STM Magazine

 

Faith in the Real World: Remembering the Forgotten

rememberingforgotten-500x500-1Standing at the foot of the Chapel’s altar, my sponsor’s (and fellow graduate student) hand on one shoulder, the Bishop’s hand on my forehead, I took the confirmation name: St. Jeanne de Chantal. She is the patron saint of the forgotten.

My confirmation day was my deceased grandfather’s one-hundredth birthday and his baby brother, a New Haven native, cried happy tears through the whole Mass. In that moment where everything felt right, I felt God smile and my family, scattered coast-to-coast, remembered my grandfather and his life in New Haven.

Selecting my patron saint required hours of prayer and discernment over many cups of coffee in STM’s Vincent Library, many quiet hours in the Meditation Room and many conversations in the offices of Sister Jenn and Father Bob. During a graduate student retreat, I read books on the saints, desperately trying to select the saint who would be with me for the rest of my life as my intercessor.

I have always known that my calling is to work with the elderly, which is neither glamorous nor easy. Since entering the field of Geriatric Healthcare Administration, my days have been filled with metrics, regulations, medicines, grief, loss, suffering, joy and death. Daily, I find myself surrounded by the greatest voices that no one listens to; the most accomplished teachers that no one learns from; and the most brilliant minds now dulled by disease and time. Throughout my time working in this world, I seek to bring these men and women moments where we can feel God smile—and, to daily find ways to remember those who are otherwise forgotten.

Before leaving work today, I held a hospice patient’s hand and we said a Hail Mary together. I ended with,

“St. Jeanne de Chantal, pray for us.”

"Faith in the Real World" is a regular feature in STM Magazine. In each issue, an STM alumna/us reflects on joys and changes in their faith-life after graduation from Yale. If you are interested in being one of our feature writers for "Faith in the Real World" we would like to hear from you. Contact robin.mcshane@yale.edu.