By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

Morning Masses are always well attended in Morris Hall Chapel, tucked into the heart of the 40-acre diocesan health care campus in Lawrenceville.

But on Feb. 11, the World Day of the Sick and the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, scores of residents, medical professionals and volunteers who gathered for the 27th annual Diocesan Celebration of the World Day of the Sick, filled the chapel to overflowing.

Throughout the Mass, celebrated by Morris Hall’s chaplain Father Angelo Amaral, all prayed as one, sharing in the Eucharist and the Anointing of the Sick and the blessing of hands of the physicians, affirming the faith that that guides them not just on this special day but every day.

It is this faith, proclaimed in readings drawn from Acts, James and the Gospel of Matthew, and “the great passion for it that made the World Day of the Sick so touching today,” said volunteer Phyllis Vannozzi.

Vannozzi, who serves as reader regularly in Morris Hall Chapel, is one of more than 100 volunteers from parishes around the Diocese who share their time, attention and friendship with those living in the Morris Hall senior care communities of St. Mary Assisted Living, St. Joseph Skilled Nursing and the houses that comprise Morris Hall Meadows, a Medicare and Medicaid residence.

Along with all-round volunteer Janice Haggerty, Vannozzi helped plan this year’s diocesan commemoration of the World Day of the Sick with Father Amaral, Morris Hall’s chaplain, and the Diocese of Trenton Department of Pastoral Care.

A retired educator, Vannozzi reflected on the Mass, saying she was profoundly moved  especially during the administering of the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick and the blessing of the hands of the medical professionals who serve them.

“I was so proud of the moment when Father (Amaral) blessed the hands of the doctors. I prayed for people to feel that moment when Peter said ‘rise and walk.’ I (prayed) they would feel the fact that this is a place where miracles do happen: where friendships and attachments are formed, where faith is renewed.”

As the community prayed together, it reflected the fact that “there is healing here in all kinds of ways. I have heard it and seen it.”

Caring Spirits

Vannozzi first started volunteering in the chapel six years ago when she was newly retired. “My husband was volunteering in Morris Hall’s rehabilitation center and I began attending Mass in the chapel. One day, there was a need for a reader at the Mass and I filled in. It was one Mass, but you know what happens, one Mass leads to more.”

“I read three days a week now and whenever a special program is being held if I am available, as well as funerals” and feast day Masses. Aside from reading, she helps with arranging the flowers that decorate the chapel.

But what she is most fond of is connecting with the residents, many of whom she knows by name and seek her out for conversation. “They are always happy to see you, they smile at you, give you a kiss. Many just want to talk,” said Vannozzi.

She describeds the chapel as a “vibrant, growing community,” encapsulating the overall atmosphere on the campus. “Yes we are a chapel but we are also a community. People come because they feel comfortable,” because there is always help and companionship, she said. “Every volunteer who comes pushes a wheelchair to help a resident go to Mass. … everyone helps. I think we are doing God’s work.”

Reaching Out

That’s the sense throughout the campus where God’s work includes a raft of opportunities to contribute and contribute they do. In 2018, for instance, more than 100 volunteers contributed more than 7,576 hours in pastoral care, friendly visiting, pet therapy, music, activities, arts and crafts, said Janice Haggerty.

“There are so many ways to volunteer and we are always looking for more dedicated volunteers,” Haggerty said. A member of nearby St. Ann Parish, she speaks from experience, having volunteered on the Morris Hall campus for 16 years and in a number of capacities.

A member of the Morris Hall Community Board which concentrates on funding and coordinating the many activities that fill the resident’s calendar and enhance the environment, she is also the coordinator of  extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion who bring the Eucharist to the rooms of residents unable to make it to chapel, a vital ministry on the campus.

The extraordinary ministers she said, “are a wonderful group of devoted people who find it so rewarding to go to the residents rooms and bring the Sacrament to people who may not remember many things but always remember their prayers.”

“It is a spiritual experience to pray with them, to give them the host, to share the peace they get from receiving the Sacrament,” said Haggerty, speaking of the bond that develops between volunteers and residents.

“Having had the experience myself, it becomes so familiar – they are happy to hear about our families, they want to see pictures of our children and grandchildren and talk.”

All around, she said, it’s a faithful experience.

“It’s a spiritual visitation, praying, listening to their concerns and their hopes. Sometimes they are sad and with the Eucharist,” their spirits revive, she said.

When this happens, the volunteers experience the joy of their ministry,” Haggerty said. “It’s definitely a two way street. We get as much, if not more than the residents. It’s joyful and spiritual. It shines a lot of light.”