A deacon who is a doctor battles Ebola in Liberia: “He dropped everything to serve the Lord”

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:26 pm by Deacon Greg Kandra

A deacon who is a doctor battles Ebola in Liberia: “He dropped everything to serve the Lord” 2015-03-13T16:26:00-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Here’s a humbling profile of a deacon who is serving in ways most of us can’t fathom.

From The Rhode Island Catholic:

According to the World Health Organization, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has infected at least 4,269 people, and claimed the lives of 2,288 as of Tuesday. It is the worst Ebola epidemic in history.

WebMD reports that the disease, also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever or Ebola virus, kills up to 90 percent of infected individuals.

To help combat the deadly illness, Dr. Timothy Flanigan flew to Monrovia, Liberia, on his own accord to train and educate health care teams at Catholic hospitals and clinics.

“This is a terrible, infectious disease, which one can deal with safely with the appropriate training and supplies,” said Dr. Flanigan, an infectious disease specialist at Miriam Hospital, as well as a deacon at Tiverton parishes St. Christopher and St. Theresa, in a telephone interview last week with Rhode Island Catholic from Monrovia. “West Africa really did not have the proper equipment or the training to work with Ebola because it requires stringent infection control. But, infectious control is now being practiced in all health care settings and hospitals.”

For the next two months, Dr. Flanigan, who is also a professor of medicine at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School, will be living at a guesthouse in Monrovia next door to St. Joseph’s Church. Accompanied by Sister Barbara Brilliant, FMM, dean of Mother Patern College of Health Sciences, and a coordinator with the Catholic Diocese of Monrovia, he arrived on August 31 with at least 10 bags filled with items such as masks, gowns and gloves.

“There also are lots of individual and national aid organizations that are sending in tons of supplies,” he said, acknowledging The Bernadine Sisters, The Salesian Missions, Catholic Relief Services and the Vatican, as Pope Francis initiated a charity to help. “The Church is present at the forefront of this epidemic.”

The Diocese of Providence has contributed to the effort as well, donating $2,500 donation to Tiverton Cares, a non-profit organization that’s assisting Dr. Flanigan by channeling required resources directly to the crisis area. In a letter to the organization accompanying the donation, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin noted, “We are proud that Dr. Flanigan, as a deacon of our Church, is making this significant sacrifice to serve so many people who are suffering from the terrible scourge of Ebola.”

The diocese, along with Dr. Flanigan’s parishes, has been collecting supplies such as hand sanitizer, bleach, disinfectants, plastic spray bottles and more. Father Przemyslaw “Shemek” Lepak, pastor of St. Christopher and St. Theresa, is overwhelmed by the support of his parishioners. That is especially true of Bob Gaw, a parishioner at St. Christopher, who donated a “whole truck full of supplies.”

“Every day, people are dropping off items,” said Father Shemek, adding that collected goods will be sent out via The Salesian Missions.

Still, he was “shocked” when Dr. Flanigan told him he was interested in going to Liberia.

“The first thing I asked him was, ‘is it really what you want to do?’” Father Shemek said. “He said, ‘it’s not really about what I want. I feel God is calling me to go.’ He dropped everything to serve the Lord. He is a remarkable person, and a man of great faith.”

Read more.

This is inspiring and, I think, downright heroic. Follow Deacon Flanigan’s extraordinary work at his blog.

Please keep him and the people he serves in your prayers. Most of us can’t imagine what he lives with every day. Yet, last week, with the epidemic clearly in mind, he preached about fear—and about faith:

God, our Father and Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves—knows even our fears and doubts that we can not put into words. Yet He loves us even more than we can possibly imagine through our fears, and through our doubts, and through our sin. He opens His arms and asks us to abandon ourselves into His arms and the arms of his mother. The arms and the shoulders of our Lord and Mary are strong and warm and tender … and they can take ALL (each and every one) of our fears … all of our doubts … and all of our sins … and all of our tears. And through it all we are embraced and filled with Love.

Previous Post

September 13, 2014

Powerful video: TV anchor announces on the air that he is dying of cancer

Next Post

September 13, 2014 Horror: ISIS releases video it says shows beheading of British hostage

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Mad Men" 9/11 advent All Things New Amazing video amazing videos amazon america Anglicans Anti-Catholicism art ascension thursday ash wednesday Atheists baltimore Bible Bishops Blogging bonnie engstrom Books bridgeport Brooklyn Chaplains children christian art christmas Church Churches CNEWA Converts criticism Deacons Death Penalty easter eastern christian Eastern Christians Ecumenism education Education Eucharist Europe euthanasia Evangelization Exorcism Family Feasts Gay rights Good Friday Great links Great Moments in Journalism Hanging with the saints heather renshaw Hispanic Catholics Hispanics History homelies Homilies Humor Hymn of the Week Immigration indianapolis Inspiration Interfaith news ireland Jesus Jews Journalism Judaism lent Liturgy logos Marriage Mary Media Medical news Mental health Middle East Monks Movies Music Muslims My world and welcome to it New Evangelization new york News Nuns Parenting Parish life peoria Persecution politics Politics Pope pope francis pope john paul Prayer Preaching Priests Pro-life Quote of the day radio rebecca frech ripp Ripped from the headlines rippred from the headlines Sacraments saints Scripture sex abuse Sex abuse crisis SEX ABUSE CRISIS TAGGED WITH: SEX ABUSE CRISIS The people in the pews the visitation project theatre This & that Thomas Merton Trappists TV Uncategorized uncategorized Vatican VATICAN vocation Vocations Voices & Views Women Worth a thousand words Writing Year of Faith year of mercy young people

Select a Month December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian tradition requires confession to a priest for forgiveness of sins?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Quaker Baptist Methodist Roman Catholic

Books by This Author Books by Deacon Greg Kandra

See All Titles »