Loreto on the Plains Personal Care Home

"Where Prayer Makes the Difference
                                       Giving Hope Where there is No Hope"      
                 

Spiritual Care
Prayer by John Henry Cardinal Neuman and used each day
by Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity
"Dear Lord,
Help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go.     Flood my soul with your spirit and life.  Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly, that my life may only be a radiance of you.  Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my spirit.  Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus!

Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine, as to be a light for others: the light of Jesus will be all from you; it will be you shining on others through me.  Let me thus praise you in the way you love best, by shining on others around me.  Let me not preach by words, but by my example, by the catching force of the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to you.  Amen"
   
Spiritual Care begins with those who are serving at Loreto. Each day as we begin to serve, we enter the chapel to give our day to the Lord as we pray the above prayer that was and is used by the Sisters of Charity as Mother Teresa instructed her sisters to do.

In 1995, the Shrine of Divine Mercy was dedicated and blessed by Fr. Francis Bagan, CMI.  Fr. is often called the Divine Mercy Priest by those who know and love him.  Fr. Bagan is one of a team of priests that translated the Diary from a very poor English translation to the one we have today. 


The Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy are at the core of the ministry here at the Center.  They are as follows:
The Corporal Works of Mercy  
  • Feed the hungry
  • Give Drink to the thirsty
  • Clothe the naked
  • Shelter the homeless
  • Comfort the imprisoned
  • Visit the Sick
  • Bury the dead
  • Admonish sinners
  • Instruct the uninformed
  • Counsel the doubtful
  • Comfort the sorrowful
  • Be patient with those in error
  • Forgive offenses
  • Pray for the living and the dead
On the feast of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts in 1995, during a family retreat called a Circle-Up, Fr. Bagan blessed the Shrine, The Water in the Font, the Mercy Bell and the Camp grounds and began the flow of blessings and healings that have occurred at the Shrine.  The blend of Franciscan, Divine Mercy and the Ecumenical outreach to the body of Christ of other denominations is bringing a richness and power of prayer and ministry to all who come for prayer to the Center and Shrine.     

The Holy Family Ministry Center is a Shrine of Divine Mercy and   Loreto on the Plains Personal Care Home is located near the Shrine.  The Mass, rosary, Scripture, and prayer with the patients / residents is the rock of the spirituality of The Center and Loreto. 

Our Chaplain along with the Spiritual Care Team will minister to the sick along with others who have expressed a desire to come in order to minister music and prayer.  Other prayer teams are also available upon request.

Daily Scripture readings will be available, as well as, the religious channels on the television.
The Prayer of Holy Silence and quiet Meditation is also available according to the journey of the each individual.  Spiritual care will also include music, a very important part of the healing process.
 
The key to the success of the care offered at Loreto, is that we all operate in a respect for what God is doing in the heart of each person.  It is our goal to love them and care for them with the heart of Jesus every day and to allow the Holy Spirit to touch their lives and the lives of their family as we pray for healing and peace. We welcome those who are not of the Catholic faith and encourage their pastor, friends and fellow church members to come to minister to them, as well.   We all share the love of Jesus and this is what forms the common ministry of love that we share.
   
At the core of our Franciscan walk is the devotion to Jesus, The Divine Mercy and the belief that Jesus stands in the gap for us and as we turn to Him for Mercy he washes us  in His Ocean of Mercy.   

There is a private Chapel in Loreto available at all times. The Mercy Bell in the Tower is rung every day at the three o"clock hour.  (The hour at which Jesus died for us on the Cross).   The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is prayed at that time.  (The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is prayed on the regular Rosary with the prayers given to St. Faustina by Jesus to be prayed every day at
3 o'clock, "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, Have Mercy on us and on the Whole World."  

Praying the Chaplet at the bedside of a dying person is another element of the Spiritual Care offered to the loved one and their family.   To find the promises of Jesus to St. Faustina when praying the Chaplet for the sick and dying, read #'s 810, 811, 1035, 1565, 1798 out of St. Faustina's Diary entitled "Divine Mercy in My Soul". 

The Diary and other materials and prayers of the Divine Mercy can be found by contacting the Eucharistic Apostles of Divine Mercy at the information listed below.  In order to understand more about the message of Divine Mercy and living it, Bryan S. Thatcher founder, of the Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy has written the booklet "Living the Message of Divine Mercy"  which may be purchased  from the EADM as DW12.  Email them at bryaneadm@sprynet.com or call 1-877-380-0727.  To see the website www.thedivinemercy.org then click on Eucharistic Apostles to relieve more information.

Spiritual Council is available from the Chaplain, Spiritual Directors, local Pastors and prayer teams upon request. 


The St. Joseph Eucharistic Chapel of Divine Mercy is located in the Pope John Paul II Family Life Center and small Conference Center.  There is a also a large library and several small gathering rooms.

All are welcome to use the entire facility, including the Prayer Gardens and Stations of the Cross during their stay at Loreto on the Plains.


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LECTIO DIVINA (SACRED READING)
and other approaches to reading Scripture.

Sometimes when we are overwhelmed and want to read Scripture for direction and comfort, our minds race and we cannot seem to settle down or even where to go.  There are many approaches to reading God's Word, His "Love Letter" to us.
  •  Placing our name in the passage, 
for example: "For God so loved me that Her sent His only Son, that whoever believes in Him may not die, but have eternal life"  John 3:16
  • Start with the Gospel of St. John
 St. John writes of the I AM's that Jesus says that He is.  I AM the Good Shepherd; I AM the Bread of Life; I AM the Way the Truth and the Life; I AM the Light of the World; and in John 8:21 Jesus tells that unless we believe that He is the I AM we "will surly die in our sins."   This word of who Jesus is one of the most comforting and important beginnings to the reading of scripture.
  •  Start with Mark's Gospel
  • In Mark's Gospel everything is urgent and the response of Jesus and to Him was "immediately". 
For example:
17)"Come after Me and I shall make you fishers of men. 
18)They immediately abandoned their nets and became His followers."    Mark 1:17-18 

After healing the paralytic Jesus says,
"My Son your sins are forgiven.  Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves: 'Why does the Man talk this way?  He commits blasphemy!  Who can forgive sins but God alone?  Jesus was immediately aware of their reasoning, even though they kept it to themselves....."  Mark 2:5-12

By reading Mark we soon come to the conclusion that when Jesus speaks we need to respond in the same way "immediately".   In this we find our peace, but this is not always something we find ourselves able to do.

Start with St Matthew's Gospel

LECTIO DIVINA (SACRED READING)
The 4 r'S of Lectio Divina
Read, Reflect, Respond, Receive
1)Read: 

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