Saturday, August 17, 2013

Resistance/Resilience


Photo in the Constantine Basilica, Trier, Germany, 2013
“The Church is only the Church when it exists for others”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

André Heintz (left) at Le Mémorial de Caen, 2013

I just returned from a wonderful return trip to Europe.  One theme that recurred was the role of the resistance/resilience prior to and during World War II.  We saw and heard again the courage and the resilience of individuals.

There have and are continued “wars” waged on suffering in the world.  Like other conflicts there is a real concern about whether or not these are “just wars” with their associated costs.  Do we see these responses as individual or community efforts?  Do we need to rethink our priorities and the model of our activities?

“Resistance/Resilience” maybe that new model of our healing vocations. Resistance/Resilience can be a clearer way of understanding our healing activities than our usual “war” rhetoric.  We do possess some tools to “resist” the suffering around us, but healing frequently occurs in quiet and "covert" ways from that inner strength of both resistance and resilience. This is where the healing church is at its best as a source of resistance and as a place to learn resilience! It is where people live out the gift of salvation in a suffering world. 

Marvin

References

Fournier, G., & Heintz, A. (2006). If I Must Die.: From “Postmaster” to “Aquatint” (Des Souvenirs Et Des Hommes): From “Postmaster” to “Aquatint” (illustrated edition ed.). OREP.


Shirey MR.  How resilient are your team members?  Journal of Nursing Administration.  42(12):551-3, 2012 Dec.

Hu YY.  Arriaga AF.  Roth EM.  Peyre SE.  Corso KA.  Swanson RS.  Osteen RT.  Schmitt P.  Bader AM.  Zinner MJ. Greenberg CC. Protecting patients from an unsafe system: the etiology and recovery of intraoperative deviations in care. Annals of Surgery.  256(2):203-10, 2012 Aug.

Hage, M. L. (2012). “Standing Firm” and Pilgrimages. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2012/03/standing-firm-and-pilgrimages.html