My name is Fr. Tony Bidgood, CSsR and i am Redemptorist in St. John’s NL, Canada. Part of my ministry is to serve as a chaplain in the largest hospital in our province. Over the past two weeks, we have seen Covid-19 come to this part of eastern Canada.
I have witnessed our healthcare institutions and staff prepare to the point that our hospitals are now ready in many ways to care for those who need specialized care due to Covid-19. It is just beginning here, and as I walk through the hospital hallways the sense of anxiety and apprehension is tangible. It is a nervous time for all. We see the suffering that is happening around the world, and we wait and wonder how bad will it get here?
The privilege I have to work in hospital chaplaincy has shown me how Christ is present in the halls of our hospitals, at the bedside of the sick, and in the care of nurses, doctors and other medical professionals. How you may ask? In the mercy that they demonstrated in patient care. Such mercy, marshalled through the science of medicine and the skill of its practitioners is the witness of Christ today. In the simple acts of kindness and tender care, Christ’s mercy shines forth.
No one here yet knows how bad it will be, just that it will be bad, but mercy is here with us. We Redemptorists believe that with Him there is mercy and the fullness of redemption. I await to discover how Christ’s mercy will be manifested in this pandemic; though I do not yet know how, I know that it will be.
Peace,
Tony Bidgood, CSsR
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