Finally, we pray for a “Be There” presence in our work and personal life.
“If God is the center of your life, no words are necessary. Your mere presence will touch hearts.” St. Vincent de Paul
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REFLECTION
Stay Awake In the Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent (Mk. 13: 33-37), Jesus urges his disciples to “stay awake.” He wants them to be present to all that will be happening, especially cosmic events. In biblical times, these events were thought to signal revelation and judgment.
Distracted takes the place of really being there. If we take a moment of silence, we can let go of the past and future we may be carrying. Then we will be where we truly are – present to those we are with and to what is happening. In other words, when we clear our mind, we center our mind.
Staying awake, however, applies across the board. It is a mandate even for our personal and professional lives.
This is a spiritual practice that makes us really there. And this presence confers a deep dignity on those we are with, a dignity that reflects unconditional Divine Love. We are awake.
But it is not easy to do. We are always busy, coming from one place and going to another. We often carry where we have been and where we are going in our mind. When we do, we are never where our feet are.
TO MAKE “BEI NG TH ERE” PART OF WHO WE ARE,
Interiorly pause. Give attention to who we are with and what is happening. Be curious. 3
Only have a minute? Start here. Choose one piece of content from all that has been gathered here:
AN ENGAGEMENT
A STORY
A REFLECTION
Coloring Page, pg. 6-7
The “Be There” Presence of a Nurse and Doctor, pg. 8-9
Star on a Hubble Diet, pg. 10
Consider these reflection questions:
How do you intentionally seek to foster presence in your life?
What could you do to be “there” for someone in your life who needs it?
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FULL REFLECTION
Q&A WITH RYAN CON KLI N PROGRAM DI RECTOR, M I N ISTRY FORMATION CH RISTUS H EALTH
“I say that I’m finding purpose and presence within myself and not from my surroundings. But I don’t view my family as a surrounding or others. I view them as one flesh... one spirit, sort of.”
When and where do you feel most present? Why?
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Engaging hands, head,
and heart
How often has it been true for you that your best ideas, your most profound moments of integration, occur when you are in the midst of another, wholly different task? Here, we invite you to keep your hands busy with coloring the cover image while you open your head and your heart to what presence means in your own life. How do you experience it? How does your experience of presence inform your work?
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The “Be There” Presence of a Nurse
Susan, a cardiac unit nurse, was helping prepare her patient, Maria, for a cardiac catheterization. She prided herself on her efficiency in getting patients to the cath lab on time.
As she was switching cardiac leads to different monitors, she noticed a tear in the patient’s eye. She stopped what she was doing and asked Maria what she needed. Maria asked for a moment of silence to calm herself because she was terrified. Susan felt an overwhelming sense of compassion for Maria and brought herself into “the moment” with her patient. She took a deep breath, let go of her need to do her tasks quickly, reminded herself that she was called to be a nurse to serve others, and focused all her attention on Maria. Maria held Susan’s hand, took a few deep breaths, and calmed herself. Susan then returned to work but maintained her connection to Maria. She continued doing her tasks, but “with intentionality.” She still was able to get her patient to the cath lab on time, but what she realized was that by doing her tasks with the intention of being present to the patient, she and her patients felt more whole. In that experience, she saw her work as a spiritual practice — to bring compassion to all who suffer. Christina M. Pulchaski, RN, and Betty Ferrell, RN, MD Making Health Care Whole: Integrating Spirituality Into Patient Care (Templeton Press, 2010), 59.
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When asked if she brings her faith and/or spirituality into her work, a Jewish doctor responds yes. “In the course of a day, every time I wash my hands, I say, in Hebrew, a Jewish prayer of purification. And you know how many times I wash my hands.”
The “Be There” Presence of a Doctor
She is asked, “What are you purifying yourself from?” “Oh, I don’t use it for purification,” she replies. “I do it to remind myself that the next person I see is not their disease.”
What do you see in the nurse and the doctor that speaks to you about a presence that is “there”? 9
VISIO DIVINA
STAR ON A HUBBLE DIET (NASA, ESA AND JESÚS MAÍZ APELLÁNIZ [INSTITUTO DE ASTROFÍSICA DE ANDALUCÍA, SPAIN]. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: DAVIDE DE MARTIN)
Gaze
Reflect
Respond
Rest
Consider the image before you. Look slowly and thoroughly, taking a first glance, noting the colors, movement, textures, people, places and things. Make space for the inner eye of the heart to open and interact with the image.
Take a second, deeper look. Rest in the presence of the image; allow the image to reach beyond the intellect and into an unconscious level. What truth does it hold for you? Engage your imagination. Where are you in the artwork? What do you see from that perspective?
Respond to the image with prayer. Does the image remind you of an experience, person or issue for which you’d like to offer thanksgiving or intercession? Does it open a new awareness or spark a conviction? Offer that prayer to God.
Find your quiet center. Breathe deeply. Release tension from your body. Rest in quiet companionship with the image and with God. Dwell in the God who comes to us disguised as all things.
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Lord, we know we have eyes that see not and ears that hear not. Today, something we may see or hear will capture our presence and cause us to pause. Keep our eyes and ears open so we may follow the Spirit that calls us into the grace of Advent where the Light shines in the darkness. Amen. (Let it be!)
About the Author John Shea is a consultant to faith-based organizations, dioceses and parishes, providing theological, mission and formation services. He has published more than 25 books of theology and spirituality, three works of fiction and three books of poetry.
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