Blessings!

It's a privilege for me, along with Lourdes, to co-preside at this Healing Service. I attended my first Dignity Melkite Healing Service here in 1992, and I was immediately touched by its healing power. Although the rite was unfamiliar to me, it felt comfortable and comforting. The original format, which I had the opportunity to experience at least once, had seven sections. Each section had an epistle, an Alleluia, a Gospel passage (chanted, of course), a candlelighting, and a blessing of the oil. I remember telling Rich that I thought it was like "the greatest hits of the epistles and gospels." Over the years, Rich and the community changed the format somewhat Ñ incorporating several contemporary prayers and lay presiders of both genders Ñ but the spirit of the rite remains greatly intact.

Since I agreed to participate in this service before Lent even started, I've been mentally preparing throughout this Lenten season. As I prepared for this service and more specifically as I contemplated what I would say, I reflected back to significant events and personalities of the last year or so.

As you might imagine, I spent a lot of time thinking about Rich. This being the first Holy Week Healing Service since Rich's passing, it was natural to reminisce about Rich in order to find inspiration. Reflecting on his life, several themes emerged. In celebrating his life, I conjured vivid images of his humanity and of his divinity Ñ of his relationships to Jeb, his family, and this community, of his relationship to God. In mourning his death, I reflected not only on my own mortality, but also on my vitality, my will to live, my search for meaning and purpose. I remember Rich's passion, his compassion, and his amazing healing presence to so many people literally from all walks of life.

We deeply feel his absence tonight. We deeply grieve his passing. Yet perhaps even more deeply, we sense his presence especially tonight during this service, which is just one of the many gifts that Rich gave to us.

I've reflected back through the Lenten season. For many years now, I've come to see Ash Wednesday and this Healing Service as sort of the bookends of Lent. At Ash Wednesday, we begin our journey as intimate community, and at this Healing Service on the Wednesday of Holy Week, again as intimate community, we begin to close the Lenten season. Tomorrow, we start the Triduum, which is almost a season all itself.

I've reflected on the Ash Wednesday text from Corinthians: "Now is the acceptable time!" Now is the day of salvation! (2 Cor 5:20-6:2). Throughout Lent, I have carried in my wallet, my prayer covenant that I took home on Ash Wednesday. "Now is the acceptable time to pray for all unfortunates." Since Ash Wednesday, I have prayed this prayer in covenant with the one who brought it to our community. Through the entire Lenten season, the theme of covenant has been particularly strong.

Many of us, individually, face life-challenging issues or illness, or have loved ones that face life-challenging situations.

As a community, we look back proudly at 30 years of history. At the same time, we face the challenges of living our covenant to be a progressive, inclusive, and loving community Ñ striving for a unity which doesn't have to mean uniformity; allowing for dissent, discussion, and dialogue, without sacrificing the core values of the community.

As part of the larger community of Catholics, we share in the continuing pain of the sexual abuse tragedy, and the division that marks our Church. In the larger world, we continue to endure the effects of 9/11, and the more recent stress of war and violence.

With all of this as a background on our minds, what then could I bring to this healing service?

Most of you know that in my "day job" I take care of matters of the heart. I am a heart doctor for babies and children at Children's Hospital here in Boston.

For many years, I have seen my work life and my spiritual life very much related in my mind and in my soul, but largely separate in actual practice. I have always found my work with children and families very spiritual, but more recently, I have tried to incorporate spirituality into my professional work in a more overt way. Last year, I did a fellowship in Pastoral Care in the Chaplaincy department at Mass General. I did a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education or CPE, which is the training that ordained or soon-to-be-ordained religious usually go through to become hospital chaplains. The special course (or unit) that I took was designed for health care professionals. Our goal was not to become chaplains, per se, but to learn chaplaincy skills that could be incorporated into our daily practice. My class was a mixture of doctors and nurses, a pharmacist, a respiratory therapist, a social worker, a psychologist, and an operations manager for a nursing unit. Our goal was to be better at providing compassionate care.

Since doing the fellowship, I have tried to combine my roles as healer of the literal heart Ñ the physical heart, and healer of the soul, the spiritual heart. Throughout the fellowship and in my own spiritual exploration since the fellowship, I have studied the nature of suffering, and I would like to share two concepts I have derived from that study. One is quite simple, the other more complex. The first is the idea of being present. The second is the idea of finding opportunity at times of suffering Ñ finding opportunity, for example, at the end of life, when one is near death.

First about being present.

I was giving a lecture last week to the pediatric advanced care or hospice team at Children's. The lecture was about spiritual care and prayer with patients and families. We got to talking about dire situations Ñ situations where the science and the technology and the pharmacology and the surgery Ñ all the technology of modern medicine just wasn't helping anymore. When there was no longer hope for a cure, could there be healing? Remember that this was a medical audience, and we struggled for a while with the idea of hope. How do we help the patient and family find hope, maintain hope, and when necessary, reshape hope? There was a parent there, who had gone through the experience Ñ a mother whose son had died after a long and difficult illness. And she said: "When we transferred to Hospice, the first thing Dr. Smith said to us was, "What are your goals? What do you want from this experience?" That doctor was being present. "It was like a breath of fresh air," the mother said.

It became clearer to me during the discussion what this idea of being present was all about. Being present means finding the place where your friend or neighbor is, and being there and respecting that person and that place. And starting from that place you build a relationship. And only with a relationship can you help to find hope, maintain hope, and reshape hope. Being present and building relationships lead to healing and reconciliation.

Being present.

To me, the story of the beaten traveler and the Good Samaritan is another example of being present. The Priest avoided the place. The Levite crossed to the other side. But the Samaritan went to the place, was present, made a connection, and through that relationship there was healing. There was healing for the beaten traveler, and yes, healing for the Samaritan.

Being present.

To me, Dignity/Boston is about being present, about building relationships and building community, about finding healing and reconciliation in community. This community is about being present, finding meaning, love, forgiveness, trust, and gratitude. Every Dignity/Boston function Ñ every liturgy, spirituality group meeting, Board and committee meeting, is an opportunity for being present.

Being present.

What about finding opportunity in times of struggle, suffering, or even death?

Dr. Ira R. Byock, is a physician who writes and speaks about the nature of opportunity at the end of life, and I am borrowing some of his ideas here. Sometimes our most difficult challenges can be experiences of personal growth, [embodying a sense of renewed (at times enhanced) meaning and a sense of completion, at times even fulfillment in life.] Personal growth is rarely easy at any stage of life, and a growthful suffering may actually be difficult. Yet the sense of growing in the midst of suffering can be important, valuable and meaningful for us as individuals and as a community.

Often at times of major challenge, we deepen the level of our relationships, we reconcile with people with whom we have been separated, we find it in our selves to forgive and be forgiven, to love and be loved. In times of struggle, we find healing and reconciliation. In times of trouble, we find God.

Yesterday, I received a letter from the parents of one of my patients who died a little over two years ago at the age of 4 years. She had very serious medical issues since birth, but touched all who knew her through her laughter and courage, living each day, and inspiring those around her.

The letter starts:

"Hope all is well with you. It has been awhile. Every day is still difficult. We miss M. so much. We have, however, tried to do something positive with our lives."

They go on to describe volunteer work they have done to help other children, and they ask me to participate in a fundraiser that they are doing to raise money to help children with problems like their daughter had.

Through their loss and suffering, they have found meaning and purpose. Though they suffer immense pain and grief, they find some reconciliation and healing.

Finding Opportunity.

To me, the formation of Dignity as an organization, decades ago, and the sustaining of Dignity as a movement, are examples of finding opportunity from suffering, misunderstanding, hate, and discrimination. Dignity's continued work to affirm and validate the integration of spirituality and sexuality for GLBT Catholics, is an example of finding opportunity for healing and reconciliation. Our ability to create community in the face of rejection is finding opportunity. Dignity's work to prevent scapegoating of gay people in response to the sexual abuse crisis is another example of finding opportunity during suffering.

And lo and behold, sometimes, the opportunity overtakes the suffering.

Being Present and Finding Opportunity.

I want to close with an idea that is captured by the writing of the poet Rilke:

"Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves...Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now...And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

In a few moments, we will begin the anointing ceremony.

I invite you to ponder on whatever unresolved issues, challenges or illnesses that you may have. Bring them to this place.

Let us embrace each other and all of our challenges with deep respect.

Let us make connections, be present for each other, build community.

In the process of building community, may each of us develop or deepen a sense of worthiness and find our own unique sense of meaning of life.

In the process of making connections and building community here, may we also make a connection to that which is Greater than ourselves, make a connection to the Mystery that is God.