Caring for the suffering is the main road of Christian witness

At St Scholastica’s Hospital in Pambujan, on Samar Island in the central Philippines, emergencies seem never-ending. In the time of pandemic, the emergency room is active 24 out of 24 hours, and likewise is the service of emergency medical visits at home, thanks to a mobile clinic that covers the territory. But “emergency” does not actually mean an excess of anxiety or stress. The Missionary Benedictine Sisters, volunteers, and medical and nursing staff hard at work in the hospital do so with a smile and an inner peace that may seem inexplicable to observers. Sister Mary John Mananzan, osb reveals the “secret”: “We live out this work in the field of medical assistance as a mission of service to humanity, as closeness to the suffering Christ who is present in every patient. In them is the “man of suffering”, the disfigured Christ, ...