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In a village, the physician, the pharmacist, and the therapist are part of the landscape, and the nurse is often the one who is closest to human suffering. Elizabeth is an auxiliary nurse in Quebec. She has always been committed to and passionate about caring for people who are suffering, both in her professional environment and in her local church, The 180 Church (C&MA). While attending one of her first courses at ETEQ on pastoral care she discovered the practice of care enlightened by the attentiveness of Christ in the Gospels.
Whether it is towards the widow of Nain (Luke 7:13), the crippled woman (Luke 13:12) or Zacchaeus in the tree (Luke 19:5), Jesus first sees and pays attention to the needs of the people around him: when He goes to Peter's house, He sees Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever (Matthew 8:14).
In addition to recognizing people's suffering, Christ does, secondly, come closer and willingly responds to their needs. He takes care of the person: seeing Peter's mother-in-law, he approaches her and touches her hand (Matthew 8:15).
Jesus responds, then, in a concrete way to the suffering of others by providing care. He acts and uses who He is and His divine attributes to heal Peter's mother-in-law.
Finally, Jesus' attentiveness responds to the needs of the person who has received the care: the mother-in-law is healed, the fever leaves her and she resumes the course of her life in an attitude of thankfulness.
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