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Introducing Sister Rose Marie Brouillard

Sister Rose Marie Brouillard walks through many doors. Hospital doors. School doors. Retirement village doors. Church doors. Maybe most important, the doors of private homes. Sister Rosie approaches each door as another opportunity to spread the wealth of the Medaille charism.

Her specialty is the “house call.” These days, that’s a wonderful rarity. Sister Rosie is a home health aide at St. Joseph's Area Health Services in Park Rapids, Minnesota. She cares for those who cannot get out due to varied health restrictions. She approaches her ministry humbly, acknowledging that “care, love, appreciation, gratitude, and affection come from God’s presence in each other.”

It is a calling that brings her very close to the community she serves. For some of her patients, Sister Rosie’s kind face will even be among the last they see. In her words:

“I cared for Elmer the day he died; I knew he was dying, so did he, and so did his wife, Irene. When I finished bathing him and completing the other cares, I asked them if they wanted to share a prayer.

“I reminded Irene that sometimes we need to give our loved ones permission to die. Tears rolling down her face, Irene held Elmer's hand and leaned her face over his as she told him that she loved him and now they needed to say good-bye. A single tear fell on her husband's face and united with the teardrop trickling from his eye.

“This was a sacred, symbolic moment for me.”

When the doorway of the heart opens, love always enters. The sisters refer to this as “Love at Work.”

One could think of Sister Rosie’s presence as a doorway, helping Elmer cross his personal threshold and giving Irene entrance to compassionate understanding. In her own modest way Sister Rosie helps to bring access to the greatest experience we can ever have… the loving heart of God.