Garry, Martin D.

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 21 | Number 1 Article 32-1-1954The Physician and SufferingMartin D. GarryFollow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqPart of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Medicine and Health SciencesCommonsRecommended CitationGarry, Martin D. (1954) "The Physician and Suffering," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 21 : No. 1 , Article 3.Available at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol21/iss1/312 THE LINACRE QUARTERLY ======�;,,,;,;;;;.;;:;;�====The Physician and Suffering MARTIN D. GARRY, O.P., Ph.D.Director-Department of Philosophy Our Lady of Cincinnati College A MONG the gr�a� gi�ts of a genera.us God �ay be counted Life itselJ� However, it 1s given to man with certam reservations. In bestowing such a gift, God reserves to Himself the right to regulate thalife through the laws of nature, and even to determine the limit of it ea�thly endu�ance. T�uly, this is God's prerogative; no man may appropnate that nght to himself, or even interfere with it. That man whcwilfully destroys life, either his own or that of another, has alway:been regarded as guilty of a grave and hideous crime.. From this basic principle, the goal of medical science become:e�ident: to preserve, to strengthen human life within the limits deter,mmed by. Al1:1ighty God. Such a noble goal demands of the physicianthe consoent1ous fulfillment of the arduous task of studying, of taking�are. of the human body, of alleviating bodily sufferings and of curingits a'.lments. Never may he forget that the human body is not a machinedestmed to destruction. Remember he must, in a11 circumstances, thatthe human body is truly the temple of God, destined to exist in theetern.al glory o� heaven. What a sublime cal1ing! For, in curing the P��sica] orgamsm of man, the physician helps to reconstruct the'd1vme. temple.To fulfil] this high mission, the physician necessarily, needs not onlyknowled��· b�t also, in equal measure, charity as well. By profession,the physi�1an 1s not merely a scientist; he is, in a certain sense, a priestof that science dedicated to the bodily welfare of the human race.Some years ago, in welcoming a group of physicians, the HolyF�t�er .spoke of the close resemblance between the priestly and medicalm'.n�stne�. The Ho]?' Fat .h�r clearly pointed out that the priestlymm1stry is also a medical mmistry because its purpose is to bring health an_d soun�n.ess to_ souls. Being both preservative and curative, thepnestly mmistry aids in restoring health to the body. Illustrating H· · own off ic�, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Divine Found�;of the pnesthood ca11ed Himself, Physician; and again, when He saidTHE LINACRE QUARTERLY 13 to those who reproached Him for associating with sinners, "They thatare in health need not a physician but they that are ill." A being of soul and of body, man expresses unity of life and action.Spiritual medicine, therefore, will be allied to corporal medicine. Infact, the physician of the soul may do much to make easier the work ofthe physician of the body. The latter may be also the physician of the soul; he effects such a nobility, not only indirectly by the honest exerciseof his profession, but directly by his own spiritual standards. Gratefulare we to the many physicians who have been and are real precursorsof the priest in the care of souls. Throughout your years of experience, you have come face to face with misery and illness of every description. Your profession necessarilydemands that you overcome any natural repugnance to which suchsights and contacts give rise. Animated by the proper spirit, a goodphysician does not lose his sense of commiseration and sympathy forthose who suffer; rather, the good physician continuously strives torefine and to increase that sense during all the days of his profession.To be truly and sincerely sympathetic in mind and heart, is one of themost powerful remedies of the physician's profession. In this, he perfectshis role as priest of the medical science. Never will he allow a suffererto feel shame at seeking human sympathy and understanding. Did notthe strongest Man this earth has ever seen seek human consolation inHis suffering? What did He receive? Those whom He had saved, thosewhom He had counse11ed and consoled, utterly neglected Him. As ifnothing at all were to happen, they slept on, in a deep calm, as Hesuff.ered and prepared to die for them. Abandoned by men, left alone tosuffer the greatest physical and mental pain that any man has everendured, Christ experienced such utter desolation as to be beyond thedescriptive power of any mortal . It is true that Christ was Divine, butHe was perfectly human as well. Filled with a tenderness beyond ourweak comprehension, His human heart sought in vain for a word, onekind word of human consolation. How tragic! Great will be the charity, the mercy of that physician who instills into his incurably suffering patient the desire to turn to Christ, to findin Him the great consoler of Mankind. Throughout His earthly life, themerciful Christ brought anew health to diseased bodies, sight to blind eyes, strength to paralyzed limbs and even life to the dead. As then, so·now the mercifully risen Christ remains, for all time, the one, greatPhysician of the universe. Great too will be the eternal reward of that physician who gives tohis patients his own deep-rooted conviction, that suffering, in any form,14 THE LINACRE QUARTERLY can be for the sick a means to go to God. At the moment a man learn1that he really needs God, at that very moment he has begun to grasrthe real purpose of life. What a bitter lesson! Yet, a very profitable onefor it is then that man begins to see that suffering is, in reality, arinvitation to turn to God. Before the eyes of the suffering must be hekthat eternal principle: No one is too small; no one is unimportant to hf the concern of God. To every sufferer the outstretched arms of Christon the Crucifix beckon to come to Him. The more completely, the monconfidently the suffering soul places itself in the arms of the Crucifiedthe more certainly will that soul be using pain as a stepping�stone to itfeternal union with God. Truly, here, in suffering, is the invitation tcspiritual greatness. But the sorrow and tragedy of it all is that pain can be seen in wholly different light. The modern world would never dare to think ofgoing directly to God for consolation . Yet, it has not offered, it cannot off er, any worthwhile substitute to a soul sunk in the depths of intenseand incurable suffering. The modern world, with its glorification of allthat is material and transitory, ridicules, scoffs at the Christian philoso­phy of suffering. Yet, what promises has the modern world offered tcthe advocates of its philosophy? Perhaps, fame or gain passing withtime. But, what promises, what rewards can be given to those, of firmconviction in mind and heart, of the Christian philosophy of suffering?"Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared foryou from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gaveme to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger,and you took me in. Naked, and you covered me; sick and you visitedme; I was in prison and you came to me. Then shall the just answerH_im, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee; thirstyand gave thee to drink? When did we see thee a stranger, and took theein? or naked; and covered thee? Or when did we see thee sick or inprison, and come to thee? and the King answering, shall say to them: Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these, my leastbrethren, you did it to ME."The above was addressed to members of the medical staff of Our Ladyof Merc;1 Hospital, Mariemont, Cincinnati, Ohio on the occasion of theMass ot Thanksgiving offered in the hospital chapel on the Feast ofThe-Holy Family. Some 50 of our Catholic hospitals inaugurated the custom of celebrating�he . Obstetricians' fv!�ss of Thanksgiving this year. Several hospitalsinvited all staff physicians for the occasion. Happy to plan this for theirdoctors, many of our administrators reported enthusiastic acceptance ofthe plan and will observe this Mass annually on the Feast of theHoly Family. THE LJNACRE QUARTERLY The Medical Audit Catholic doctors and hospitals are alwa�s intereste� inmethods of improving the quality of_ m_edica.l car� .. Sincethe medical review or medical audit is �e1�g d_iscussed rather widely in medical circles and since it is being· used in some hospitals, the editors and staff of LINACRE °:UAR�TERL y believe that an explanation of it would be of inter� est to the readers of LINACRE QUARTERLY. M'.. Charle.s �· B MS HA LLB. instructor in hospital admmis� erry, · · · ., · ' · l f tration, has, therefore, prepared the following artic e. orLINACRE QUARTERLY. 15 ONG before circulation managers realized the tremend?�S potentialslf or of the derogatory "health" article, organized med1cme,_ throughLI its officers and committees, was encouraging better medical care.These voluntary associations could do little at the national le:7el exc�ptt f ulate adopt and publicize standards .  Direct corrective actiono orm , 1 d h . s county and Id ly be initiated at the local !eve , an t e vanou . :�;e ;:dical associations were delegated the �es��nsibilitk fo; tak;gwhatever action was deemed necessary against md1v1dual o_ en. ers. o be successful. this program required the honest and conscientious sup-port of all its members. The theory that only a doctor could pass judgment upon_ the compe�t : f another was and is widely accepted, with the inevitable resultt�:�\:latively" few are ever called to justify their actions. Beca��e ofthis bond of professional comradeship that exists betw_een all phys1c1an.s,and because of the subjective nature of their work, �n� doctor willseldom expose a contemporary to any unfavorable publicity. . L ders in the field of medicine realized that if a program desig�edea . d bl· rt of the medicalto maintain the respect, prestige an pu ,c suppo b 1 d profession were to succeed, a more realistic approach had to . e evo ve_ ·The answer was as simple as it was obvious: enlist the act�ve supportof hospital governing boards. If governing boards of hosp1t�ls wouldinsist that physicians meet certain standards before grantmg . them rivile es in the hospital. a powerful sanction would �e estabhsh�d.;here gis nothing wrong with this technique_; the. �ed1cal professiondiscovered a practical approach to accomplish its m1ss1on, and everyone,the patient, the doctor and the hospital benefits. 

The Physician and Suffering

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