by Sr. Noeleen Mooney, MMM  Ireland  16.12.2021

I never cease to be in awe of the fact that simply looking down a microscope can be enough to recognize the cause of some of the most common parasitic and bacterial diseases.   My early years in laboratory training had a lot to do with microscopic things.  I learnt many mysteries of the unseen world from Gerry McDonnell and Dick Reilly in the laboratory of our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.  It was a bit different from nursing (my initial learning) but very much to do with healing.  It helps to ensure that people get the correct treatment.  For many years I was involved in teaching others, mostly through basic training programmes of three to six months.

For me this is an essential element of any sharing of the Good News.  You have to look at things differently.  Diseases are different and causes are different.  So many sicknesses come from an unsafe or contaminated water supply.  This is something we never have to think about in Ireland.  Healing doesn’t just have to do with making well again.  It is more and more about finding the root causes and working on them to improve the quality of life of all our brothers and sisters.  Since I began looking down a microscope in Drogheda, many years ago, no seeing of mine has ever been quite the same.