When people speak about their homes and family life, it is not uncommon to hear them call the kitchen the 'heart' of their home. It's not only a place where they gather for meals, but also seems to be a natural place to visit and share conversation and of course, see what's cooking!

I would say that for any Catholic institution, especially one's that is blessed to have a chapel, that the chapel should be considered the heart of their work and mission. It's not so much so because the chapel is a space set aside from others, but mostly because of what the heart signifies.

From the physiological point of view, the heart is simply a pump. But it is the place where the blood that needs to be re-energized returns to be sent out again after being replenished by the lungs to bring that new, oxygenated life to the rest of the body. From a spiritual point of view, the heart is seen as the seat of spiritual energy whose source of that energy is love itself. It is also a sacred space or place to be with the Lord, to be energized, to pray or enter into conversation with Him, to petition, to thank, to praise, to "bless God's name."

As human beings fully engaged in the healing ministry of Jesus, are we not the blood that gets spent by the giving of our life and love to all those we serve? Are we not the blood that needs to be re-energized by Love Himself so that we can go out and love our neighbour as ourselves?

If we are to carry out Christ's greatest commandment and most all His healing mission, we need to be able to love God with all of our hearts, all of our souls and all of our minds. This is the only response that we can make to God's total self-giving of His life, His soul and His heart for us, but it is only possible if our own hearts remain hearts of flesh. This newly dedicated chapel is one place where this can happen. I encourage your to make it the heart of your workplace and the heart of your mission so that God's love flows freely throughout the Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre.