Elko, Nicholas T.

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 51 | Number 3 Article 3August 1984From the Episcopal Advisor ... Reflections onReaching Life's SummitNicholas T. ElkoFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationElko, Nicholas T. (1984) "From the Episcopal Advisor ... Reflections on Reaching Life's Summit," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 51 : No. 3, Article 3.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol51/iss3/3RESERVATIONS REGISTRATION MUST BE RECEIVED IN NFCPG OFFICE BY OCT. 12, · 84. Name __________________________________________________ __ Address ________________________________________________ _ City------------------- State __________ _ ZiP~----Ph one ( _____ ) __________________ Spouse's Name --------------REGISTRATION FEE FOR PHYSICIAN* at $175 ... Includes admission to all sessions, lunch on Thursday and Saturday, Thursday night's reception, Friday's historical tour, and one ticket to the annual banquet on Saturday night. _$ ___ _ REGISTRATION FEE FOR SPOUSE at $95 ............ $ _ _ _ Includes admission to all sessions, lunch on Thursday and Saturday, Thursday night's reception, Friday's historical tour, Saturday Museum of Art tour, and one ticket to the annual banquet on Saturday night. OPTIONAL BOAT CRUISE & BUFFET DINNER, $30 per person $ _ _ _ _ Includes round trip transportation to boat dock, 3-hour cruise from 7 to 10 p .m., buffet dinner, entertainment, dancing, taxes and gratuities on Thursday, Oct. 18. OPTIONAL SUNDAY VALLEY FORGE TOUR, $12 per person Includes 3-hour motor coach tour of Valley Forge Historical Park, with return to the hotel via the Philadelphia airport $ _______ _ for those leaving on afternoon flights . TOTAL . . $ _______ _ *For purposes of th is meeting the word "Physician" as used here includes clergyme n, laymen, dent ists, psychologists, nurses , etc. Registration fees apply to all persons except stu den ts and residents in training, who shall be admitted to all s'cientific sessions at no charge . From the Episcopal Advisor ... Reflections on Reaching Life's Summit .Nicholas T. Elko! D.D. The auxiliary archbishop of Cincinnati, Archbishop Elko episcopal advisor to the Nationai Federation of Catholic Physi-cians' Guilds, has a wide back-tround in oriental studies. He has been notably active in the reha-bilitation of Iron Curtain people and priests. ----~  W'th · HOTEL ROOM RESERVATIONS- Ilardi retrr~ment near,_ one . is reaching the summit of life. St. Ber-The NFCPG has reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn-Independence Mall the ' ~n ~lpme mountam climber, compar~s our earthly · sojourn to for this annual meeting. If you wish to reserve a room at the Holiday lnn-lndepen- lte chmbmg of a peak. He refers to the wmding passes and narrow dence Mall, fill out the form below. The hotel will send you a confirmat ion and ~e~ and rugged terrain with rumbling thunder and lightning as the may request a deposit to guarantee your room. If you do NOT need a hotel room, I'Oc abve portr~yal of our ascent during the years; just as in scaling leave this portion blank. li ks and st~ppmg through snow and fog, our life is full of apprehen-Arrival Date: 0 Single at $56 plus_ tax ~and an~Iet~ about what is ahead. Then the saint says, "When the Departure Date: 0 Double at $62 plus tax eve c~mes m sight and y~u are there, you look down and suddenly -;. __ rythin~ looks clearer. The sweet mystery of life's trail unravels No Of persons in my party· No. of rooms required_____ •oeelf and t . . I s purpose as we strive heavenward." Special instructions:-------------------- --- tlle As a priest,. I joined the long line of those who answered the call to -------------------------------- 111 ~tar to brmg the Eucharistic Sacrifice to the heavenly Father be a Make your chec~ payable to NFCPG and mail to: NFCPG, 850 Elm Grove Road, Elm Grove, Wisconsin 53122 Cancellations: Registration fees cannot be refunded if cancelled after Oct. 12, 1984 204 Linacre QuarterlY 10:ator between _God an~ man, bring earth near to heaven, and 'offer who are bapbzed as gifts to the Father in heaven. • There w~ a period, when I was 17, of making the choice which .,::ld last mto the_ 70s. The ~e!iberation had to wait for inspiration. thought of bemg a physician presented itself- one who would 411cust, 1984 205 sustain the health of the body in a patient, fortifying the tempL of the soul and helping to preserve the physical well-being of those m ler one's care. The responsibility looked so serious- to have in c e 's hands the life of another- but what a commendable vocation nd secret trust with God the Creator. What a privilege to act congruently with nature and the he: ing hand of Him Who made the body. But how serious is the coP ~rn when one whom the physician has sought to heal dies. But there no imputability when the doctor has extended himself and done his ery best, then let the Creator of the body do the rest. In spite of the high calling involving physiology and health th, :e is the still higher calling involving theology and an eternal soul. He vho treats the body can at least dismiss the care, for his responsibility ·nds at its demise. For a priest, however, a doctor of the soul, an adr inis-trator of the sacraments, a provider of the Holy Eucharist, a spi: ,tual confessor, the effects of his care extend beyond Judgment Day. The selection of the priesthood was finalized by the model exc pli-fication of this calling by model priests. The light leading to the S· min· ary was brightened by a family physician who was a daily com:.lUni-cant and encouraged me to follow the vocation. The full clasp ' f the hand of Our Lord was the strong supplement of prayer of my ~ood parents and friends. As the episcopacy was placed upon my shoulders, respons1bility grew. It was no longer just the laity pleading for God's love and r ercy through a priest, but it was priests seeking an archpastoral gui ~·iance from one whose red cap symbolized complete sacrifice, even to a martyrdom of blood. They put a crosier in the hand of a bishop when he is ordained to remind him to lead the pastors of people with a gentleness and assist the altar brothers to lead others along the narrow path that the Church directs for a successful climb above the confines of an immoral world. Congruent with the directives of Vatican Council II, a bishop is pleased to see around him a laity which follows the guide signs of true papal magisterial teachings. A bishop's notice especially falls on leaders who can influence the Catholic community, on professional people who, like a bishop, by providential happening are on a level to be seen as examples of genuine Catholic living. One of my privileges has been associated with the Catholic Physi-cians' Guilds. It has been an edification to associate, assemble and praY with my valued friends, the physicians. The manifestation of their faith at every conference surfaces so beautifully at their daily atten· dance at Mass, a reverential reception of the Holy Eucharist, and a humble plea 'to the Savior to bring temporal benefits to the bodies which they treat, a subtle silent reverence of the Lamb of God in the Host, the only way to see God face-to-face in this world. There was an instance where two members, after having endured a tiresome six-hour ~ight}o a distant convention meeting, confronted me with the ques-tiOn, Could we make a noonday Mass somewhere?" The obstetricians, the first to see a woman bec~me a mother h such a love for the Mother of God. The praying of the rosary is ~~~:; a part of the program. It was a pleasure to hand a rosary to a member twhhoV~a~ misplaced his. He said he never retired without a prayer to e rrgm Mary. Both pope~, Paul VI and John Patil II, have acknowledged our annual salutatwn to them as Vicars of Christ and author d of th d an sponsor e ocument, Humanae Vitae. Likewise, the joint petition to the :es~7t Holy ~a~her, requesting that the Feast of the Annunciation of 0/ ess~~ Vrrgm ~ar~ be mad_e aho~yday of obligation is reflective da the spmtual co?victlon that life begms at conception and this hoi _ Y would exemplify this belief. y s· :t was co~mendatory when one of our members reflected his con-HIS ~nt prac_tiCe of not only c~rporal, but spiritual acts of charit . th avmg received _the papal blessmg, he inquired if it was applicable fa e soul of a patient recently lost to carcinoma. _Even Louis Pasteur would be pleased to know that men of medical SCience are also men of religion. eli As one climbs the . moun~in, one is so appreciative of other -~hers who are chenshed fnends and jointly are tied together in Bpmtual and bodily security to reach the salvation of God's mountain. 206 Linacre QuarterlY 4ueust, 1984 207 .. 

From the Episcopal Advisor ... Reflections on Reaching Life\u27s Summit

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From the Episcopal Advisor ... Reflections on Reaching Life\u27s Summit

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