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"Sunrays" Center A place to welcome and share with respect, care and hope Sr. Giuliana Vitale, SFP

Srs. Giuliana Vitale, Barbara Fiorentino, Roberta Sandroni At the Sunrays Center – baking a cake to celebrate Sr. Roberta Sandroni helps a guest look for a job on the Internet The welcoming sitting room at the entrance Sharing a meal

In Rome, as in all big cities, homeless people are quite visible. Their territory is the street,though they are more concentrated in certain areas of the city.  Some, the luckiest ones, find a place for the night in shelters. During the day they wander around waiting for the hostels to open (from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m.). However, for the others there are only the streets or some improvised shelter.  

In this context, the desire and idea surfaced to look for a place in Rome where we could offer “a day shelter” to these homeless people. After long research, a place was found close to our San Francesco Community. The official opening, attended by Sisters, Associates and friends, took place in September 2009. This marked the beginning of many meetings, contacts, and relationships with organizations in the Rome area. Srs. Barbara Fiorentino,  Roberta Sandroni, Giuliana Vitale and a few volunteers are involved in this project.

A Miracle in the Making
“Sunrays” Center is open four days a week (10:30 am to 3:30 pm) and offers several services: referrals, free Internet use for job hunting, laundry, movies, a small library, a discussion circle (staffed by a volunteer who is a professional psychologist) and a soup kitchen where we can feed nine to fourteen people.   

During this past year, together with Srs. Barbara and Roberta, we witnessed something like a miracle – many “buds” coming from an arid and dry land, signs of a new life. The center does not intend to become a “parking place” or simply a shelter, but a place where Mother Frances’ charism can live again . . .a space that can promote an atmosphere of respect, care and hope in those who often experience anguish, feelings of failure and loneliness.  

A Guest’s Experience
Now let’s hear from one of the guests, C.: “My encounter with the Franciscans Sisters of the Poor has truly been a good one, so much that, since our first encounter, I have never missed a day! I have really become attached to the Sisters. A person I often met at the Caritas Soup Kitchen where I have been eating for several years told me that the Sunrays Center had just begun – and that a person could eat a good meal in a cozy atmosphere, thanks to a limited amount of guests.  Since I had much free time, I decided to take a look .... and experienced an exhilarating spiritual lightness that spreads from the perfect joy of those Sisters! 

I could not remember anything like it. Because there is nothing like it in all the organizations I have encountered over the years. I went from one Catholic community to the next in Rome and found that they are often hampered by bureaucracy.  Instead, at Sunrays Center -- almost like magic a new extended family has been born, where all the members are faithful and caring.

Thank you, Srs. Giuliana, Barbara, Roberta and everybody! Thanks from the bottom of my Heart!”'

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Our Presence of Love

[Woman touching Jesus by Corinne Vonaesh, 2001]

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The Vibrant Healing Ministry of our Sisters at
Convento Santa Isabel in Jatai, Brazíl

Sister Daniel Marie Meade, SFP

“We, the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor are here in Jataí, as in many other places, as a presence of healing, by bringing the light of Christ.”

“These are holy hands.
God has given you holy hands.
He works through your hands
And so, your hands are holy.”

Healing happens through divine intervention. God is always the healer, but uses us as intermediaries. Ordinarily healing can be achieved through medicine or alternative therapies; and extraordinarily, through a miracle.  Miraculous is the healing without any scientific explanation -- presumably through the intercession of Blessed Frances Schervier -- motivating the Cause for her Canonization.

Our Rule/Constitutions begins with . . .  “Charism and Mission  – Blessed Frances Schervier, moved by the love of God, was directed by Christ to found our Congregation to heal His wounds.  Her charism has been extended in the tradition of our Congregation since its beginning in 1845.  In offering herself to God for poor and suffering humanity, Blessed Frances, in a very deep sense, heeded the words of the Gospel: ‘The gift you have received, give as a gift (Mt. 10:7).’  As she worked among the poor she more radically understood her divine mission.  Frances’ charism called her to a giving of herself and her Congregation to the healing of all persons, especially the poor and the suffering. . . . “

Examples of Spiritual and Physical Healing We value our SFP Prayer Page, seriously praying for the physical and spiritual healing that people seek. Thanks to a grant from the SFP Foundation, we offer free medical services to needy patients.  In 2009 we cared for 107 patients. They would not have been treated without this help from our Congregation. We are also a presence of healing through prevention and being actively health conscious. Our SFP Foundation has also been helping us offer information about preventive medicine.

Irmã Daniela Laboratory and Hospital Padre Tiago

Sr. Julia and the children

John XXII Daycare Center Extends our Healing Charism The efforts at our Daycare Center in Jataí are directed to the well being of the children. We care for 162 children from four months to four years of age! Sister Júlia Batista Rocha dedicates herself, assisting them. She tends to people’s spiritual needs in the hospital and brings the Eucharist to the sick in their homes, comforting them.

Sister Helena Paula Carvalho, a nurse, visits hospital patients and the sick in their homes.

With the help of a women’s group, Sister distributes 50 food baskets monthly to needy families. In the process, these women learn about and participate in our healing charism. Sister leads Communion services, consoles the bereaved and entrusts the dead for burials. She occasionally hosts a local radio program on spirituality when the priest cannot be present.  She is the coordinator of our Jataí Associates and also keeps our Convent garden beautiful!

I am very involved in our healing ministry; however due to my advanced age of 86, I cannot accept more work at the hospital. In my free time, I like to knit baby shoes and blankets for babies and for matrimonial beds. I visit patients in the hospital to offer words of comfort and hope

We frequently help people who are afflicted with psychological and physical problems. They  come to pray in our Chapel and seek solace and conversation.  This experience is very gratifying because these people are consoled when they leave. We are able to do the work to which we are called as representatives of Christ only through living a life of simplicity and abnegation.

Living our Chapter Direction . . .
The healing we hope to generate in the Community of Life includes the whole universe manifest in a variety of people, animals, plants and other living and non-living beings.  Our ecological responsibility is that of preserving and enjoying God’s wondrous creation! We encourage a greater sensibility toward our planet and the universe by showing a deeper and more respectful knowledge of our Earth.

It is good to quiet our voices to hear the different creatures of our world, each telling us their story. Our human history, integrated into the destiny of the Earth and to our personal well being, can only be fulfilled when try to do our part to promote the well being of our  environment.

Every being in the universe is unique.  Each gives something no other being can provide. That is each one’s particular value . . .  each leaf, flower, snow flake, dawn, sunset is different.  At the human level, each individual is singular.  Though we belong to different species, we are all siblings.

We, the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, are here in Jataí (as in many other places) as a presence of healing by bringing the light of Christ to those who need it, while praying: “Oh, Jesus, teach us to discover more and more your presence in every being that is suffering!”

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THE HEALTH CARE PROBLEM REALLY IS DISPARITY!
“Health disparities are caused by underlying social, economic, cultural and behavioral factors that are important for us to understand.”

Sister Arlene McGowan, SFP

A few months ago SIster Joanne Schuster and I had an opportunity to hear Cheryl A. Boyce, the Executive Director of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health. What she said was so compelling that we wanted to share some of her information. Commission on Minority Health - Background In 1985 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a report on Black and Minority Health. It addressed the disparities between the majority and minority populations in the United States.  The report said that Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and those of Asian/Pacific Islander heritage have not benefited fully or equitably from the advances made in the diagnosis, treatment and cure of disease,. The following year, the State of Ohio created the Governor’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health. About 2000 people participated in public hearings in Ohio, which were conducted in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Youngstown, and Dayton. After several months of deliberation, the Task Force presented its report to the Governor. One of the recommendations was to create a Commission on Minority Health. In July of 1987, the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 171 creating the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, the first concerted effort by a state to address the disparity in health status between majority and minority populations.  There are presently 46 state Offices on Minority Health. While much of the discussion about health care reform has been about accessibility, it is very important for us to understand that the problem is not accessibility, the problem is disparity. Health disparity is the disproportional burden of disease, disability and death among a particular population or group when compared to their proportion of the population. Health disparities are chains of circumstances characterized by differences in: (1) environment (2) access to, utilization of, and quality of care; (3) health status; and/or; (4) particular health outcomes that deserve scrutiny. The Need for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services Over the past few years, many organizations have dedicated themselves to eliminating health disparities in a variety of ways. If I told you that three men died of a heart attack - one Black, one Asian and one white – you may not be impressed. However, when I add that the Black man was in his forties, the Asian man was in his twenties and the white man was in his eighties, you have a better understanding of what disparity signifies in the population. Health disparities in the United States are well documented -- and they are historic, chronic and persistent. As we work to eliminate them, it becomes more clear that the issue is not really health care access, it is culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Many times health care is accessible, but is not meaningful for the client.  Health disparities are caused by underlying social, economic, cultural and behavioral factors that are important for us to understand. Culturally and linguistically appropriate services require more than the availability of translators. We also need to provide understandable and respectful care in a manner that is compatible with the client’s cultural health beliefs and practices.  When we discuss diet and talk about mashed potatoes and asparagus to a Hispanic person whose food consists of refried beans and enchiladas, the discussion is not meaningful, even if we say it in Spanish! Those providing the services reflect the demographic characteristics of the service area. Health disparities hurt tribal groups Easily understood patient-related materials should be provided to people in their preferred language. Errors due to cultural and/or linguistic misunderstandings in health care encounters can lead to repeat appointments, misdiagnosis, unnecessary ER visits, longer hospital stays, etc.  We need to continue to find ways to assist communities of color, tribal organizations and nations to be healthy – physically, mentally, socially, economically and politically.

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Copyright 2010 Franciscan Sisters of the Poor