Jesus Christ, during his ministry on earth, always went to the poor and needy and gave his all ministering to the vulnerable in society. He was seen numerous times healing the sick, driving our demons, calling for reforms with the social hierarchy and the wealthy. In the same manner, we are called to serve our communities and families and though that act, express God's love within our lives. As Christians, we are called forth to put into practical use the precepts and commandments that God issued to us. When people look at us, they should see the love of God at work in our actions and God's presence in our lives. Thus serving the poor and needy are just one aspect of showing that love that God had on us and on mankind that he was willing to die for us. Many people find themselves working in communities, volunteering and engaging in service learning to find that love in their lives and to do the act of mercy for without mercy there is no justice.
Recently, community service and social activism has risen to the highest levels yet among American youths. With the desire to do good, reinforced by the teachings on human dignity and justice, we become empowered to make real difference in our world. So what is human dignity? When thinking of Human Dignity with respect to Catholic theology, we will always find ourselves going back to the basics the Bible for the answer. Catholic theology has traditionally argued for the dignity of the human person from the two theological bases creation and redemption. The first base, creation, is of special importance because God created man in his likeness, in the Garden of Eden to be in fellowship with him and with a superior, if not a special, status in creation. And second, God is not a God who made humanity and watches us run to our destruction like a scientist watching a lab rat. Rather, God played an active role in human history to the point where he was willing to be a redeemer, to offer forgiveness for us through his life and blood. Those two bases show humans possessing a special status in creation and it was God himself who gave a higher value to humanity taking the effort to make us with his hand from dust and breathe life into us. It is because of this innate or intrinsic value of a human being that we must learn to respect an individual's right and be prepared to take care of that person even through their end-of-life stage.
As a student given the opportunity to visit a catholic health care institution for academic service learning (ASL), I was blessed to see both the love of God and the respect of human dignity at work. I visited the Queen of Peace Residence run by the Little Sisters of the Poor and it was truly a remarkable experience. The residence home for the aged was one of the cleanest, friendliest and most well run nursing home I have seen in quite a while. The residence is organized to provide the maximum comfort to the patients and the building itself is apartment styled to help residents feel right at home. I have I interviewed numerous residents and all of them have agreed with me that they like the place and the staff. Personally, I have to agree. Not only was the food wonderful (for staff, volunteers and the patients), the institution had numerous activities and a friendly staff. To top it all off, the health facility has a beautiful church within the facility for some quiet reflection and every evening, there is a mass for the catholic residents to attend. My supervisor was Sister Patrice, the site overseer for Students Academic Service Learning programs, was very friendly, welcoming and gave us a guided tour of the entire facility. Afterwards, I was escorted by a resident nicknamed "Gerry" to the various activities.
The Queen of Peace Residence is just one example of the many catholic health care facilities that provide excellent health care services without compromising the theological teachings of Christ, the Bible and the Catholic Church. In our modern day, with increasing technological and scientific advances, health care becomes very complicated with many institutions facing moral issues that were simply non-existent in the past. In order to provide authoritative guidance and reinforce ethical standards of health care behavior, the church published numerous documents including the "Ethical and Religion Directives for Catholic Health Care Services." Health care facilities strive to provide that care that a patient needs (as shown through the ministry of Christ) while respecting a person's dignity (to die with dignity according to Biblical teachings and Church laws). We have to regard human life as sacred from the moment of conception to the dying breath and that entails the right to fill human development including adequate health care. As Jesus had done, it is our duty to ensure the protection of the poor and vulnerable. But it is not just about the physical needs or bodily healing, there is a spiritual need as well which most health institutions cannot properly address. Thus pastoral care plays an important role in emotional, psychological, spiritual and social healing and well being of a person. It is this pastoral care that many secular health care facilities have but does not adequately fulfill. At Queens of Peace Residence, I saw one the best complimentary ministry to the needy through both medical and spiritual methods. Many of the sisters themselves were playing a dual role both as medical professionals and as spiritual comforters. Many sisters talked with the patients, encouraged spiritual hymns, engaged numerous patients in activities such as bowling and painting and simply being there for the patient (which is a great comfort for those who do not get frequent visits from family members). Just the day before I went to Queen of Peace, a patient passed away but due to the financial burden of holding a wake in a another private facility, the family decided to hold the wake at Queen of Peace. The health care facility thus provides a more economically sensible, caring and loving environment to the patient as well as to their loved ones. In the wake, family member and sisters as well as a few patients all came to say a few prayers and to comfort each other it was a sense of a community that shared in the grief and loved the patient as much as the family. The love of Christ was truly present in that facility, evident through the staff interactions, the atmosphere in the health care institution and the obvious joy that emanated from the patients. Each person in the facility felt valued and loved and all the patients seemed to enjoy being there. The patients were respected for who they were by the staff, instead of the staff having an attitude as if the patients were a burden. Many health care institutions are missing this key ingredient of care. A lot of the employees take a non-caring attitude and does not immerse themselves in their work; rather they do it for the sake of the money. At least in a Catholic health care facility, I know they do not do it for the money because they pay is not as great compared to a secular facility. However, the staff does a much better job than any secular facility I have seen so far. That standard of care is much higher and the patient is valued. This service learning experience was something that was truly good and Queens of Peace Residence was a great facilitator of this learning experience. It was also comforting to see the love of God and human dignity given a place in this modern health care system full of moral controversies and ethical dilemmas.