Jesus proclaimed that the broken would be healed.

CATHOLIC HEALTH EAST is a new expression of an old, old ministry. The healing ministry precedes the lifetimes of the founding communities and congregations. It is grounded within the gospel itself. "Ministry" is a term often used, often confused. How is "ministry" distinguished from "business"? Why do we insist that Catholic health care is first of all ministry?

Ministry is an activity, a movement. It is grounded in an experience of the presence and call of God. It acts in response to that call, for the sake of the community, and it does so publicly. Catholic health care often speaks of "the healing ministry of Jesus Christ," or of "the healing ministry of the Church." When it does so, it speaks of the public activities of striving to alleviate suffering, working toward the wholeness of persons and communities, and accompanying in compassion those who are dying that began in the experience of Jesus' activity and have continued through the centuries in one form or another.

Catholic Health East, then, claims its place among those who have served in response to call, with various and multiple gifts, since the inception of Christianity. It is a new expression of an ancient work, a blessed gift, and a holy invitation. The Catholic tradition of health care is grounded in the gospel tradition. The gospels are the Spirit-led remembrance of the life and work of Jesus, the Christ. They tell us who he was recognized to be, what he proclaimed, how he made his word effective among his people. The gospels reveal Jesus to be one sent by God to proclaim and make visible the reign of God among men and women. Jesus declared that God's rule (the kingdom of God) had come - in him. The great dream of God - that all be one and whole and in joyful unity with God and each other - became visible in the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus did not merely say what his presence meant. He did what he said. Thus, he proclaimed that the kingdom of God belonged to the poor, and he himself walked among the poor, blessed them, gave them life and honor, brought them to the center of his attention and his love. Those whom society ignored, Jesus sought out and embraced.

Jesus said the hungry would be fed. And he fed them: in fields, on hills, at table. Not only that, he showed his followers how they, too, could feed the hungry. Jesus proclaimed that the broken would be healed. And he did that. Those whose souls were captive, whose legs would not work, whose hearts were broken, whose fevers soared, whose eyes could not see, whose ears could not hear, whose very life-breath was gone... all of these and each of these received the gift of the kingdom of God. All of these, each of these was healed. Those who followed Jesus saw and learned and remembered.

Jesus, as revealer and inaugurator of the reign of God, shows us that healing is central to that reality. It is only in light of the reign of God, however, that we can understand the meaning of Jesus' healing (and thus the meaning of Catholic health ministry). Jesus did not heal to prove that he could. He did not seek to manifest great power, nor did he look for adulation or honor. Jesus healed because that is what God desires. Jesus' healing, so prominent in gospel memory, is sign and witness of God's loving, compassionate, merciful salvation.

Health care as ministry is grounded in and is a public sign of the saving love of our God. It is this before all else. This memory has led women and men throughout the ages to act to heal, to join in the work begun in Jesus. Health care as ministry arises from communal memory and from an understanding of God. God is one who heals, who "wipes away our blood" (Ezek 16:6); who "cannot give up on the people" (Hosea 11:8); who "calls to wholeness and strength" (Isaiah 41:10). God's Son, Jesus, image and manifestation of God, is one who reaches out to heal, who touches the untouchables, allows noisy complainers near him, hears the cry of the forsaken, responds to the parents' cries for their children, forgives, gives back, says: "Go and do likewise." (Mt 10:7-8). Ultimately, the Church has always responded to the need for healing among the people because it learned to do so from Jesus. It strives to do what he did.

Health care as ministry is also grounded in our understanding of our selves as persons. Ministry implies we understand human persons as always being in relationship. Relationality is of the essence of humanity, it is the way we both express our personhood and complete it. Human beings do not exist alone and in isolation. Rather, we are always bound to others in familial, communal, ecclesial, and global relationships. As human beings in relationship, we learn that what happens to one person affects others. The suffering of another diminishes my own life. The joy of others adds to the light for all of us. Ministry means that we do not ignore relationships but rather attend to them, particularly among those who are most in need. We see what others ignore. We speak for those whose voices are not heard. Further, faith tells us that human beings are in relationship to the divine, to a world unseen yet experienced in human life. Because we are in relationship with God, we experience both call and gift. God invites human beings to become conscious of the divine-human relationship. "Come and see," said Jesus when people asked him where he lived (Jn 1:39 ). When persons answer that invitation, they always find themselves sent forth. Come is always followed by go. The healing ministry is witness that people hear and respond. Ministry understands itself as service in relationship, attention to need, response to call.

• What strikes you most about Jesus' work of healing?
• What relationships are most influential in your life, your organization?

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