When reflecting on how I am impacted by the phrase “Sharing the Love of the Heart of Christ”, a few things come to mind. An obvious one for myself is that I work as a nurse in a cardiovascular intensive care unit, so I am quite literally, “Sharing the Love of the Heart of Christ” by tending to patients who have just had open heart surgery. But this phrase has much more depth than just helping patients recover post-surgery. I must draw from the phrase, “Sharing the Love of the Heart of Christ” as my source in order to do the work that I do. To share the Heart of Christ is more than the clinical side of my practice, it is also tending to the emotional, mental and spiritual needs of each patient and each of their visitors I encounter.

My mission is to have a heart that welcomes and provides a safe space for those who are experiencing one of the most difficult moments in their lives. This being said, I have found that I must cling to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus every day in order to give this kind of support and care to my patients. Christ has become my rock, and when I forget this, I am unable to be the compassionate nurse I desire to be. To share His love with those that I encounter means that I must be filled with His Love first and foremost, see each patient through His eyes, and become the vessel of love and grace in which He has called each of us to be for everyone we encounter. And praise God for this because I truly believe Christ has called me into a vocation of work to be His hands and His feet to the sick and the lonely, the people who cry out in pain and anguish, for I know He desires each and every one of them to know how His Heart longs for them to be well and hurts for them. This is what it means to me to “Share the Love of the Heart of Christ” in my life and my daily work, and I believe it is a mission and a call that each of us must respond to. 

So here is a reflection for you: examine your life and how you are living. What is your profession/state in life? What does your life look like outside of your work? And once you’ve examined this, I want you to reflect: how is Christ calling me into greater communion with Him by sharing His Love in my daily occupation and life? 

Annie Struckhoff '19