SR. MELISSA SCHILL
My name is Sr. Melissa Schill and I am a Postulant in the
Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. I am currently at St. Patrick’s Manor in
Framingham Massachusetts on a six month ministry experience.
I have recently completed twelve hours of Dementia training
at our facility. While I was doing
Lectio Divina on this Sunday’s gospel reading, Sept. 6, 2015 I was reminded of
our ministry with our Dementia and other residents and its connection to the
Gospel. This Gospel speaks about how God
healed the deaf man, including his speech impediment. I thought how wonderful he must have felt to
hear Jesus for the first time and to speak so that others could understand
him.
I was also reflecting on the residents we care for and some
their communication difficulties. Many
have hearing problems and some also have speech impediments due to various
conditions. Residents with Dementia are
especially vulnerable to communication problems. Since Jesus is not here with us on earth to
heal them I thought of how we need to really listen to them in order to
understand them like Jesus would. Jesus
would make our residents feel at home with us and not lost in the background
due to communication difficulties. So
this Sunday as we read Jesus healing the deaf mute I will be remembering how
all of us are important and are children of our heavenly Father.
