Pastoral Counselors Must Be Like the Good Samaritan
The spiritual message of Pastoral Thanatology echoes with the words of Christ when he said “when you do something for the least of your brethren, you do it for me”. When a pastoral counselor walks downs the halls of a hospital or nursing home, he or she should see Christ in all the faces of the people.
Christ pointed this out best in his parable of the “Good Samaritan” where only a Samaritan was willing to help an injured man. Pastoral Counselors encounter Christ in the faces of the suffering on a consistent basis. Their career becomes a vocational calling. As ministers, nurses and
counselors they come across the face of the grieving and dying on a consistent basis and can bring joy and consolation to those who have no other to turn to.
In the end, a pastoral counselor will definitely have an opportunity to find Christ in the least of one’s brethren and be able to triumphantly answer Christ that they did indeed help those who were most needy.
If you are interested in the Pastoral Thanatology Certification Program, please review it.
By Mark Moran, MA, GC-C, SCC-C