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Hospital Ministry Shares God’s Love and Mercy in Midst of Challenging Circumstances
For 30 years, Eileen Macko has been ministering to patients in local hospitals.
“I’ve had a lot of experiences with people who have fallen through the cracks,” Eileen says. “You are able to bring them back through spiritual materials.”
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While attending her former parish, Eileen was approached and asked to consider serving the local hospitals.
“I was very nervous,” she says. “When you go in, you knock at the door, say who you are, and talk to the patient. But it becomes second nature. This has been something that I really enjoyed doing over the years.” continued on page 5
A prominent encounter in her mind was one with a woman suffering from cancer. A mother to two children, she had fallen away from her Catholic faith. When Eileen visited with her and brought spiritual materials to her, it brought her back to the faith.
“Just her knowing I cared about her and by giving her spiritual materials to look at, she came back to her faith,” Eileen says.
Now, Eileen leads the Hospital Ministry here at Our Lady of Lourdes. The ministry has around seven committed members who take turns serving on Sundays, bringing the Eucharist and other Catholic resources to patients.
The ministry members commit to whichever Sunday suits their schedule, and Eileen fills in the gaps if need be. The commitment is for an hour or two each time. The Hospital Ministry is something that affects not only the patients but also the members themselves.
“I have received so much more than I have given, through those patients that are so grateful you came to them,” Eileen says.
Visiting the sick is one of the seven corporal works of mercy. Through this ministry, parishioners of our community are helping those who are in need of experiencing God’s love and mercy in challenging circumstances.
“By divine providence, you can bring people back to their faith,” Eileen says. “People don’t think about their soul until they’re in the hospital, then they start thinking.”
Because ministry members bring Holy Communion to the patients, all committed volunteers must be trained as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. Those involved must also go through a training process, led by Deacon Byron. Then, Eileen takes care of scheduling and arranging the visits.
