Healing Health Care: Moving the Sacramental Tradition from the Edges to the Center of Catholic Health Care
Darren Henson, PhD, Presence Health
Bruce Morrill, SJ, PhD, Vanderbilt University
Moderator: Rachelle Barina, PhD(c), St. Louis University
The Catholic sacramental-liturgical tradition flows from the undivided reality of the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ, and it celebrates and makes present divine realities to the unity of body-soul that comprise men and women. Christians in the liturgical traditions turn to prayer and sacramental rituals especially in times of illnesses and suffering. It could be said that today’s Catholic healthcare systems arose out of its centuries-long tradition of care for the sick—care that entailed both medical care and sacramental care. In fact, the boundaries between care of the body and care of the soul were often unclear. Yet today, Catholic healthcare facilities remaining nearly indistinguishable from their secular counterparts. Sacramental care is relegated to the request of the occasional Catholic patient, and the primary goal is often excellent clinical outcomes at the lowest possible cost. This panel asserts that a Christian understanding of healing forms an orientation that is theologically particular. Not only can it orient individual believers toward a renewed understanding of self, health, and wholeness, it can also help heal deficiencies within local communities and the healthcare system itself.
The first panelist, a theologian and healthcare ethicist will propose a theology of healing that conceptually and practically grounds modern Catholic health care ministries. The panelist will discuss anemic conceptions of healing, which either conflate healing with curing or detach healing from the physical care of the body. Both conceptions distort the ends of Christian care for the sick. Instead, this panelist will propose a theology of healing based on the notion of symbolic gift-exchange in Louis-Marie Chauvet’s sacramental theology. Chauvet’s sacramental theology rejects the emphasis on cause and effect that has historically characterized Catholic sacramental theology. Instead, Chuavet’s model of symbolic gift exchange proposes a (non)metaphysical conception of healing as giving and receiving. Chauvet’s theology illuminates not only Catholicism’s seven sacraments, but also a broader notion of sacramental action that includes healing ministries and appeals to the pluralism amongst Christians. Given Chauvet’s insight, healing is not simply a conceptual foundation or explanation, but an ideal that orients the formation of Christian healing ministries. Ultimately, this panelist will question whether a theologically sound notion of healing animates the decisions and strategies of contemporary Catholic health care organizations.
The second panelist, a systematic and liturgical theologian, will discuss the internal sacramental life of the Church. The panelist will argue that the revised liturgical rites of the Second Vatican Council sustain the Church’s healing ministry today and orient the Christian believer in a hope that surpasses the hope for a cure. The Christian faith provides a hope that exceeds all natural and social expectations and is founded on the divine love that conquered human death in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Particular attention will be given to the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist, the foundational sacraments of healing. Baptism initiates the believer into the paschal mystery of Christ—his life, death, and resurrection. In baptism, the individual dies with Christ and is promised to share with him in his resurrection. Baptism provides an orientation for the Christian believer toward friendship with God and the passing over from the laws to freedom so that men and women might encounter life in a new way. This reality must have implications for the believer’s decisions regarding medical treatments. The strength to continue living in a baptismal identity comes from the Eucharist. The ongoing enactment of and participation in the Eucharist is not so much about having something at the conclusion that one did not have before but rather about being more deeply aware of oneself and others as the very site of the loving faithfulness and gracious mercy of God, in whatever condition we find ourselves. It transforms perceptions of painful situations by making them meaningful. The Eucharist nourishes the Christian life in the mystery of God revealed in the crucified and resurrected Jesus, a God who comes to us in and through the shared bodily medium of our human knowing, suffering, and loving.
The final panelist, a theologian and healthcare ethicist, will explore how the sacramental theologies of the previous panelists are concretely expressed in the social life of a Church that lives within a pluralistic society. This panelist will present two examples of how to manifest and develop a compelling and theologically rich vision of healing. First, following a plea made by Bernard Häring, the realm of healing must not merely be relegated to the realm of medicine, hospitals, and adverse health episodes. It must also entail local communities of faith and the entire span of life. This panelist asserts that the theology of healing calls for leadership and collaboration by local pastors and spiritual leaders. Local Christian parishes can help heal the dehumanizing experience of our healthcare systems by moving beyond prayers and prescribed rituals for the sick and dying. Christian communities must also initiate and sustain committed ministries to keep the sick at the center, not as spectacles, but as living witnesses to the Gospel call to love. Secondly, the Christian love, agape, expressed through the sacraments is not only individual but ultimately moves outward to further the Reign of God. Thus, Chauvet’s model of symbolic gift-exchange that leads to ethics, must necessarily entail social ethics. Healing the dehumanizing injustices of the contemporary medical experience must entail systemic change ameliorating the common good. This panelist will highlight how the Catholic social justice tradition both implicitly and explicitly flows from the Christian life formed by the sacraments. Thus, the Christian call to care for the sick must entail social transformation of the healthcare system as much as its more traditional role at the bedside. Catholic health care ministries should be demanding, leading, and sustaining this transformation.
Bruce Morrill, SJ, PhD, Vanderbilt University
Moderator: Rachelle Barina, PhD(c), St. Louis University
The Catholic sacramental-liturgical tradition flows from the undivided reality of the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ, and it celebrates and makes present divine realities to the unity of body-soul that comprise men and women. Christians in the liturgical traditions turn to prayer and sacramental rituals especially in times of illnesses and suffering. It could be said that today’s Catholic healthcare systems arose out of its centuries-long tradition of care for the sick—care that entailed both medical care and sacramental care. In fact, the boundaries between care of the body and care of the soul were often unclear. Yet today, Catholic healthcare facilities remaining nearly indistinguishable from their secular counterparts. Sacramental care is relegated to the request of the occasional Catholic patient, and the primary goal is often excellent clinical outcomes at the lowest possible cost. This panel asserts that a Christian understanding of healing forms an orientation that is theologically particular. Not only can it orient individual believers toward a renewed understanding of self, health, and wholeness, it can also help heal deficiencies within local communities and the healthcare system itself.
The first panelist, a theologian and healthcare ethicist will propose a theology of healing that conceptually and practically grounds modern Catholic health care ministries. The panelist will discuss anemic conceptions of healing, which either conflate healing with curing or detach healing from the physical care of the body. Both conceptions distort the ends of Christian care for the sick. Instead, this panelist will propose a theology of healing based on the notion of symbolic gift-exchange in Louis-Marie Chauvet’s sacramental theology. Chauvet’s sacramental theology rejects the emphasis on cause and effect that has historically characterized Catholic sacramental theology. Instead, Chuavet’s model of symbolic gift exchange proposes a (non)metaphysical conception of healing as giving and receiving. Chauvet’s theology illuminates not only Catholicism’s seven sacraments, but also a broader notion of sacramental action that includes healing ministries and appeals to the pluralism amongst Christians. Given Chauvet’s insight, healing is not simply a conceptual foundation or explanation, but an ideal that orients the formation of Christian healing ministries. Ultimately, this panelist will question whether a theologically sound notion of healing animates the decisions and strategies of contemporary Catholic health care organizations.
The second panelist, a systematic and liturgical theologian, will discuss the internal sacramental life of the Church. The panelist will argue that the revised liturgical rites of the Second Vatican Council sustain the Church’s healing ministry today and orient the Christian believer in a hope that surpasses the hope for a cure. The Christian faith provides a hope that exceeds all natural and social expectations and is founded on the divine love that conquered human death in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Particular attention will be given to the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist, the foundational sacraments of healing. Baptism initiates the believer into the paschal mystery of Christ—his life, death, and resurrection. In baptism, the individual dies with Christ and is promised to share with him in his resurrection. Baptism provides an orientation for the Christian believer toward friendship with God and the passing over from the laws to freedom so that men and women might encounter life in a new way. This reality must have implications for the believer’s decisions regarding medical treatments. The strength to continue living in a baptismal identity comes from the Eucharist. The ongoing enactment of and participation in the Eucharist is not so much about having something at the conclusion that one did not have before but rather about being more deeply aware of oneself and others as the very site of the loving faithfulness and gracious mercy of God, in whatever condition we find ourselves. It transforms perceptions of painful situations by making them meaningful. The Eucharist nourishes the Christian life in the mystery of God revealed in the crucified and resurrected Jesus, a God who comes to us in and through the shared bodily medium of our human knowing, suffering, and loving.
The final panelist, a theologian and healthcare ethicist, will explore how the sacramental theologies of the previous panelists are concretely expressed in the social life of a Church that lives within a pluralistic society. This panelist will present two examples of how to manifest and develop a compelling and theologically rich vision of healing. First, following a plea made by Bernard Häring, the realm of healing must not merely be relegated to the realm of medicine, hospitals, and adverse health episodes. It must also entail local communities of faith and the entire span of life. This panelist asserts that the theology of healing calls for leadership and collaboration by local pastors and spiritual leaders. Local Christian parishes can help heal the dehumanizing experience of our healthcare systems by moving beyond prayers and prescribed rituals for the sick and dying. Christian communities must also initiate and sustain committed ministries to keep the sick at the center, not as spectacles, but as living witnesses to the Gospel call to love. Secondly, the Christian love, agape, expressed through the sacraments is not only individual but ultimately moves outward to further the Reign of God. Thus, Chauvet’s model of symbolic gift-exchange that leads to ethics, must necessarily entail social ethics. Healing the dehumanizing injustices of the contemporary medical experience must entail systemic change ameliorating the common good. This panelist will highlight how the Catholic social justice tradition both implicitly and explicitly flows from the Christian life formed by the sacraments. Thus, the Christian call to care for the sick must entail social transformation of the healthcare system as much as its more traditional role at the bedside. Catholic health care ministries should be demanding, leading, and sustaining this transformation.