FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Spiritually Speaking
~ Letters to the Editor ~
An invitation to be like Him
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph
We are busy people who all need
a break from busy lives not merely to
recharge our energies but to ponder on
a deeper question: “What is my life all
about?” While even a believer needs a
break, paradoxically, there is no break
from loving and living. And through Fr. Thankachan
the readings of the day, we are made to Joseph
reflect on the care and concern of Christ.
In today’s first reading, Prophet Jeremiah (23:1-6),
chastises the leaders of Israel for neglecting their duties
to the people. The kings of Jeremiah’s time were not good
leaders, being either weak or cruel. They had to shoulder
the blame for the misfortune that had befallen their people.
But God will not let His people languish. He is a God
who cares, and He will show His care by giving them a
new leader, a new prophet, a new shepherd. This prophecy
of Isaiah would be fulfilled in Jesus the Good Shepherd.
In St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (2: 13-18), Paul
focuses on the caring qualities of Christ the Good Shep-
herd, who by His death showed how much He cared for
us, and through all that He endured, He broke down the
walls of separation between Jews and Gentiles and united
all peoples as children of one Father. The caring person,
like Christ, has to be a self-giving person.
In the Gospel reading from St. Mark (6: 30-34), the
disciples report to Jesus the outcome of their first apostolic
mission. Jesus listens to their reports and notices that they
are weary and suggests that they need a break. “You must
come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and
rest a while.” To retreat is to pull back, to withdraw from
what one is doing. All human effort in the world is of no
avail in the apostolate unless it is powered from within
by the divine energy of grace. Seeking out a lonely place
is not an escape from reality. Those who are busy with
the work of the Lord must return to the center within and
be alone with the Lord of the work. In the alone-place
we encounter the Great Alone. Having come apart to be
alone with God, the Lord’s invitation is to rest a while
and restore our energy. Yet there is no holiday or break
from love, from living our faith at all times and in every
circumstance. While Jesus sends His disciples to rest
awhile, He himself does not seek rest but is moved with
compassion and so He attends to the multitude.
In this passage, Christ becomes a beautiful example
for all the parents of today who are weary and tired due to
their tireless hard work and have no time for their children
and other family members. As Christ became a model, let
us try to spend time together along with our family and
kids. Spend some time in prayer with all the members of
the family to thank and appreciate all the blessings that
we have received through Christ.
We are people who are really involved in active lives,
some people seeming to have no time to even breathe,
so busy they are with their daily routine. There are two
thoughts that arise from this type of lifestyle: How can
we shoulder life’s burdens if we have no contact with
Him who is the Lord of all good life? Second, there is
the danger of too much withdrawal. Prayer that does not
issue in work is not real prayer. We must never seek the
fellowship of God to avoid the fellowship of men but to
fit ourselves better for it. The rhythm of the Christian life
is the alternative meeting with God in the secret place
and serving men in the marketplace. Christ becomes a
real hero by way of empathy towards His disciples when
they return. As sheep without a shepherd, He went out of
His way to reach out to them and care for them. The three
readings of the day remind us that every Christian ought
to be a person who cares about others. We sometimes tell
people that we care about them, yet we fail to prove it by
our good deeds as Christ Himself did.
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The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following
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to Heppner.net.
MCHD promises
transparency
To the editor
In the recent article,
Morrow County Health
District Board of Directors
Responds to Recent Chang-
es and Events, New Interim
CEO Announced, the com-
munity learned of a change
in the leadership at the
MCHD. In situations like
the one we have witnessed,
there is the usual promise
of transparency and the
rebuilding of community
confidence.
But before we get all
giddy at this exciting news,
we need to give attention
to a possible long-term
solution that the article
only gives an ‘oh, yeah, by
the way,’ mention. It says,
‘Additionally, the executive
leadership team, and the
Board have committed to
participate in an extensive
leadership development
YOUR AD
COULD BE process…working with a
highly experienced…exec-
HERE!
utive leadership coach…’
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Like many organizations
who use consultants, there
is a time of eagerness and
Call
541-676-9228 anticipation, but after a
short time the culture falls
Email
graphics@rapidserve.net back to what it once was.
How do we know this?
We also offer
The MCHD has used the
design and
services of Impact Com-
printing services
munications before. What’s
Heppner Gazette-Times
more, this is not uncommon
Sykes Printing
for most organizations.
After spending a lot of mon-
heppner.net
Save the Date!
New Venue!
ey on consultants, things
usually go back to the way
they were. In the case of the
MCHD, the culture of fear
may return.
In the last article I
wrote, I referred to Board
Oversight of Culture for
High Performing Hospitals,
by healthcare consultants
Mitchell Rabkin, MD and
Susan Friedman. They also
stress the importance of
measuring and caring for
the organizational culture
in healthcare. While the
role of various activities
is critical, they emphasize
that organizational cul-
ture usually does not get
board’s attention. Culture
is the result of leadership
decisions shaping policies,
processes and procedures,
and how seriously these are
internalized throughout the
organization. While culture
is not treated as important,
it is the result of leadership
decisions.
An ingrained, poor or-
ganizational culture reads
as follows: excessive turn-
over because of poor man-
agement; unenforced or
inadequate personnel poli-
cies; unclear description of
roles or relationships; lack
of openness; poor reception
or handling of complaints
by employees or patients.
These situations lead to
low morale, inefficiency,
costly re-work, loss of tal-
ented staff, customer loss,
sagging reputation as a
place to work and patients’
diminished expectations of
technical quality of care
and human concern. Sound
familiar?
While bringing back
Impact Communications is
a step in the right direction,
that is all it is. A step. There
needs to be a committed
follow through by the lead-
ership of MCHD and the
community as partners.
There should be an inno-
vative approach to measure
the success of a changed
culture and that retains
employees and patients
alike. When an accept-
able organizational culture
succeeds and continues to
succeed, then the leadership
can boast of their energetic,
transparent interim CEO.
Dr. Carmelo A. Di Salvo
WWW.HEPPNER.NET
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