CHA to debut book by Sr. Juliana Casey, IHM, this month
A new book by Sr. Juliana Casey, IHM, captures insights about Catholic health care from caregivers and associates who serve in the ministry as well as from patients and their loved ones who benefit from that care.
The 120-page book, Voices from the Journey, celebrates the people of Catholic health care by revealing what it's like to be a part of the healing ministry, from the perspective of a housekeeper, a nurse, a physician, a mission leader, an executive, a sponsor, a mother, a patient and others. Each of the 13 chapters includes a Gospel story of Jesus, an account from a person in the ministry, a blessing connected with the theme for that chapter and questions for reflection.
The author, Sr. Casey, is a member of Providence Ministries, the sponsor of Providence Health & Services of Renton, Wash. She said she wrote the book in part because of a "desire to honor those who are sometimes invisible.
"I hope people who read the book will find something of themselves in it and know how wonderful and inspiring they are," she said. Sr. Casey previously was executive vice president of mission integration at Catholic Health East, which has since merged with Trinity Health of Livonia, Mich.
CHA is publishing Voices from the Journey in conjunction with its 100-year anniversary. In a foreword, Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, CHA president and chief executive officer, wrote that the book "is a fitting offering for the Catholic Health Association's centennial anniversary. It is the people of Catholic health care, those engaged in patient and resident care, those charged with administration and governance, who so visibly embody the healing ministry of Jesus and carry the mission into the future."
Voices from the Journey is a follow-up to Sr. Casey's Food for the Journey, a 1991 book that has remained a CHA best-seller. That book explores the call to Catholic health care, the theology of the ministry's work, the Catholic social teaching behind the work and other key aspects of the ministry and its mission. Food for the Journey has become an important tool for formation at ministry systems and facilities and beyond, said
Sr. Patricia Talone, RSM, CHA vice president of mission services.
Sr. Talone said the new book can be used as a companion to Food for the Journey, or on its own as a reflection resource for people at all levels in the ministry. Sr. Talone called Voices from the Journey "a gem" that can help people in Catholic health care "reflect on the meaning of their work."
Voices from the Journey is priced at $10 for CHA members and $25 for nonmembers and will be available this month at CHA's online store at chausa.org/store. More information on the content and author is available online at chausa.org/voices.
Sr. Casey will sign copies of the new book from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., June 7, in the CHA Center at the Catholic Health Assembly in Washington, D.C. Every assembly attendee will receive a ticket to redeem for a free copy of the book at the assembly. The ticket can be redeemed during the signing.
Sr. Casey writes in her introduction to her book, "I hope Voices from the Journey will help each of us to recognize the goodness in ourselves and the beauty in our work."
Copyright © 2015 by the Catholic Health Association
of the United States
For reprint permission, contact Betty Crosby or call (314) 253-3477.