Thursday, May 8, 2014

Givers - Happy Nurses Week

Being a nurse myself, I got the biggest kick out of this posted on Facebook by a fellow nurse:




The last RN duties I performed were for both my parents at end of life. I know how hard most RNs work to make sure patients survive the experience of hospital admission, let alone in- home caregiving. Thank a nurse today . . . either one you know or one you come across in a hospital, doctor's office, or in the grocery store. I promise it will make his/her day! 


Todays Gospel (John 6:44-51) shows us the Son of God is the ultimate Giver:


Jesus said to the crowds: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets:

They shall all be taught by God.

Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.  Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.  I am the bread of life.  Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.”


In Volume One, Anne a lay apostle makes it easy to understand the importance of givers:



"If you want to know how to please our God, just consider a child, and what that child would have to do to please his parents. Be good. Be nice. Be obedient. Take direction when it is given. Laugh a lot. Smile. And clean up your messes. Don’t be greedy or unkind and whatever your job is, do it cheerfully. Doing the Stations, which are rich for me, I came upon Simon of Cyrene, reluctantly helping Jesus. This breaks my heart. How dreadful to be helped grudgingly. I so often think that Jesus loves a cheerful giver. I spent a good deal of time in this hospital or that one and when a nurse was grudging or impatient in her care, it stung terribly. As a sick person, you don’t have a lot of fight or esteem, and are vulnerable to this additional wound of your emotions. At the same time I consider the great kindness and love that has been given to me in hospitals and it overwhelms me. Truly, Christ is present in these loving souls. And truly, nursing or any care of the sick or elderly is a blessed vocation. I think if those people who are called to those professions would ask Jesus for love, He would deluge them with graces. I ask Him right now to shower all of these souls with so much love that it pours over onto their patients and charges, badly in need of consolation."

Lay apostles, find opportunities to give instead of take; to love instead of hate; to accept instead of reject. As Anne says above, be a cheerful giver . . . follow in the footsteps of Our Savior!


Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of being a nurse. Bless all caregivers with strength, courage, acceptance and kindness, giving them the same in return!


God bless,

Bonnie






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