The Mission and Maxime

The Mission and Maxime
By Dr. John A. Carroll
January 29th, 2007

Maxime Petion was buried across the Illinois River on Saturday. His brother and his pastor from Haiti were able to attend as were hundreds of central Illinois people who knew or had heard of Maxime.

Our friend Maxime must be in Heaven now. His life in Haiti was very difficult for 21 years. But I think people that arrive in Heaven must forgive or they don’t get there. However, they don’t have to believe everything they read.

OSF Health Care Mission has a website that says the following:“OSF Health Care fulfills, through a service of love and compassion, a mission of caring and peace consistent with the needs of the Church and the people served. The love of Christ permeates its work as it strives to continue the healing ministry of Christ and His Church to the total person; to be love, mercy, inspiration, tenderness and compassion to those whose lives are entered.

“From this philosophy flow these values which permeate all of our endeavors:

1. Justice: Personal worth and dignity of every person we serve regardless of love, color, religion and ability to pay;
2. Compassion: Caring response to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the people we serve;
3. Integrity: Decision-making based on Catholic Ethical principles and Catholic social teachings in every activity of the system.

The people that should assure these OSF values are respected failed Maxime miserably.

A nurse wrote a poem about Maxime and Jackson (another deceased Haitian Hearts patient that was included in the obituary):

“Thank you, Maxime, for lessons taught how to pause and enjoy the minutes, to be grateful, to breathe, and to sleep, and to laugh with beloved family and friends. As Jesus did, and Jackson and so many others, you have again taught us by example, a quiet persistent message, despite being wracked by pain and exhaustion, despite smashing into nightmares of inequity, injustice, man’s arrogance and fear. Faith. Hope. Love. My faith and hope have been, once again, healed by your life example, your love of life. Now is the moment, not tomorrow or next year. Thank you for the reminder Maxime. I will try, again, to make NOW count.”

“The religion Jesus gave to us is not a religion without risks.”
Fr. Gerard O’Rourkee

John A. Carroll, M.D.http://www.peoriasmedicalmafia.com/http://www.dyinginhaiti.blogspot.com/