Florida Catholic | Who Brings Comfort To The Caregiver?

Who brings comfort to the caregiver? God brings comfort

LAURA DODSON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 02.29.08

What is the Florida Catholic AIDS Network?

The Florida Catholic AIDS network is the collaborative effort of representatives appointed by the bishops of the one archdiocese and six dioceses in the state. As such, it functions under the auspices of the Florida Catholic Conference and is a direct result of the “First Pastoral Letter on AIDS” of the Catholic Bishops of Florida in 1987.

The group meets four times per year in Orlando. Beryl Andrade, diocesan director of the Office of Family Life and Pastoral Care, is serving a two-year term as its president.

ORLANDO | Whether they are parents taking care of children, spouses taking care of ailing partners or adults taking care of parents and children, many people seem to have little time left to take care of themselves. Who comforts the caregiver?

Adele González answered, “God is with us.” It is a simple, yet profound message. González said once internalized, the message is powerful.

González directed a memorable retreat last year at San Pedro Spiritual Development Center in Winter Park aimed at caregivers, “Caring for the Caregiver: Challenges to Our Faith and Spirituality,” for the Florida Catholic AIDS Network. The network is comprised of representatives from each diocese and is under the umbrella of the Florida Catholic Conference in Tallahassee.

Twenty people from Florida and Georgia, including those involved in bereavement ministry, HIV/AIDS ministry and ministry to the sick attended. Retreat participants were encouraged to attend all three days.

González told the attendees, “God is love. God created us in love and for love. Each of us is the beloved of God.”

According to González, as we care, we realize that we are being cared for by God. It’s all about a relationship with God, self and others.

Having a relationship with God leads us to better relationships with ourselves and others. González reminded attendees, “We must see Christ in the other and the other in Christ. We are all the body of Christ.”

González contends that this idea is nowhere more true than in working with people with HIV/AIDS. “They are the lepers of our society today, but there is more to each of us than our brokenness,” she said.

Doug and Mary Dilts have worked as AIDS ministers at their parish, Our Lady of Hope in Port Orange, for nearly 10 years. Following the retreat, Doug Dilts told the Florida Catholic, “Adele had a pretty powerful message with regards to our faith. It wasn’t a holier-than-thou perspective, it was a real-life thing. It was easy to relate to.”

Mary Dilts added, “When we started in this ministry, we wanted to help and serve so many and we got frustrated because many didn’t come. People were dying. There were people working 40 hours a week and feeling like they weren’t doing enough (to care for people). God doesn’t put a number on our ministry — we do. If you concentrate on the numbers and results, you lose what you started out to do. It’s overwhelming what we get from the group — it’s a care team for each one of us.”

Who brings comfort to the caregiver? God brings comfort

Other Stories