Two loved ones on my husband’s side of the family were hospitalized this past weekend. (Both are thankfully on the road to recovery now, but I’m sure they would appreciate any prayers you can offer.)
When we entered the hospital to visit one of them on Saturday morning, we were welcomed by a beautiful statue of Jesus with outstretched arms. On the way up to the patient’s room, we passed a portrait of Mary. In the room, I spotted a Crucifix near the bed.
I think you can guess by now it is a Catholic hospital.
You can’t measure the strength and comfort my husband and I, and the rest of the family, drew from being in a place where faith and hope is encouraged. A place where they unashamedly live and breathe our Catholic values. Especially during a scary and stressful health emergency, where the future is uncertain, and all we can do to help is pray for God’s will.
It struck me as we were leaving the hospital, this is what we stand to lose if Catholic hospitals are forced to shut down for refusing to comply with the HHS mandate, and this is most certainly something worth fighting for.
It would be so encouraging to read that as someone who is sick or hurt and in the hospital and to feel you are being treated by people who uphold your values. It is so, so scary to think about Catholic hospitals being shut down. I’m glad your husband’s family members are recovering!
Thanks, Caitlin!
It really is scary to think about. To me, the scarier part is that many people are complacent about it because they don’t think it could ever really happen. I’ve witnessed how the state government in Illinois forced Catholic Charities out of facilitating adoptions for refusing to comply with laws that violate Catholic teaching – when they were one of the largest providers in the state. http://bit.ly/L62wL2