by Gordon Nary
Gordon: When did you attend Southern Illinois University, Carbondale Il, what degree did you earn, what journalism did you do at that school?
Martin: I attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale from January 1983 through May of 1986 where I earned a B.S. in Journalism and a minor in Community Development. Later, I enrolled in graduate studies, Educational Psychology/Adolescent and Adult Counseling, from August 1987 to August 1988. I completed one year, but did not continue.
Gordon: When did you attend Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, what did you study. What was your favorite course, and why was that course your favorite?
Martin: During my undergraduate enrollment, I majored in Journalism, minored in Community Development, and also studied Religion and the Philosophy of Creative Interchange.
Asked, "What was your favorite course?" and a few come to mind. The late William Sherman Minor (1900-1991) taught creative and analytic communications courses and taught students and faculty the art of conversation through creative interchange, a communication style that facilitated a deep understanding and respect for another person's or party's point of view. He earned his PhD in Philosphy and Religion from the University of Chicago after completing his dissertation, Creativity in Henry Nelson Weimann.
Although I had no idea the course Mysticism, taught by the late Dr. Dale Bengston (1936-2019), would become a seed in my spiritual life, the seed sprouted, bloomed and caught on like wildfire from then until the present day. Throughout a 6-year discernment period over the calling to priesthood, whereupon I learned I was not called to the vocation, my interest in mysticism and the spiritual dimension of my life were seasoned, deepened and matured through the mentorship and writings of Catholic mystics and spiritual directors: Fr. Ed Hays (1931-2016), Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM,
Fr. Marty Pable, OFM Cap. (1931-2020), Fr. Richard Woods, O.P., and many others, including Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi.
Gordon: When did you attend Loyola University, Institute of Pastoral Studies, what degree did you earn, who was your favorite teacher, and what was that teacher your favorite?
Martin: Accepted as one of two students into a new double-degree graduate program, M.Div.& M.A. in Pastoral Counseling in 1993, I graduated with neither of those degrees, but instead accepted an M.S. in Pastoral Studies in 1994. Two favorite teachers were Fr. Richard Woods, O.P., who taught Introduction to Spirituality, and Dr. Alan Schnarr, who taught courses in the Pastoral Counseling program.
Through my relationship with both of those educators, the quality of my life improved. Doors opened up for my nuclear family to fly to my late grandpa's homeland, Ireland, and connect with family in-person for the first time. Fr. Woods made the visit possible. As a result, my mother and father visited his father's homeland twice before my father passed away. A bucket list wish of his was fulfilled. Thank you, Fr. Woods!
Through a gentle but challenging interaction in a Group Counseling course, Dr. Schnarr confronted me on a feeling level. "Marty, what were you feeling when you heard her share her story?" I told him what I thought. I told him twice. Dr. Schnarr told me my feeling wires were disconnected; hence, I dropped out of the program. Yet, at the same time, I did an about-face and embarked on deep and ongoing inner journey to identify feelings, understand the message each feeling sent and choose behaviorally how to respond. Since then, I also refocused my daily journaling to emotional well-being. I healed my inner childhood wounds through 12-Step Recovery. I consumed information on emotional intelligence. At appropriate times in conversation, I would say, "I feel ..." happy, confused, frustrated, optimistic, encouraged or sad.
Twenty-five years later, on an annual review, my work supervisor wrote, "Marty has developed a high level of emotional intelligence." I sat down and wrote Dr. Schnarr a letter of thanks.
Gordon: When did you attend Advocate Lutheran General and Elmhurst Memorial Hospitals, and what certification did you receive?
Martin: I enrolled in my first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL in January of 2005. After completion of the Extended Unit, I was accepted into a CPE residency program at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital. In May of 2006, I completed 5 units and received a certificate.
Gordon: When and where did you earn a Certificate, Palliative Care Chaplain. Please provide and overview of your studies.
Martin: I served as Director of Mission Integration and Spiritual Care at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, a member of Trinity Health, from 2014 to 2021. What an honor and privilege to serve at Chicago's first charter hospital! The Sisters of Mercy established Mercy Hospital in 1852 and rescued many residents when the city was set ablaze on October 8, 1871 in what became known as the Great Chicago Fire.
As a chaplain with hospice experience, I became blessed with an opportunity to further develop my skills in Palliative Care through a 2-year residency program sponsored by Coleman Palliative Medicine. I teamed up with a social worker and nurse practitioner at Mercy. The program consisted of online self-directed learning, bi-annual workshops, one-on-one mentoring, and the development, implementation and evaluation of a practice improvement project tailored to the palliative care needs at my own specific health care organization.
Gordon: Why did you choose to study palliative care?
Martin: Introduced to Palliative Care as a hospice chaplain in 2007, I became a fellow with Coleman Palliative Medicine in 2015 and learned of the ongoing need for chaplains, providers, social workers and nurses. From 2000 to 2011, the percentage of hospitals with 50 or more beds who staffed palliative care teams increased more than 150 percent. Today, approximately 75 percent of hospitals with 300 beds or more provide palliative
care services. The need for practitioners was more than apparent.
What appealed to me most about palliative care was the notion of whole-person care, body-mind-and-spirit. Not separate and apart, but whole-as-one. With my own personal vision of life-as-whole, together with acceptance and inclusion, in a mindset of both-and instead of either-or, palliative care was where I felt I belonged.
Gordon: Tell us about your studies at Catholic Health Association.
Martin: Excited about and eager to enroll in some type of formal education program on Catholic ethics, my wish came true when Catholic Health Association rolled out a pilot program: Ethics for Mission Leaders. An online course with in-person conferences at the start and end of the program, coursework focused on understanding common ethics issues, approaches to ethical decisions, available resources, case studies, and theological and ethical foundations.
As classmates, we engaged in discussions and expanded our mindsets by considering alternate viewpoints.
At the end of the course, I gained a clearer understanding of ethics, based on a definition by the late Kevin O'Rourke, O.P., Catholic Ethicist: "Ethics is the science and art of human decision-making; decisions that help individuals fulfill their innate and cultural needs.”
Gordon: What did you enjoy most when you served as Director of Young Adult and Youth Ministry at Saint George's Parish in Tinley Park?
Martin: After I earned a Master's in Pastoral Studies, my first role in Catholic ministry was as Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries; shortly afterward, I accepted an additional role as bulletin editor. The director role became for me a golden opportunity to establish myself, apply my leadership skills, creativity and program development and, most especially, grow in relationships with teens, young adults, families, parish staff and youth ministers in the vicariate. St. George's pastor Fr. Don Cahill (1942-2002) supported youth ministry. Parents of youth and teens felt a need was being met. And 6th-8th grade boys and girls and high school teens enrolled in a wide variety of social, recreational and faith development activities offered. Adult ministers stepped forth in supervisory roles, as many as 30, who sparked the success of the following programs:
Junior and Senior high youth and young adult ministry programs
A College Scholarship Program
Socials -- annual miniature golf tournaments, Great America outings, pizza parties and more.
Service and Educational Outings
Appalachian Outings
Religious Functions for 1,000 Teens, including Teen Mass and retreats
Southwest Suburban Youth Ministry Softball Association
Open Gym Sunday nights
My greatest enjoyment centered on watching youth and teens take advantage of opportunities to grown in faith and leadership, and ultimately into young men and women in the church and society.
Gordon: When did you serve as Director of University Ministry University of St. Francis. Joliet and what were your primary responsibilities?
Martin: After 5 years as Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, and bulletin editor, an opportunity arose much closer to home at a Catholic university.
With two baby girls and a wife at home to raise them, and an additional need for income, coupled with an opportunity to advance my career in Catholic ministry, I accepted the position of Director of University Ministry at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, IL.
My primary responsibilities focused on the development and coordination of a Service & Outreach program. USF students were required to complete hours of volunteer service, as part of their fulfillment of Catholic Social Justice ministry. They reached out and served homebound and hospitalized patients, battered women, homeless people, men in recovery programs, grief-stricken persons and others. Through the eyes of caring hearts, students discovered a truer identity among those they served. They recognized the face of Jesus Christ and realized that all people are made in the image of God.
A second major responsibility included the recruitment, training and development of student ministers for the Residence Life program in the dormitories.
Additional ministries included liturgy services, retreats, Para liturgies, diocesan campus ministry events, and the publication of a university ministry newsletter.
Gordon: When and where did you serve as Director Adult Faith and what is one of your favorite memories when you were there?
Martin: My role as Director of Adult Faith Formation Ministry with the Augustinians at St. Jude Parish in New Lenox, IL from 2003 to 2006 redefined for me the meaning of fulfilment. St. Jude was home for the Augustinians. Parish staff remained solid. Parishioner turnover remained low. One number that increased every year, however, was the number of men and women received into the church at Easter Vigil Service. I coordinated the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program. Two elderly women spearheaded the recruitment campaign each year at the first phase of preparation: Inquiry.
Every few weeks, they would obtain a list of addresses of new residents in town, then sit down and handwrite welcome letters of invitation to join the parish. A week later, they followed up with a knock on the doors of those families. And new members joined.
One year, as many as 15 new Catholics joined the parish, the highest number among all churches in the Joliet Diocese.
Parishioners who felt called to serve as sponsors of catechumens and candidates journeyed with them throughout the nine months.
Deacons, priests, Augustinian brothers and others helped to feed the souls of candidates and catechumens with presentations each week on Church History, Church Authority, the Liturgy, Prayer and the Rosary, Mary and the Saints, Salvation and Grace and other topics. At Mass each week, parishioners, musicians and staff expressed their support of the group through blessings and prayers.
Another favorite memory at St. Jude was the night I dined with internationally acclaimed speaker and author Matthew Kelly, our church's mission speaker that year. Down-to-earth, devout, wholesome and a true gentleman, Matthew Kelly made an indelible mark on my heart.
Gordon: When did you serve as Director of Spiritual & Pastoral Services at St. Nicholas Hospital and what were your primary responsibilities?
Martin: Upon completion of my CPE residency, I looked upward and prayed to God for an opportunity to start my new career, preferably in my hometown county in Illinois. I let go and let God and awoke to a most wonderful surprise. When I signed on the dotted line, I found myself in Wisconsin as the new Director of Spiritual Care at St. Nicholas Hospital, a member of the Hospital Sisters Health System. A treasure chest of opportunities awaited me, not only as chaplain and director, but also as co-chair of the ethics committee. Really? I second-guessed the offer after I accepted it. I mean, I knew what the initials ERD (Ethical and Religious Directives) stood for, but now I am co-chair? Yes. That meant I oversaw the annual Raymond Sochurek Annual Memorial Ethics seminar, and facilitated Lunch & Learns on the ERDs, and obtained information and coordinated ethics consults.
Headfirst I plunged deep into the ocean of Catholic ethics where I absorbed information, studied the teachings and engaged in conversations with Catholic healthcare's top ethicists: Ron Hamel, Ph.D, senior ethicist at the Catholic Health Association; Rev. Thomas Nairn, OFM, Ph.D., senior director, theology and ethics at CHA; Mark Repenshek, senior director, ethics integration and education at Ascension Health; and others. And my hunger to learn about ethics deepened.
Another creative project sought to bring spiritual comfort to patients: Spiritual Programming. The Department of Spiritual Care launched a 24-hour, 7-day
series of programs on the hospital channel. Along with soft instrumental music that played along with nature scenes, patients would pass time learning about prominent saints, grief work and resources, social justice, miracles, sacraments, popes and more.
As I reflected back on the mid-'80s when I served as a lay minister volunteer in rural Kansas, the decline of Catholic priests signaled a dire warning for some type of change. A ratio of one priest to three parishes was the norm. And unless young Catholic men enrolled in the seminaries immediately, unlikely to happen no matter how many prayers were prayed, imminent change was needed. As a church, we needed to do more with less. Our resources were in diminishment.
In the mid 2010s, St. Nicholas Hospital and six Catholic churches in Sheboygan along with more than a dozen Protestant churches met each month as part of the Sheboygan County Ministerial Association. The hospital and churches united to address the community's needs, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless. Resources were abundant. And needs were met.
One example spotlighted church prayer groups that extended a lifeline to hospital patients in need of prayers. Each day of the week, a prayer group would offer to pray for those who requested prayer through the chaplains. Upon making rounds, chaplains would educate patients on evidence-based studies that attested to the power of prayer on the healing process. Chaplains would then ask if patients would like their first name, in respect to patient privacy, added to the prayer list. Across a five-year span, an average of 90 percent of patients requested prayer.
A second example came in the form of tremors that shook neighboring towns when teen deaths were reported. Whether from bullying, peer pressure, divorce in families, or other catastrophic changes, teens without sufficient coping mechanisms or adequate resources chose to end their suffering by ending their lives. Many times, teens would overdose or resort to cutting, then seek help before it was too late. With only one child psychiatrist in town, resources
were scarce, so the Department of Spiritual Care sent out notices to churches, high schools, libraries and community organizations to announce a new resource: a support group for high school teens clinically diagnosed with behavioral health issues.
Facilitated by a staff chaplain, the support group offered teens a safe environment to interact with one another, discuss and process their feelings and experiences and, most especially, feel understood and supported by their peers.
The Department of Spiritual Care also sought to nourish the spirits of hospital employees. Through a request made by a faculty member, a host of Spiritual Enrichment activities was created and launched. Among them were the following:
Spirituality 101
Spirituality Group
Spirituality & Self Care
Humor: The Best Medicine
Design Your Own Spiritual Map
Prayer and Healing
How to Better Serve Brain Damaged Victims
Gordon: When did you serve as Director, Mission & Spirituality at Mercy Hospital & Medical Center and what were your primary responsibilities?
Martin: From December 2014 up through February 2021, months before Chicago's first charter hospital closed its doors, I served as Director of Mission Integration and Spiritual Care, and co-chair of the Ethics Committee. This became another professional growth experience, plus, it became an opportunity to return home to Chicago. MHMC became part of Trinity Health, the second largest Catholic healthcare organization. With that came resources. And highly seasoned leadership. And deep, rich, profound knowledge about mission, spirituality, ethics, patient outcomes and prayer and more.
With a staff of four chaplains and an on-call rotation, I was afforded greater opportunities to assess patient and family needs, interventions and outcomes, zero-in on research studies and collaborate with leaders on the executive level to implement new programs, such as Trinity's system-wide program, "Living Our Values ... Always!" Colleague Recognition program. Each month one of Trinity's six values became the featured value of the month. Colleagues submitted nominations for their peers whenever they were observed living out a value. After the Mission Committee tallied all the votes, committee members and senior executives would surprise the colleague of the month with a certificate, flowers, a highly prized parking pass, sweet treats for the department, balloons and a picture taken with the hospital president. A Colleague of the Year would be selected by the Mission Committee at the end of the year as well.
Mercy's primary mission was to serve the underprivileged. Minority populations constituted the majority of patients, with a rich makeup of Hispanic, Chinese and African-American patients. Frequently, need arose to contact family members or next-of-kin when a health care crisis arose. With no advance directive for health care on file, or primary contact information available, decisions for treatment could not be made. The unrepresented patient represented a need for a new initiative. Co-developed by the Department of Mission Integration and Spiritual Care, Quality and Patient Safety, and Nursing, the Advance Directive Workflow Process streamlined a system of education on health care directives from the point of patient admission, through a patient's intake on the floor with a nurse, to a chaplain who met with patients to explain and assist with completion of the directive. From the Workflow Process' initial launch until the close of the hospital, a 245 percent increase was realized.
Faithful to the Social Justice principles of the Catholic Church, yet populated largely by non-Catholic employees, Catholic healthcare organizations nationwide sought to strengthen their hospitals' identity to more clearly reflect and remain loyal to Catholic social teaching. Trinity Health launched a triennial assessment called Promoting Catholic Identity. Through an orientation process, a review of collected documents, and quantitative and qualitative self-assessments, teams of leaders would discuss scores for each of the seven Catholic Sensibilities and thereafter develop Action Plans with senior leadership team for areas they wished to focus on to strengthen their Catholic identity.
Gordon: When did you serve as Director, Mission Integration & Spiritual Care Brainerd, Minnesota and what did you find most rewarding of your time there?
Martin: From Sheboygan to Chicago to "where am I now called to serve?" I prayed for guidance. And God answered again. Essentia Health's St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd, MN hired me early in the year 2021. One of the most rewarding projects I created was a system-wide Introduction to Ethics module for RNs. From the surprise announcement at my first job that I had become co-chair of the ethics committee, to conversations with renowned Catholic ethicists, to the development of a 5-Minute Introduction to Ethics Powerpoint viewed annually by all patient care staff at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, topped off by a 2-year Catholic Ethics for Mission Leaders Program sponsored by the Catholic Health Association, I felt a deep sense of
honor after 15 years in the industry to step up to the drawing board and design an ethics education module for a healthcare system's nurses. Given the opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for the encouragement, support, education and motivation they provided, I would thank every Catholic ethicist, vice president, director, moral theologian and ethics committee member I worked with and learned from. Thank you!
Gordon: When and where did you serve as Hospital chaplain and what was one of the most challenging experiences that you had?
Martin: Ten years after my near-fatal accident while out on a jog, the Holy Spirit descended upon me with a message: It's now time to give back the gift you've been given: a second chance to live. After the jog, I returned home, then drove to Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, IL.
"I want to volunteer," I told the Rev. Richard Tessmer, director of the department of Spiritual Care. Little did I know, but my career in chaplain ministry had unofficially begun. Every Saturday for half a day, I met with Catholic patients, distributed the sacrament of Holy Communion and ministered.
A year later, I joined a formation program. Then, while on call one weekend, a ministry experience changed my life. A page from the emergency department soon set me in a small room with an ER doctor and the parents of a 17-year-old boy, Nino. "Mr. and Mrs. (Doe), your boy was driving down Main Street, he fell asleep at the wheel, sideswiped a car and crashed into the wall of a brick building. I'm sorry. He didn't make it," Dr. Smith said. For the next 2 1/2 hours, family members poured into the hospital. Fifty, sixty, seventy... family, friends, neighbors and others.
Without a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education yet completed, I ministered from the heart. Two of Nino's friends from high school stopped in. They hadn't learned the extent of his injuries, or his condition yet. This became the first time in my life I would tell someone their friend had died.
At the end of my shift, I broke down and cried. I had witnessed an experience similar to the one my parents and family encountered during my accident in 1981. My experience of ministry to family, friends and neighbors at Nino's death became the reason I felt called to serve as a chaplain.
Gordon: You are also a writer. Please provide an overview of your book and the topics of some of your other writing.
Martin: Nino's death inspired me to write my own story. I wrote, published and sold copies of my book, "From Impossible to I'm Possible," as a fundraiser
for youth ministry and church organizations.
The book is a narrative account of a near-fatal accident that occurred in July of 1981. The summer before my senior year in high school, and the week after I'd run the fastest race of my life, a 10km race in which I crossed the finish line 15th with a time of 38:18,
I rode my 3-speed bicycle around the corner at an intersection. I collided with a Jeep, and life as I knew it, ended. With a broken leg, cracked pelvis, fractured collarbone and paralyzed arm, I lie in a coma for weeks. Unable to walk, talk, think, or remember anything, I begged and pleaded with God for a second chance to live. In exchange, I would give Him my life. "From Impossible to I'm Possible" is my story.
Raised in a musically talented family, I had always loved music. Not talented as a singer or musician, I discovered my talent was writing. Junior and senior year at college, I'd hit the jackpot. As entertainment editor and reporter with The Daily Egyptian Newspaper at Southern Illinois University, I realized a Bucket List Wish long before the term came into vogue. I attended concerts, interviewed bands, and recreated the concert experience
for readers in colorful stories. That was my job. And I got paid for it. Pinch me. Is this real? What a joy!
Favorite groups and singers I covered included: REO Speedwagon, Willie Nelson, Alabama, Eddie Rabbitt, Crystal Gayle, Dokken, Charlie Daniels, Sammy Hagar and others. I actually got paid and could make a living as a rock and roll reporter! This is what I thought life was about.
Then I became a chaplain. Nothing could be more fulfilling or more meaningful.
Gordon: You currently serve as Palliative Care Chaplain at CentraCare St Cloud, Minnesota. What are your primary responsibilities?
Martin: The greatest joy in my years as a chaplain is serving on the Palliative Care team at CentraCare St. Cloud Hospital. Spirituality, the dimension of humanity that refers to how people find meaning and purpose in life, becomes a lens through which individuals, whether it be patients or families, may understand and accept their life-limiting illness, its consequences, and prepare for the end of life. The lens through which patients experience and make sense of their lives becomes part of a spiritual assessment.
Prior to conducting a spiritual assessment, first and foremost, I prepare to enter a sacred space at each visit. Mindful of tone of voice, eye contact and body posture, I introduce myself to patients and families with an intent to connect with them on some level. Connection helps build trust. Connection conveys the unspoken message, "I am with you." From there, hearts will open. What is most important, meaningful, needed, or what pains an individual becomes known.
At times, for someone like a chaplain to be with another in their suffering or helplessness is what patients need most.
Conversations with them become the template for spiritual assessments. Instead of a checklist of questions and answers, I enter into life stories of 70-year marriages; anger and pain of the Viet Nam War; lost farms; lives burdened by resentment and an inability to forgive; and lives filled with an abundance of faith, hope, love and blessings.
Spiritual assessments become an inner pathway to journey with patients to rediscover their True selves, the person God created them to be, in Body, Mind and Spirit.
Gordon: What are some of the challenges as a Palliative Care Chaplain and how you do you address them?
Martin: I view challenges as opportunities for growth. One of the highlights of my role as Palliative Care Chaplain finds me alongside a provider to discuss patient issues, goals of care, limitations and options. Our time together becomes a dance. Each provider has their own style and personality. With one, information and discussion about medical issues is presented in tandem with that of spirituality in a harmonious manner. The substance of disease interpreted through the spiritual lens of meaning and purpose oftentimes is received in a spirit of acceptance.
With a second provider, a more thorough presentation of clinical information is delivered. Treatment options offered. Questions answered. Content processed.
Then, I enter the dance, to listen, feel, help patients make sense of, and to be with.
With a third provider, he or she will meet in conference with patients and families, report back to me, share insight and identify topics of opportunity
to further explore. Then, I will follow up with them.
It's disco, it's a waltz, it's salsa.
It's all a dance.
Gordon: Please provide an overview of your care to a specific patient and how did your care help then die more comfortably?
Martin: A male patient (Joe) asked to speak with a chaplain. Physically fit, in his senior years, he reviewed his life with a glow in his heart and a smile upon his face. The ups and downs, good times and bad, he accepted. That's how life goes, he said. But now, uncertain about how much time remained, he felt torn. Joe's ex-wife across the nation kept the news from their teenage son about his father's impending death. She wanted to protect him.
He respected her decision, yet felt compelled to contact his son, express his love and say his final goodbye.
We brainstormed options. Identified obstacles. Addressed the unexpected. Prayed. And said goodnight.
The next day, his nurse paged me. In conversation with his ex-wife the night before, she handed the phone to their son. Father and son spoke heart-to-heart,
expressed their love for one another, shed tears and said goodbye.
Joe expressed relief, gratitude and a sense of freedom, then returned home with his caretaker.
One week later, I returned to the hospital after a vacation. Three urgent voice mail messages requested my presence in the hospice unit.
Joe lie on his back in bed, his caretaker at his side, his ex-wife and son on the phone long distance.
I held Joe's hand, assured him that the presence of those who loved him were with him. Each of the three said their final goodbyes.
I blessed Joe, all present prayed the Lord's Prayer, then Joe took his last breath and died.
Gordon: Thank you for an exceptional interview.