By Megan Erbacher
The Message editor
Bishop Joseph M. Siegel celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving March 4 at St. Joseph Parish in Jasper to honor the many years of dedicated service of the Little Company of Mary Sisters and Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center.
More than 70 years ago, the Little Company of Mary Sisters founded Memorial Hospital in Jasper. The Mass also celebrated the hospital continuing its Catholic healthcare mission through a new partnership with Deaconess Health System.
Ten priests of the diocese concelebrated Mass with Bishop Siegel.
Little Company of Mary Sister Renée Cunningham served as lector for the Mass. Gift bearers were Little Company of Mary Sister Renée, Sister Carol Pacini and Sister Sharon Ann Walsh. Music for the Mass was provided by the Sisters of St. Benedict.
At the beginning of Mass, Father John Brosmer, pastor of St. Joseph in Jasper, welcomed everyone to the celebration. Father John wrote in his March 3 parish bulletin, “We need to give thanks to the sisters for their ministry over the last 70 years. They have made a major impact on our community, and all the businesses and people who supported their ministry.”
During his homily, Bishop Siegel recounted a story of St. Martin of Tours that occurred when he was still a catechumen. While St. Martin served as a soldier, he came upon a beggar. Moved with compassion, Bishop Siegel said St. Martin wanted to do something to help the man. He recalled that St. Martin of Tours cut his cloak in two and gave one half to the beggar, while he wrapped the other half around one shoulder, much to the amusement and sneers of fellow soldiers.
St. Martin then had a vision of Christ wearing the cloak he cut in half for the beggar, the bishop said. St. Martin later became a monk, then a bishop, who was known for his charity. Shortly after his death, he was canonized, becoming one of the first non-martyrs to be proclaimed a saint.
Martin’s experience is an illustration of what our Lord teaches us in the gospel, Bishop Siegel explained, that each one of us must be ready to meet Christ in the most unusual circumstances of life and be ready to serve him in the most unlikely people. In the face of those who need, he said, we see the face of Christ.
This is the foundation of the vocation of Catholic healthcare ministry, Bishop Siegel explained. The church teaches that those in the medical profession and those who support their work have been called by Christ himself, the greatest physician, the bishop said. Their work includes serving their brothers and sisters in need, relieving their suffering, easing their pain, comforting their fears, and, when possible, bringing them back to health.
They don’t see patients simply as cases or numbers, Bishop Siegel said they see in each patient the presence of Christ himself. This is what makes their work a true vocation, a ministry, he explained, rather than just a career or a job.
Many lives have been blessed for more than 70 years by the presence and example of the Little Company of Mary Sisters, Bishop Siegel said, who lived out these works of mercy through their compassionate ministry and sponsorship of Memorial Hospital.
Bishop Siegel expressed gratitude for the impact the sisters have made as the heart and conscience of Memorial Hospital. Although their role has changed, Bishop Siegel said their influence will continue to be felt in the coming years as the affiliation between Memorial and Deaconess will build on the solid foundation established by the sisters. The new union, he said, will assure them the Catholic hospital and Catholic healthcare will continue to flourish in Dubois County.
Bishop Siegel said he looks forward to working with the hospital in the years to come to ensure the Catholic identity and issues so carefully nurtured by the sisters and the heart of Memorial Hospital will continue to endure and deepen in the coming years.
Little Company of Mary Associates Alan Hoffman and Larry Rasche served as ushers for the Mass. Programs were distributed by Little Company of Mary Associates Kathy Burton, Joyce Gehlhausen, Marsha Shepherd and Ann Steffe.
