What would you like to know about St. Joan of Arc? Do you have a story about our parish or of general interest that you think others would like to hear? For story ideas, contact Jeff Rholl, jeff@stjoan.com.

"Stories of Grace"
"Let us build this place out of truth and Grace"

Prologue: This is the fifth in a series of stories about the people of Grace House. They are the residents and staff, the volunteers and occasional drop-ins -- the people who fill the house with grace. These are first and foremost, though, the stories of the residents: Stories of the men and women who live daily with HIV/AIDS and are triumphant; stories of their lives and how they came to Grace House; stories of the difference the houses and the staff have meant in terms of health, dignity and joy. The original Grace House was opened in 1990, the brainchild of an AIDS taskforce through Saint Joan of Arc Church. The church agreed to lease the building to Grace House for a nominal sum. Church parishioners provided lots of the physical labor to turn the home into a facility to serve the particular needs of people with AIDS. These volunteers renovated the space, painted rooms and made the home accessible, including installing an elevator. In these early years, all of the caregiving was provided by volunteers from the church. By the next year, the need for professional, hired staff was apparent and the first paid caregivers were hired. Volunteers continued to be a big part of providing care to the residents. By 1994, the AIDS epidemic was rampant. The directors of Grace House decided to explore the idea of opening a second home next door to the original Grace House. Grace House II was opened in May of 1998. It was designed by the architecture firm of David Goehring/Joel May. It is a graceful combination of light woods and open spaces, large windows and a profusion of plants. What I have always found in the houses is laughter. The residents, as physically comfortable as their disease allows them to be, live in their own apartments with dear and familiar things around them. They meet in community for meals with other residents, with volunteers and caregivers. There is a sense of family, of people who care very much for the well being of each other. It is these people of Grace House, open and willing to talk to me, I want to learn more about and then tell their stories to you. Nelson Mandela says these stories must not be lost. Sometimes they are little stories of little lives. Sometimes they seem painted by a bold brush with vivid colors and raw design. They are stories, like all of ours, a mixture of foolish and heroic; stories too of painful loss and astonishing gain, because these are the stories of survivors. These are not just the stories of the residents, although theirs are the first to be told, but of all of the people who care for them; all of the people who take a step away from their everyday lives, to take the risk of caring and staying steady in the face of pain and loss. People who receive in abundance the gifts of sharing and the magic of laughter and life. This then is the fifth of the stories of grace from Grace House. Meet Bob

The following homily was given by Prayer Partner Ron Joki at the Healing Service and Mass of Ascension on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2001. You can view the review of the service.

I want to share with you a little about a guy named Bob, a resident at Grace House, our assisted care residence for people living with AIDS. I met him a few years ago when I was a volunteer caregiver at Grace House. Bob had the gift of healing. No, he didn't do miraculous cures at will, but each day he brought healing to those he lived with, and in doing so he brought healing to himself. I believe that when we cooperate with God's healing power we cannot help but be healed. It's as though we are an electric conduit. We can't avoid the healing electricity passing through us.

Bob's gift wasn't in just what he did but it was as much in the sincerity and love with which he did it, and in the faith that God can heal through us. Sometimes the healing came through his way of listening to the concerns of a resident, or a staff person or volunteer, really listening. It can be so good when someone focuses on just you and really listens.

Other times it may have manifested in a small gift, a little trinket for someone in the house who had given up almost everything dear to him in his struggle with the disease. Many times it was just some assistance with someone who needed help eating or with other basic daily needs, not in a way that made the person ashamed for their inabilities, but with respect that maintained their dignity. Simple, loving touch was often the gift most desired by those whose lives had been tainted by shaming and a denial of their loveableness.

Bob also used humor and creativity to bring joy and laughter, realizing their potent healing qualities. Many residents could only tolerate a simple, bland diet. Bob could find endless ways to disguise, enhance & embellish the blandest meal making it seem like high tea at Buckingham Palace.

I learned much from Bob as a volunteer. He was a nurse, a caregiver by profession and a healer by nature. Some of his skills were learned and some came from his sense of compassion and empathy. What was Bob's reward for all his good deeds? Contributing to another person's comfort and happiness was a real tonic for him. It made him feel good, and you could tell its positive affects on his health.

Ron Joki is a Prayer Partner and dedicated member of "Echo's team", helping with Sunday Mass details at the 9 am service.

Oh, as perfect as I may portray him, Bob wasn't without his flaws and foibles. He could be a pain even as he expressed his own pain. I pitied the poor cooks who tried to satisfy his gourmet palette. But near his death he graciously accepted our help, hopefully given in the spirit that he embodied when he was able, a spirit of selfless giving, a spirit of healing. When we are hurting, sometimes the most we can do is be open to receive care, our need being so great and consuming, our strength so spent that we have nothing to give. These are humbling times. But at other times, even though we are in need, we can also be channels of healing as Bob so beautifully taught by his example. When we can do this, allow God to touch others through us, real healing can occur and as with my experience at Grace House many are positively affected and the ripples of healing go out.

The name Bob is actually a pseudonym for a composite of several dear friends who lived and some who died at Grace House. Thankfully, others, through new drug therapies, have been able to leave assisted care and recover a bit of their life.

Blessed be God who empowers us to be healers even as we are healed, who consoles us in our afflictions even as we learn to console others.