In recent weeks, I have had the joy of publishing a new book on pastoral care entitled Nursing the soul. This book is the fruit of years writing articles for the quarterly magazine Il-Musbieħ, which is published by the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) and I want to take this opportunity to thank them wholeheartedly for supporting this initiative.

The writing experience of this book has taught me a valuable lesson in personal and pastoral life: how precious is the journaling exercise! I once read an article by Thai Nguyen, which highly promoted journaling. According to Nguyen, journaling offers us some 10 surprising benefits. First, it stretches our IQ. Quoting a report by the University of Victoria, Nguyen asserts that "writing, as part of language learning, has a positive correlation with intelligence."

In writing this book, God gave me the grace of enriching my vocabulary to express my reflections. Second, journaling evokes mindfulness. When writing this book, I could feel that my past hospital experiences came to life again!

Third, Nursing the soul has helped me share my simple ideas regarding pastoral care with the general public as well as check where I myself now am as a pastoral care-provider.

Fourth, writing this book has also made me more aware of how crucial the role of a hospital chaplain is for the patient, relatives and staff. In writing these reflections, I could intuit and better understand what other people around me, in the clinical setting, are experiencing. Furthermore, it also helped me understand what these other people expect from me.

Fifth, this written, deeper reflection on my pastoral life with sick people boosted my memory to go and search for meanings that are hidden in the everyday experiences that are lived at the hospital in which I am actually serving: meanings which, like the letters I scribble, are composed and re-composed all the time.

Sixth, this writing experience was a great help when it came to strengthening my self-discipline. Obviously, making the time to just write down my own reflections was, in fact, an act of discipline in that regard.

Seventh, the writing effort of Nursing the soul helped me improve my communication skills. According to a Stanford report, "writing has critical connections to speaking". The more one writes, the more one increases the possibility of speaking clearly.

Eighth, writing this book has been for me a healing experience simply because expressing my thoughts and feelings in writing is indeed a powerful road to healing. In his book Writing to heal, Dr James Pennebaker writes: "When we translate an experience into language, we essentially make the experience graspable". Thus, writing has freed me from the stress that, as a chaplain at Mater Dei, I have to face when ministering to others.

Ninth, Nursing the soul has sparked my creativity. It goes without saying that, before writing every single article in the book, I prayed from my heart to the Holy Spirit to enlighten, guide, strengthen and make me ever docile to His inspirations.

Tenth, the writing of this book opened me for God's grace of re-living my pastoral experiences and gave me the courage to set sail into the stream of consciousness and learning. Nursing the soul has reaffirmed my God-given abilities of journeying in life experiences. And, certainly, this Odyssey has made me more aware of how much I rely on that inner spark of light that God, in his merciful love, always gives to each and every one of us. It is that inner light that is the hub of real self-confidence and will spur each one of us to go out of ourselves to serve those who are suffering.

As you may fathom, these 10 surprising benefits of journaling will accompany the reader in discovering what nursing the soul in a clinical setting is like. Obviously, the book will never provide an exhaustive answer to the question of how the soul of a person who is distressed should be nursed. And yet, in all its simplicity, it tries to offer some clues regarding nursing a soul in Christ's light.

Those interested in purchasing the book can do so by contacting the MUMN at their Mosta office on telephone number 2144 8542.

 

Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap