[The hospice chaplain] was asked if the daily encounter with other people’s deaths was ever too much. He paused, and said a chaplain’s own distress and sense of vulnerability to death were, in a way, part of the job. “It is my first bond with my patient,” he said.
In the best of worlds, he said, a relationship based on that helps a patient make peace.
“But many times, this never happens,” he said. “We are there to be there. That is the point. It is my job to stay when there is no answer.”
This short video from the New York Times website shows how religion and spirituality can be a support at the end of life. It features a Buddhist hospital chaplain and offers insights into spiritual support of the dying. The video accompanies this story.
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