Marg Hayes

Remember the Loaves and Fishes

Transcript

1. Do you know how dangerous it can be to have a cuppa with a friend and be even more wary of having a meal? By Marg Hayes Well my presence here today can be traced back to 2 such events. In 2001 I had a meal with Fr. Ernie Smith, a priest in this Archdiocese who began Sacred Heart Mission, a mission which continues today serving the marginalised in the inner city. Later that year I was the new coordinator at Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry. I knew next to nothing about HIV/AIDS when I began & I still feel like I am the new kid on the block. My friends who live with HIV are the people who know & understand this virus, or at least what it is like to live with it. Then just before last Christmas I had a cup of coffee with a friend, a chance meeting. I was, and am still, excited about the fact that the International AIDS Conference was coming to Melbourne and I shared this excitement. Next thing I know I’m working to have a book about our ministry published. “Angels in Disguise: Stories from Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry, CatholicCare” is a collection of stories of many people associated with this ministry over 20 or more years. Some of these stories will make you smile, from some you will learn and others will bring tears. All are inspiring, all messages of hope, courage, determination. Look carefully at each story and you will see God’s presence. This afternoon I want to talk about Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry, CatholicCare in Melbourne. I want to share the good stories coming from this Ministry because I believe we have something special happening at our place, St Mary of the Cross Centre, and that these good things tell us of God present. Each day I become aware of how God is present, some days I am able to enjoy God’s gentle presence, other days I am gladly pointing out his presence to people there and on other days I am amazed at where I find God. Just last week was one of the latter days. I was sitting with someone in hospital, someone who is facing the fact that his body is packing up. And as we talked about what that was like for him he was quite calm and matter of fact, a side I had not often seen in this man. I asked what he wanted from me, the
2. chaplain and his response amazed me – to pray for him. And soon I was going so I gave him my hand and he just hung onto that hand for some minutes. I know that God was present in our meeting, my friend’s face lit up when I told him God was present and that it was he who brought God to me that day Pastoral Care enabling the expression of the soul or discovering God in our lives. Many of the people who come to our ministry come with a sense of unworthiness, a sense that God would not want to know them. I so want them to know that God welcomes all. In our book Lucy perhaps sums this up best: She was introduced to our ministry, to PLC and her comment was “I never thought there were places like this for me. She talks of the Ministry giving her life and bringing her closer to God The cornerstone of Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry, CatholicCare is hospitality & welcome. Everyone is welcome at the table. Marianne describes the atmosphere at the table “There is discussion, dialogue, support, laughter but no sarcasm or anger” A table I think Jesus would want to welcome people to. This is driven by our reading of the gospels that tell us that Jesus dined with people on the margins. We often reflect on the fact that people living with HIV/AIDS are the modern day lepers & that Jesus brought healing to the lepers of his time. Angels In Disguise can also be seen as paradigm of our ministry. Did I believe that we could produce a book between Christmas and the conference when I first said to our publisher “Let’s go for it” not really but let’s see what happens. As the project continued it became clear that this project was God’s will – very quickly a friend appeared with the skills and drive to make this book happen. At lunch I raised it with the people there: Did they want to have a go? Would they be prepared to tell their story both about living with HIV & the impact of Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry, CatholicCare, Yes was their response. Would the hierarchy of CatholicCare agree to this project? So Marianne came to lunch & wrote the first story. Those at lunch who were written about thought that it was good, so did CatholicCare management. People shared their stories with Marianne, she wrote them, other volunteers came on board and wrote some stories.
3. As I read the stories I felt so privileged to receive and be trusted with these stories and very humbled. As I watched the chatter around the table, within the agency and at committee level truly the spirit of God was there. Now like life this was not all smooth sailing. There were all sorts of hiccups along the way and I would just call on God and say “Fix” I think I meant just be present here. What was getting me through was if this project was God’s will then it would happen, we needed to be open and work with whatever came along. And we did. And when we lost our publisher and it looked like our book would not be published, when we didn’t get the funding we needed and it looked like we wouldn’t be able to complete the project we just had to keep looking for God. And as each crisis resolved I was again reminded that we just have to keep our eyes & ears open to God’s presence. And then last week we launched our book. As I listened to Fr Rick talk of the loaves and fishes I am grateful that God took the loaves and fishes that were the basis for our book and walked with us to produce a magnificent feast. I hope that those who took part in the book production will continue to recognise in our angels many disguises.