NURSES MINISTRY- A CALL TO BE A SAINT

The Nurses Ministry is a movement of Catholic Professional Nurses, committed to the ‘caring and healing’ Ministry of Jesus. It had its humble beginning at St. Mary’s Catholic Church Dubai in the year 2003, by a few nurses who realized the unique and wide opportunity of a nurse in evangelization. It has now expanded its wings to the catholic churches of other continents empowered and led by the Holy Spirit.

The Nurses Ministry in Australia had a very humble beginning in 2013, when a group of nurses in Adelaide, with an ardent desire to touch the lives of other nurses, started to get together and intercede for all the nurses in Australia. Heaven answered their prayers and in 2018, in collaboration with the international nurses’ ministry, the Nurses Ministry in Australia was officially inaugurated, under the guidance and blessings of Most Rev. Bishop Bosco Puthur, the Bishop of the Syro Malabar Eparchy in Melbourne. 

The Nurses Ministry in Australia, currently has groups in 34 parishes/missions within six different states of Australia and the two mainland territories, the ACT & Northern Territory. Rev.Fr. Abraham Nadukunnel is the spiritual director of the Nurses Ministry in Australia.

The Vision of nurses Ministry – All Nurses around the world to know, love and share Jesus to become Saints. 

Personal vision- Each member of the Nurses Ministry whole-heartedly embraces the message of John the baptist “He must increase, but I must decrease”John 3:30 as their personal vision.

Spirituality – Be merciful, just as your father is merciful (Lk 6:36). The nurses will carry out their professional roles as a disciple of Jesus in relationship with the father and guided by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The strength of this ministry is its special focus on Christ centred life. The members seek to grow as faithful disciples of Christ through the five pillars :- prayer, sacraments, Word of God, fellowship and share the love of God. 

Motto– You have done to me (Mathew 25:40) 

Mission of Nurses ministry is – A spontaneous and gracious effort to extend the healing touch of the Lord among the nurses, their families and the patients. 

Charism: – Empower the nurses to care and heal the sick to make Jesus Christ present in the world.

NURSES MINISTRY ACTIVITIES:

  1. Monthly prayer gatherings in all the nurses ministry groups. 
  2. All the members of the nurses’ ministry join together for a 24-hour chain rosary on the 13th of every month, the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima (Heavenly patron of Nurses Ministry).  All the groups of the Nurses Ministry in Australia are actively involved in this 24-hour chain rosary. The chain rosary also involves a Zoom prayer with Benediction which starts at 8 pm and goes on until 9 pm and ends with a priestly blessing.
  3. Nurses ministry members also have a night vigil every 4th month, organised and led by the international Nurses Ministry team, on the last Friday of the month (from 9 to 11:30 pm) for Australia, which is a night of great blessing as testified by the members of the ministry. 
  4. To aid in the spiritual growth of the members, various formation programmes which involve talks and classes by the international team members are organised by the nurses’ ministry. Each state has a formation class every month, which involves talks by the international team members. These classes can be attended by members of other states as well. Other than this, most parish groups have their own monthly formation classes which involve talks by the home team 
  5. Every Friday, during the season of Lent, the nurses ministry conducts THE WAY OF THE CROSS. Different states in Australia take turns to lead the Way of the Cross.
  6. May Fest- The Feast of our Lady of Fatima in the month of May, was celebrated in all the Nurses Ministry groups in their respective parishes. 
  7. Harvest of Grace is an initiative organised by the International Nurses Ministry from the 31st of August to the 8th of September, where there is the continuous recital of the Holy Rosary in front of the Blessed Sacrament, intermingled with adoration. The Australian Nurses Ministry leads the Rosary on one of the days when nurses ministry members from different states are allotted slots during the day. A lot of organisation and work goes in by the coordinators for the smooth running of the 24-hour Rosary. Harvest of Grace concludes on the birthday of Mother Mary on Sep 8th.
  8. Likewise, the feast of the Divine Mercy is preceded by a novena to the Divine Mercy organised by the international nurses ministry. There is a continuous recital of the Divine Mercy Chaplet during these 9 days. The Australian Nurses Ministry actively participates in the novena and leads the prayers on one of the days as decided by the international team.
  9. The members of the nurses ministry also offer their wholehearted support to their respective parishes and contribute towards the activities of the parish. The members of the nurses ministry constantly share and testify about their growth in faith after becoming members of the ministry. 
  10. The outreach ministry extends its merciful work towards the needy nurses, especially during the Pandemic. Also visiting the sick, to strengthen them emotionally and spiritually.

 

nadukunnel-appachan

Fr Abraham Nadukunnel

Director