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Pastoral Care

      By Stefan Pankiw, Eparchy of Toronto

      Pastoral care is not something that is practiced only by ordained ministers. Lay people are participating in pastoral care much more often. Pastoral practice is helping those in need, whether it is spiritual help or just doing a good deed. This is done through two major areas in the Orthodox tradition: the liturgical and inner life of a person. In the old days being pastoral was predominately a notion only known to clerics, but today people ordained and the lay, have the ability to be pastoral leaders. I personally have experience with both types.

      My cleric example involves a very dedicated woman. This woman sold everything she had and moved into a monastery. There must be hundreds of examples like this but she truly gave up her life for the sake of prayer. I often talked to her, as she was a family friend, before and after the move. She was very encouraging, always giving advice and assuring me of her prayers. Unfortunately this woman died about a year ago of cancer, leaving behind a beat up car and a cat. She was a devoted person in providing pastoral care; guidance for me.

      My second example, this one being a lay person, shows how regular people with 9 to 5 jobs can sometimes be more pastoral then clerics. This was one of my high school teachers. He did not provide spiritual guidance, but definitely provided guidance for everyday life. He was more of a friend then a teacher, not in a sense of giving everyone good grades (which he did not), but in a sense of his assurance of being there. He truly loved his job. This teacher told us that he could have become a successful Wall Street trader, making millions and I am sure he could have been. Instead he settled for an average paying job, but doing what he liked. This was a great example to me that money does not buy happiness. People often say that money can buy everything\, but how do they convince themselves of that? As Father Jillions talked about the goatherd, who fulfilled his vocation, this teacher was an example in my life of someone fulfilling their vocation.

      Father Jillions’ article talks about the growth of convents in the past 25 years, but this can be seen in two perspectives. One, is covered in the article, the other could be a negative one. People may be entering the ordained ministry for the wrong reasons. Not that many monasteries are full, but rather seminaries are filled with men that see the priesthood as a job, which if they get lucky, could pay them well. Also many monasteries that send their faithful on “missions”, for example to US, risk loosing these people due to the comfortable life styles in North America.

      I had an encounter with a friend regarding monastic life. He told me something that I did not grasp right away. He said that monks are the most selfish people in the world. He explained this by saying that they do nothing but pray, and that those prayers help no one but themselves. I tried to explain to him that monastic life is the complete opposite idea of selfishness. These people give up all earthly possessions to pray.

      The article continues to say that pastoral care includes visitation of the sick. This is definitely a positive aspect in pastoral care, but some people have a misconception of this great pastoral gift. I have heard of people that are very much insulted if a priest came to visit them in the hospital uninvited. Some people see this as a sign that they are going to die soon. As a pastoral leader, it is important to clarify this to the people, that the sacrament of anointment is not “last rights” but a healing service.