"I remember reading these words from Henri Nouwen and finding them to be influential on my pastoral practice - and I may have blogged them before.
All too often other pressures mean that I cannot find the time I would like to offer to pastoral visiting but ought not to apologise for this:
It is good to visit people who are sick, dying, shut in,
handicapped, or lonely. But it is also important not to
feel guilty when our visits have to be short or can only
happen occasionally. Often we are so apologetic about our
limitations that our apologies prevent us from really being
with the other when we are there. A short time fully
present to a sick person is much better than a long time
with many explanations of why we are too busy to come more
often.
If we are able to be fully present to our friends when we
are with them, our absence too will bear many fruits. Our
friends will say: "He visited me" or "She visited me," and
discover in our absence the lasting grace of our presence.
No comments:
Post a Comment