My father is a professional artist, and when I was five years old, our local church commissioned him to paint a mural of St. John of God. John was born in Portugal in 1495 and was a soldier before he had a personal encounter with God. After this radical encounter, he believed his vocation was to serve the sick and poor, and he was often found cleaning the wounds of lepers. My father's painting depicted the leper whose feet St. John was washing, as the leper miraculously transformed into Christ. That powerful image impacted me as a child, has remained with me, and has become a part of my pastoral identity as a hospital chaplain.