I Was Sick and You Visited Me: A Spiritual Guide for Catholics in Hospital Ministry

Designed as a spiritual manual, this book outlines for lay people the principles of pastoral care ministry to the sick. Writing from years of experience, the author covers what to say during hospital visits, what to do, how to evangelize, how to pray with patients, how to see Christ in each patient, even difficult ones, and more. The methods here help care for the whole patient--body, spirit, and mind--while meeting the pastoral care worker's own needs, too.

Filled with anecdotes from the author experience, this book is clear, simple, and immediately useful. It covers everything from nonverbal communication to summoning up motivation when the worker doesn't feel like visiting. It provides answers for patients' difficult questions on both physical and spiritual matters and also gives workers tips for visiting psychiatric, intensive care, maternity, and pediatric units. The author includes original prayers, as well as quotes from scripture, John Paul II, and classic spiritual writers.

Though it has a wealth of information for the individual visitor, the book can easily be adapted for training use for workshops, retreats, and team meetings. Eucharistic ministers, pastors, pastoral staffs, visitation teams, evangelization teams, hospital chaplains, and student nurses in Catholic hospitals will each want a copy.