In the Spirit of Lourdes
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
In scenes that would be repeated many times over Feb. 11 as the World Day of the Sick unfolded throughout the diocese, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., trod in the footsteps of Jesus, blessing the sick and those who serve them, offering consolation and encouragement to their families, and kind words to their colleagues.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY
Whether in St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton, where the day began, or CentraState Medical Center 30 miles to the east or nearby St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold, where observances sponsored by the diocese were held, the message brought by Bishop O’Connell was the same: “We who are placed among the sick, we are asked to share Jesus’ love, to share Jesus’ compassion, to share Jesus’ mission.
“So often in the Gospels, Jesus sees the sick or the sick are brought to him and Jesus reaches out to them,” Bishop O’Connell said in homilies delivered both in St. Francis Medical Center and St. Robert Bellarmine Parish at Masses for healthcare providers with blessings of the hands.
He spoke of how Jesus responded by “inviting the sick to draw closely to himself. He asks for their faith. He touches them and brings comfort to them. That’s what Jesus did and that’s what Jesus asks of us as his followers, as Christians.
“We who are placed among the sick, we are asked to share Jesus’ love, to share Jesus compassion, to share Jesus mission.”
Focusing on the Sick
Taking that message to heart, Bishop O’Connell had accepted multiple invitations on this, his first observance of the World Day of the Sick as the 10th Bishop of Trenton.
The international celebration was instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1992 with a twofold reminder to pray for all those who are sick and recognize those who work in healthcare and serve as caregivers.
The Holy Father designated Feb. 11 as World Day of the Sick because it is the date the universal Church observes the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
At the behest of the administration and staff of St. Francis Medical Center, Bishop O’Connell began the day there, celebrating Mass in a full chapel for all who could attend, blessing healthcare professionals and making the rounds of several units as well as the Compassionate Care Hospice located within the hospital.
There, as Florence Imbroglia’s daughter, Elaine Polizzi, came close to share the moment, the bishop gently placed his hand on her mother’s head, offering a prayer as she rested peacefully.
“Mom is (sleeping) now and I didn’t want to wake her,” said Polizzi who shared a bit about her mother – how the 93-year-old had lived on her own “up until a month ago” when she became ill and a cancer diagnosis was made.
The daughter spoke of her mother’s love for her Catholic faith and her parish, Our Lady of the Angels, Trenton, where she particularly enjoyed attending Mass in St. Joachim Church.
“When mom wakes up, I’m going to tell her the bishop was here to visit and give her a blessing. I’m sure she would appreciate it.”
Later in the day in CentraState Medical Center, at the invitation of the diocesan Office of Pastoral Care, Bishop O’Connell would bring blessings to many patients including a heart attack victim, Zoilo Cabon, who had recently relocated from Queens to Jackson and John Olexsar of St. Rose Parish, Freehold, suffering from stomach related problems.
Both men found the bishop’s visit uplifting.
One of Cabon’s daughters, Lillian Martinez of New Rochelle, New York, said that her father had been in the hospital for two days. “This visit is a good thing; a very good thing. It builds his spirit,” said Martinez, who described her father as deeply devout.
“He feels (the bishop’s visit) was a message from God that he will get better.”
Cabon, a long time sexton and extraordinary minister of Holy Communion in Our Lady of the Cenacle Parish, Queens, smiled broadly as the bishop left his room.
“I think of myself as 100 percent Catholic,” said Cabon who now attends St. Aloysius Parish, Jackson. “To have him come to me is very beautiful and important.”
Olexsar, a member of the Knights of Columbus, was among numerous people moved by the bishop’s visit. “It’s hard to explain,” Olexsar said, “it felt good to have the bishop, the head of the Catholic Church in this area, single me out for a visit in the hospital. It was the thrill of a lifetime.”
Encouraging Those Who Serve the Sick
For those who serve the sick in St. Francis Medical Center, CentraState and physical and mental health facilities around the diocese, the day brought a sure and certain sense of spiritual acknowledgement for their years of faithful service.
At each Mass and the interfaith liturgy in CentraState, Bishop O’Connell talked of how those in health care bring hope and consolation to the physically and mentally ill. As the caregivers approached for the bishop to bless their hands, he urged them to consider “how holy is the work of your hands.”
The ceremony in the chapel created for the day out of CentraState’s conference room moved many of the 120 staff members and medical professionals to tears – a phenomenon that had occurred earlier in the day in St. Francis Medical Center and would happen again later in St. Robert Bellarmine Church.
As they left the conference room, their hands blessed, their hearts full, registered nurses Helen Bueti, Eileen Ammon and Amanda Booth, spoke warmly of the event. “It was very meaningful, very rewarding and very nice,” said Bueti, a member of St. Gabriel Parish, Marlboro.
Ammon, a nurse for 30 years, called it touching. “To have your hands blessed was a wonderful thing,” she said. “It made you feel that you are making a difference,” said Booth.
Rev. Lisa Lancaster, chaplain and director of pastoral care for CentraState, who coordinated the hospital’s role in the event spoke of “how deeply moving” hospital personnel and administrators of all faiths found the event.
This is the third year the diocesan Office of Pastoral Care has sponsored major events on the World Day of the Sick which have included hospital visitation, Mass in a parish and dinner. The event at CentraState and St. Robert Bellarmine was scheduled to be held last year but postponed by a blizzard, Lancaster noted.
“This was a first for us. We knew it would be very important to the many Catholics on the staff but it turned out to be very meaningful even for those who are not Catholic,” she said Toward evening, Lancaster would be among the 600 caregivers, medical professionals, administrators, clergy, religious and parishioners attending the closing Mass of the day in St. Robert Bellarmine Church.
Also in attendance were 12 knights and dames of the Order of Malta which has, since the late Middle Ages, been devoted to selfless care of the poor, the sick and the elderly.
In the Trenton Diocese, the order annually brings sick of the diocese to Lourdes on pilgrimage. The knights and dames also covered the cost of the closing dinner held in St. Robert Bellarmine’s social hall.
Members Robert and Karen Tanzola, St. Catharine Parish, Spring Lake, participated in the events throughout the day. “It just really enacted what we do as an order,” said Karen Tanzola. “It was a living example of (faithful care) and we were very honored to be present.”
The couple said they appreciated the focus, throughout the whole day, on the human dignity of the person.
“In acknowledging the people who are suffering as well as those who give them care, you are showing the whole process,” she said.
Her husband added, “we thought all the events were super. This kind of event is a spiritual healing and that’s what World Day of the Sick is all about.”
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In scenes that would be repeated many times over Feb. 11 as the World Day of the Sick unfolded throughout the diocese, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., trod in the footsteps of Jesus, blessing the sick and those who serve them, offering consolation and encouragement to their families, and kind words to their colleagues.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY
Whether in St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton, where the day began, or CentraState Medical Center 30 miles to the east or nearby St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold, where observances sponsored by the diocese were held, the message brought by Bishop O’Connell was the same: “We who are placed among the sick, we are asked to share Jesus’ love, to share Jesus’ compassion, to share Jesus’ mission.
“So often in the Gospels, Jesus sees the sick or the sick are brought to him and Jesus reaches out to them,” Bishop O’Connell said in homilies delivered both in St. Francis Medical Center and St. Robert Bellarmine Parish at Masses for healthcare providers with blessings of the hands.
He spoke of how Jesus responded by “inviting the sick to draw closely to himself. He asks for their faith. He touches them and brings comfort to them. That’s what Jesus did and that’s what Jesus asks of us as his followers, as Christians.
“We who are placed among the sick, we are asked to share Jesus’ love, to share Jesus compassion, to share Jesus mission.”
Focusing on the Sick
Taking that message to heart, Bishop O’Connell had accepted multiple invitations on this, his first observance of the World Day of the Sick as the 10th Bishop of Trenton.
The international celebration was instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1992 with a twofold reminder to pray for all those who are sick and recognize those who work in healthcare and serve as caregivers.
The Holy Father designated Feb. 11 as World Day of the Sick because it is the date the universal Church observes the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
At the behest of the administration and staff of St. Francis Medical Center, Bishop O’Connell began the day there, celebrating Mass in a full chapel for all who could attend, blessing healthcare professionals and making the rounds of several units as well as the Compassionate Care Hospice located within the hospital.
There, as Florence Imbroglia’s daughter, Elaine Polizzi, came close to share the moment, the bishop gently placed his hand on her mother’s head, offering a prayer as she rested peacefully.
“Mom is (sleeping) now and I didn’t want to wake her,” said Polizzi who shared a bit about her mother – how the 93-year-old had lived on her own “up until a month ago” when she became ill and a cancer diagnosis was made.
The daughter spoke of her mother’s love for her Catholic faith and her parish, Our Lady of the Angels, Trenton, where she particularly enjoyed attending Mass in St. Joachim Church.
“When mom wakes up, I’m going to tell her the bishop was here to visit and give her a blessing. I’m sure she would appreciate it.”
Later in the day in CentraState Medical Center, at the invitation of the diocesan Office of Pastoral Care, Bishop O’Connell would bring blessings to many patients including a heart attack victim, Zoilo Cabon, who had recently relocated from Queens to Jackson and John Olexsar of St. Rose Parish, Freehold, suffering from stomach related problems.
Both men found the bishop’s visit uplifting.
One of Cabon’s daughters, Lillian Martinez of New Rochelle, New York, said that her father had been in the hospital for two days. “This visit is a good thing; a very good thing. It builds his spirit,” said Martinez, who described her father as deeply devout.
“He feels (the bishop’s visit) was a message from God that he will get better.”
Cabon, a long time sexton and extraordinary minister of Holy Communion in Our Lady of the Cenacle Parish, Queens, smiled broadly as the bishop left his room.
“I think of myself as 100 percent Catholic,” said Cabon who now attends St. Aloysius Parish, Jackson. “To have him come to me is very beautiful and important.”
Olexsar, a member of the Knights of Columbus, was among numerous people moved by the bishop’s visit. “It’s hard to explain,” Olexsar said, “it felt good to have the bishop, the head of the Catholic Church in this area, single me out for a visit in the hospital. It was the thrill of a lifetime.”
Encouraging Those Who Serve the Sick
For those who serve the sick in St. Francis Medical Center, CentraState and physical and mental health facilities around the diocese, the day brought a sure and certain sense of spiritual acknowledgement for their years of faithful service.
At each Mass and the interfaith liturgy in CentraState, Bishop O’Connell talked of how those in health care bring hope and consolation to the physically and mentally ill. As the caregivers approached for the bishop to bless their hands, he urged them to consider “how holy is the work of your hands.”
The ceremony in the chapel created for the day out of CentraState’s conference room moved many of the 120 staff members and medical professionals to tears – a phenomenon that had occurred earlier in the day in St. Francis Medical Center and would happen again later in St. Robert Bellarmine Church.
As they left the conference room, their hands blessed, their hearts full, registered nurses Helen Bueti, Eileen Ammon and Amanda Booth, spoke warmly of the event. “It was very meaningful, very rewarding and very nice,” said Bueti, a member of St. Gabriel Parish, Marlboro.
Ammon, a nurse for 30 years, called it touching. “To have your hands blessed was a wonderful thing,” she said. “It made you feel that you are making a difference,” said Booth.
Rev. Lisa Lancaster, chaplain and director of pastoral care for CentraState, who coordinated the hospital’s role in the event spoke of “how deeply moving” hospital personnel and administrators of all faiths found the event.
This is the third year the diocesan Office of Pastoral Care has sponsored major events on the World Day of the Sick which have included hospital visitation, Mass in a parish and dinner. The event at CentraState and St. Robert Bellarmine was scheduled to be held last year but postponed by a blizzard, Lancaster noted.
“This was a first for us. We knew it would be very important to the many Catholics on the staff but it turned out to be very meaningful even for those who are not Catholic,” she said Toward evening, Lancaster would be among the 600 caregivers, medical professionals, administrators, clergy, religious and parishioners attending the closing Mass of the day in St. Robert Bellarmine Church.
Also in attendance were 12 knights and dames of the Order of Malta which has, since the late Middle Ages, been devoted to selfless care of the poor, the sick and the elderly.
In the Trenton Diocese, the order annually brings sick of the diocese to Lourdes on pilgrimage. The knights and dames also covered the cost of the closing dinner held in St. Robert Bellarmine’s social hall.
Members Robert and Karen Tanzola, St. Catharine Parish, Spring Lake, participated in the events throughout the day. “It just really enacted what we do as an order,” said Karen Tanzola. “It was a living example of (faithful care) and we were very honored to be present.”
The couple said they appreciated the focus, throughout the whole day, on the human dignity of the person.
“In acknowledging the people who are suffering as well as those who give them care, you are showing the whole process,” she said.
Her husband added, “we thought all the events were super. This kind of event is a spiritual healing and that’s what World Day of the Sick is all about.”