The spirituality of dying. Pastoral care's holistic approach is crucial in hospice.

Attention to the spiritual dimension of a person is essential in a holistic approach to hospice care. Although other hospice team members may be involved in matters of faith with patients, chaplains are the primary professionals concerned with the transcendent nature of life and the integrative role that spirituality plays in care for the dying. Understanding spirituality in a person's living and dying requires an understanding of religion and theology. Religion is meant to connect us to a caring community and to give us a place on which to stand--a tradition. Theology is a search for meaning. Spirituality is "the life principle that pervades a person's entire being ... and generates a capacity for transcendent values." The body cannot be touched without the spirit's being affected, and vice versa. Efforts to help patients toward wholeness necessitate helping them accept freely their whole lives. The chaplain is not limited to nor bound by religious language. The needs of the patient should determine the use of prayer or God-talk. Listening is one of the greatest spiritual gifts a chaplain can give a suffering patient. Being a companion is often all the chaplain can do. Pastoral care personnel are also sensitive to the needs of the hospice staff. The chaplain does not so much fulfill a role as represent a perspective based on concern and solicitude for the whole person, the whole family unit, the whole staff.