Caring Touch for Homeless and Marginalized Persons
VinFormation features a video from the Daughters of Charity archives about “Seeing Christ in the Poor” through the ministry of massage therapy for homeless persons.Here are some other examples of this ministry.
There is a very interesting site called carethroughtouch.org. In this article (pdf file), Mary Ann Finch, the founder of Care Through Touch, shares that the therapist’s willingness to enter into a real relationship with the homeless person is critical. “This is a ministry; it’s not a business. You need to come from a place of compassion, which is not about pity. You need to believe, ‘I’m coming here to give what I have to give you and receive what you have to give me. We’re both healers, and who is to say who is the healer at this moment?’ The playing ground has to be even.”
Sister Susan O’Neill is a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, ready to give a massage — sometimes to a person awaiting surgery, sometimes to a new mom, but always to add a personal touch to medical care. A sister giving a massage?…
Sister Mary Grace Higgins is a “cuddler” in the neonatal intensive care unit of Sisters of Charity Hospital on Main Street, the 86-year-old Higgins has comforted hundreds of newborns in need of a gentle hug when their mothers can’t be around.
Tags: Daughters of Charity
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