Sr. Claire McGrath’s Story
Hello, my name is Claire McGrath. I am a Holy Family Sister. I live in a community in Clane, Co Kildare with four other Holy Family Sisters.
For the last six years I have worked as the Co-ordinator of Chaplaincy with the St. John of God Kildare Services. The Mission of the Service is to deliver a person-centred service to children and adults who have a significant intellectual disability and associated special needs.
My role as Chaplain is to attend to the pastoral needs of our Service Users, their families and the staff. In the St John of God Order’s Policy Document on Pastoral Care it states that, “Pastoral Care is central to the mission and core values of the Services which the Order provides”. So what then does this mean for me in practice?
The Service is a large one, we have almost 400 Service Users, 60 of these are children, plus 425 staff. Before ever I begin to reach out to families and staff there is the call and it is always a challenge, to support people with a disability in the human and spiritual dimension of their lives. In an age that prizes image, perfection, mental ability, people with disabilities can be a paradox. Their presence has challenged me to look deep into my own heart to clarify what it is that makes us human. People with disability, their families and those who care for them face many difficult questions. I have been asked: Why am I like this? Why my child? How can I care for this person while allowing them the freedom to reach their full potential? I share in their struggle and their questions.
Within this context I believe that the core work of the Pastoral person is to create a permeating healing presence within the Service. So how do I try to do this?
Throughout the Service I work alongside staff trying to ensure that all receive holistic care. This means attending to their spiritual, religious and emotional needs. One way of doing this is working creatively with groups introducing them to meditation, relaxation, circle dance and different ways of praying. The feedback from this is positive and therefore also, the challenge to provide similar services for all the sectors i.e. the pre-school, school and our many training centres and workshops.
Providing religious ministry is an important part of what I do and this may involve: Celebration of the sacraments, Blessings, memorial services, liturgies and rituals to celebrate events in the life of the person or, the Service. We cater for people from a variety of faith and cultural backgrounds so it is important that Service Users have access to ministers of their own faith or religion.
The accompaniment of people at a one-to-one level, whether it is a client, a staff member or a family member, is an important part of the work. For me this means being with people, listening with my heart to the pain, the joy, the hurts, the concerns, hopes of the people. Sometimes it may call for simply being present in trust with another. This is especially true at a time of loss or bereavement.
It is however, far from being a one-way process. As a Holy Family Sister ministering to people with disability, I learn from them, for I believe that they have much to teach us. I try to honour them as people with dignity, accepting each one, no matter how profound their disability, as unique and dearly loved. John Vanier says that in every society people with mental disability are the outsiders, and very often rejected. The call therefore for me, is to live in communion with all God’s people but especially those who are weak and most vulnerable.