“In law school he had committed acts which had formerly seemed to him of great vileness and had inspired a feeling of self-loathing in him at the time he committed them; but subsequently, seeing that such acts were also committed by highly placed people and were not considered bad, he, without really thinking them good, […]
medicine … covenant or contract? Read More »
Imperative 12 To recognize and believe in the Supremacy of Spirit. Our personal religious convictions–or lack thereof–must never cloud our awe at the great miracle of the spiritual realities that come breaking forth as patients approach death. We must be prepared to help patients and families address the great spiritual questions of life: Who am
witnesses and partners … Read More »
A child who has to go through the woods in the dark will still be scared even if you prove to him a hundred times that there is no danger. He is not afraid of something specific that he could name, but rather he experiences in the dark the insecurity, the vulnerability, and the eeriness
what in fact is death? Read More »
“Health is not a commodity. Risk factors are not disease. Aging is not an illness. To fix a problem is easy, to sit with another suffering is hard. Doing all we can is not the same as doing what we should. Quality is more than metrics. Patients cannot see outside their pain, we cannot see
a measure of my days … Read More »
Father Greg Boyle accompanies us on a journey in the lives of the gang members and their families he has spent his life with. His lived experience is a powerful antidote to our own ennui and confusion. This book is hard to read for very long at a time – there is so much deep,
tattoos on the heart … Read More »
“There is an infinitely better way to address the needs of people with serious illnesses [than physician-assisted suicide]. Our society should embrace what Pope John Paul II called “the way of love and true mercy”—a readiness to surround patients with love, support, and companionship, providing the assistance needed to ease their physical, emotional, and spiritual
Mary Ann Walsh discusses two key components of caring for the seriously ill … ” … people have two fears when confronting end of life: pain and isolation. Hospice and palliative care address them both. Advances in medications mean pain can be controlled. Medical staff can handle that. Dealing with fear of isolation lies in
a call to community … Read More »
Everyone has tried to tame me, tranquilize me, keep me from suffering, and make everything more bearable, to sedate a restless heart that however had no intention to stop desiring and asking for more. Then you arrived … The encounter with you created in me a demand for my whole life, every second,and I don’t want
to sedate a restless heart … Read More »
Throughout my career, I’ve seen how personal conflicts can intensify in emotion when people continue to think the worst about one another. When this happens to me, I begin my campaign to pray for those who are angry at me or who may be trying to harm me. At least three times a day, I ask
Prayer for enemies … Read More »
I discovered this prayer after I had written a philosophical paper, and a colleague who didn’t criticize it or ask questions when I read it publicly later criticized the paper behind my back and tried to damage my reputation. I addressed the criticism in writing, but my anger continued to grow. Every time I opened
Lord, you are the just Judge. You take care of it Read More »
