Last week Sr. Mary Lou Gillon said her last goodbye to the many, many residents at Mont Marie whom she served as pastoral minister. Mary Lou performed this service for 14 years. (She is on the right in the picture.)
The reason I’m writing about this is because during the five plus years I’ve worked here at the Mont, I was continually impressed by her truly generous nature, her genuine warmth, and her ability to project real caring to the people with whom she worked. Granted, I wasn’t with her most of the time, so there must have been times when she was grouchy, frustrated, or just plain in a bad mood – but I never saw that, I don’t think any of the residents did either. She went to hospitals in the middle of the night and stayed for hours in the ER, sat with very, very sick patients, offered endless prayer on their behalf, and talked to family members of the residents of the Health Care Center about difficult end of life issues. She went to wakes and funerals a lot. It’s truly lucky that God blesses us with a variety of gifts because I could never do what she did.
Anyway, I think I’ll ask Mary Lou to write a blog about her experience as a pastoral minister here at the Mont, but I believe she’ll say, “You know, Denise, I’m not good with the computer” (and probably has never looked at the blog), but she is really good at some very important things. We’ll see.
How appreciative we all are of the dedication to the profession of working with people through the aging process, Mary Lou has graciously and tirelessly given through the years. And through the process she , like the rest of us, has grown in wisdom age and grace. May she truly take time to rest and renew herself. Thanks, Denise, for highlighting the hidden work of our preciouis sister. Natalie
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