THE MINISTERING ANGELS
The nurses--“sisters” we called them--throughout all the base hospitals
were most attentive to the wounded, without the slightest display of
any maudlin sympathy; but they worked hard and long and one never heard
the least complaint from their lips. It was a common occurrence at No.
7 to see a nurse being ordered away for a complete rest, made necessary
by the terrific strain of her work.
The Catholic nurses were, on the whole, very faithful in the practice
of their religious duties, many being weekly communicants. To
communicate daily was not practicable for many, as they were on duty
during morning Mass. Often I have seen a nurse come with five or six of
her patients to Holy Communion: some back-sliders that she had rounded
up.
Often, while giving Holy Communion to a soldier in the ward of a
non-Catholic nurse, I had been annoyed by the lack of any special
preparations on the part of the sister for the administration of the
Sacrament. But one morning I found a spotlessly white cloth spread over
the small locker, a clean graduate glass of fresh water and a spoon.
There was also on the locker a folded white towel for the lad to hold
when receiving Holy Communion.
It pleased me very much to see such care taken to prepare for the
coming of Jesus, and it was with deep gratitude that I went to thank
the sister in charge, after I had given the lad Holy Communion.
“Sister,” I said, “how did you know how to prepare everything so well?
It was so clean, and everything necessary was there.”
The good little sister seemed pleased that I had even noticed the
preparations. Then she said: “Well, Padre, I knew just what was needed
for I studied nursing in a Catholic hospital.”
As I went out of the ward the thought struck me how fine it would be
if only all the non-Catholic sisters would prepare for the Saviour’s
coming as had their sister nurse, and as I thought I formed a little
plan.
The following day I was notified by a non-Catholic sister to bring
Communion to a boy in her ward; and there and then I tried out my plan.
“Sister,” I said, “yesterday morning I was called to Sister ----’s ward
to administer one of my lads who is dangerously ill, and I was very
much surprised to find the table arranged as if it had been done by an
R. C. Sister.”
“How did she have it arranged, Padre?” she asked. Then I told her just
how things had been prepared. The following morning when I brought
the “Bread of the Strong” to the poor wounded lad, I found, as on the
previous day, everything spotlessly arranged for the visit of the Guest.
After that, whenever a non-Catholic sister told me that a Catholic lad
had need of my ministrations in her ward, I told her how well the last
sister had prepared locker, etc., and invariably the following morning,
when I went in silence to the bedside, I found that all things had been
made ready.