… of the most absolute human loneliness we can listen to a voice that calls us, and we can find a hand that takes hold of us and leads us out. The human being lives because he is loved and can love; if love has penetrated even into the realm of death, life has arrived […]
even in the extreme darkness … Read More »
… encounter with reality … In the soothing softness of the modern world, the mass of traditional rules which gave consistency to life broke up as the frozen surface of a stream breaks up in spring … Thanks to the progress of technology, the greater part of the restraints imposed on us by the cosmos
more observation … less discussion Read More »
Frank Ostaseski’s Five Precepts of Service lend a strong foundation to the work of accompaniment … The First Precept: Welcome Everything. Push Away Nothing. In welcoming everything, we don’t have to like what’s arising. It’s actually not our job to approve or disapprove. It’s our task to trust, to listen, and to pay careful attention
welcome everything … push away nothing … Read More »
We recently discussed Kelly, Varghese and Pelusi’s article “Countertransference and ethics: A perspective on clinical dilemmas in end-of-life decisions” … an excellent introduction to the many inter-personal, emotional and spiritual realities that inevitably inform any decision, in particular decisions near the end of life. A couple of quotes from the article …
The ‘work’ of dying involves the restoration of our relationships – our relationship to ourselves … to others … to God. Luigi Giussani tells us why this is so difficult today …
on moral certainty & relationships … Read More »
… not necessarily more and more drugs. Micco et. al. offer a reflection on the fundamental goals of hospice palliative care, reminding us that ” … when a suffering-less death becomes the medical summum bonum, morphine and other drugs become our sacraments.” Rather ” … [t]he original intent of the hospice movement was to provide
supportive presence of hospice … Read More »
