June, 2017
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On the Holy Spirit and Hope, Pope Francis
A Personal Portrait

Prayer for Peace

Reflection
"The Catechism, quoting Pope Pius XII's beautiful encyclical on the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Haurietis Aquas (1956), states, "[Jesus] has loved us all with a human heart.  For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation, 'is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that... love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings' without exception (#478).

To appreciate this rich symbolism of the heart, we must remember in Judaism that the word heart represented the core of the person."  Read more.
Pastoral Care Ministry Annual Day of Retreat & Spiritual Renewal

June 14, 2017 is the Pastoral Care Ministry Annual Day of Retreat & Spiritual Renewal.  The scriptural quote for the day is from Isaiah:

 
Is 40:31
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar on eagles' wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.

For those who are planning on joining us for this annual day of prayer and reflection, we invite you to use this scripture quote to prepare for the upcoming day of retreat. Pray with the quote, listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you.  We hope that your hearts will be open to receive the gifts God has prepared for you.  Come with anticipation of being refreshed and renewed in the love of  God, strengthened by the Holy Spirit and ready to go forth once again to share the blessings you have received with those to whom you minister.  

Bringing the Family Closer

"In this life, we are to be a bit like Heaven, so that God might find a home here..."  -Meister Eckhart

"An elderly Greek Orthodox gentleman was brought to the ED for possible stroke.  This man was accompanied by many supportive and elderly family members, adult children and young grandchildren.  When I met them in the patient's ICU room in the early hours of the morning, all family (about 15 in number) were gathered.  What struck me immediately was the positioning of the family members.  Each one was as close to the wall away from the patient as they could get."  Read more.

What I Learned About Losing

a Step-Child

"The title of this article by Paula Stephens "What I Wish More People Understood About Losing a Child" quickly caught my attention on my friend, Lisa Payne's Facebook page the other day. With the article, Lisa posted "I haven't lost a child. I know people who have...While I felt the article was well-written and insightful, I do not know if it accurately depicts the feelings of those who have suffered this type of loss..." in preparation for her Pastoral Care final." Read more.

Ageless in the Lord and Self-Love

" Ageless in the Lord: A condition of the soul that emerges in one's illumination years (65 and up) as one's advancing relationship with God becomes the primary life motivation and goal.

A healthy self-love is an essential ingredient for the emergence of the life condition of agelessness.  In their book Christian Adulthood, authors Whitehead and Whitehead use the term self-intimacy to describe one's ever evolving and deepening knowledge about and acceptance of self."   Read More.
We Were Made For These Times
From Clarissa Pinkola Estes, American poet, post-trauma specialist and Jungian psychoanalyst, author of Women Who Run With the Wolves. 

"My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They 
are concerned about the state of affairs in our world now. Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.
In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that."...   Read more.
Diocesan Commission on Pastoral Care | Harley.McDevitt@rcda.org |   Pastoral Care Ministry Website | www.CapitalDistrictCemeteries.org
Phone: (518) 641-6823
Fax: (518) 641-6841