CALLED TO SERVE

MARIO LANIEZ

I am a pastoral volunteer at St. Anne’s Salvatorian Campus, a retirement home sponsored by the Salvatorian Sisters in Milwaukee.

Ministries, as vocations, should be discerned. I recognized my discernment by paying attention to my thoughts and feelings, trying to recognize how God moves in me, acknowledging His voice and ever-active love, and allowing Him to inspire me to move forward without fear.

My ministry is a response to this. I was called to assist the chaplain, Fr. Michael Burns, SDS, but I feltcalled to do more. I wanted to discover how God would use me to reveal His love to those around me. I learned how easy it is for many residents to feel forgotten, and how open one’s heart can become to the extended hand that offers support, understanding and companionship.

Not long ago, I was asked to visit a resident who was dying. I needed to pray for her with her family. When I got there, all I wanted to do was find the words that would make them feel better. We prayed for a few minutes and then I left with the feeling that I had done nothing. When I went back two hours later, she had passed. Her family asked me to pray again, so I took my prayer book and we prayed - for her and for them.

The family thanked me for the prayers, and though their kind words were appreciated, they made me feel small and inconsequential. It was such a monumental moment in their lives, and I worried about whether I had done enough or been any comfort to them. Then it hit me: I didn’t have to say anything; I just needed to be there. I didn’t have to search for the right words; they were already written. I didn’t have to ease their pain; I needed to be there and share it with them.

Now I know – the moments that God uses me most profoundly are the moments when I leave all in His hands.