Sometimes, all you can do is to be there. Just BE there.
Presence to suffering, to all types of pain, is an invitation to enter deeply into the lives of others and into the Paschal Mystery of Jesus.
In these brief reflections our Sisters and Associates share their experiences of grief accompaniment through loving presence to many forms of suffering.
Suffering through tragedy
Sister Judy Pfile worked with Associate Dave Sanders at St. Joseph the Worker Parish a year ago in Chatham, Ill, when a deadly crash at a daycare center killed three children and a teen worker. “Joining our grief with the hurting families, St. Joseph the Worker Church staff reached out with our prayers, presence, comfort, and compassionate care,” she said.” Anyone who needed to talk was invited to come and talk with Father Joe or me, the church doors were left unlocked to allow the grieving to come to pray, and our facility was a designated place to drop off donated food for the victims' families and for the families of the hospitalized children. the parish and the entire Chatham community continues to be unanimously supportive, CHATHAM STRONG.”
Suffering through aging and loss
Sister Kelly Moline sees gradual decline every day in her work with the aging at a local care facility. She says, “It's all about connection.
Grief work, accompanying the grieving, and grieving for ourselves too in these times of loss. Be it spaces for loved ones, dedicated and talented coworkers lost to illness or retirement, family members and friends, ALL of these are connections lost ....only temporarily though... if we believe in connections beyond our earthly journey and outside our typical ‘communication’ methods. Remaining connected to someone, something, somewhere beyond ourselves is key to finding and making meaning along the grief journey.
“Remaining faithful to fostering intentional moments of connection and allowing contemplation to reveal deeper meaning to the stories of our lives IS the witness of our lives as Dominican Sisters, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, neighbors, colleagues.....even in grief.”
Spiritual suffering and healing
Hospital work, long a part of our pastoral history as Dominicans, continues both in the United States and in Peru. Associates Joann and Rose Lenn volunteer at St. John’s Hospital.
“In many encounters with hospitals patients we find they will open up about not receiving Holy Communion in years…just as the doctors work to make them physically well I can stress the importance of healing their souls at the same time. Many of them leave the hospital feeling God’s presence and healing.” notes Rose.
Joann says, “One of the most profound moments in distributing Holy Communion in the hospital is when coming 
upon a patient of a different nationality…I make the sign of the cross and hold up the host. At that moment the language obstacle is no more and Christ’s presence is realized. The joy of sharing His body and blood in the Eucharist brings peace and comfort which makes us united in His love and grace.”
Personal grief
Irish-born Sister Maira Barry, long certified as a Catholic Hospital Chaplain, sees pain up close every day at St. John’s, but her own journey this Spring echoes the loss of so many: “Early Easter morning, God took my beloved sister, Catherine, into loving arms…The mystery of life as God walks with us can change us in the blink of an eye…we are surprised when God calls a loved one home suddenly. My grief emotions weave between sadness and joy, Good Friday and Easter Sunday …..As I reflected on the mystery of grief and loss, messages of support arrived by phone, text, and email…Embraced by sisters, brother, and whole family was such a comfort upon my arrival in Ireland and later Scotland…surrounded by family who freely embraced love, loss, pain and joy, I felt Catherine’s arms around me saying, ‘All is well, be strong and share your love…’”
Communal loss and grief
Grief can be not simply personal, but structural: This spring, Sister Angelene Biderbost accompanied the St. Patrick School community in
Springfield in the too-common loss of a Catholic school: “During the past ten years I have witnessed the struggles … I am looking at this closure with sadness—but more—as opportunities, hope, and new beginnings for students and families. I am sad for the staff, but grateful for our principal, Bridget Timoney, our school board, our supporters, and all those working toward a beneficial outcome for all. God’s blessings on them!”
“The decision to discontinue classes and all that was a part of St. Patrick’s brought significant grief, a difficult struggle,” said St. Patrick’s Board member, Sister Marilyn Jean Runkel, “but the spirit and mission of St. Patrick will continue through a scholarship program allowing low-income and diverse students to attend another Catholic school has brought a sense of Resurrection and joy.” Runkle notes, “The program will enable many of the students to transfer to other Catholic schools and many already done so…moving grief to a new journey…”
Attention to the suffering of the world
Sisters Celestine Rondelli and Thecla Khunline, 
who live at the motherhouse in Springfield, telephone Sister Dorothea Sondgeroth in Jackson, Miss., to daily pray the rosary for the thousands of prayer requests broadcast each day by Sisters Colette Barker and M. Joan Sorge. This presence through prayer, even to strangers, is in solidarity with their suffering. …across time and geography. To just BE there.
