RESUMO
The metaphor of Christ the physician features prominently in the gospels and the preaching of the Church Fathers, emphasizing that Jesus' work of healing extends beyond bodily ills to spiritual healing as well. Given that the end of medicine is "health," which involves wholeness of body and soul, Christ is uniquely able to accomplish this in us-beginning with grace in our souls in this life, and culminating in the resurrection of the body and restoration of body and soul in glory at the end of time. Drawing on the thought of the Church Fathers and Thomas Aquinas, this paper considers how Catholic health care is distinctly positioned to continue Christ's work of bodily and spiritual healing through medical and sacramental approaches-as we await our perfect and ultimate healing upon Christ's return in glory.
RESUMO
Remembering Christ's words of His presence when two or three are gathered, a physician and a patient's wife join in prayer, knowing that Christ shares our wounds as much as He heals them.
RESUMO
Dying in the United States is characterized as: medicalized, depersonalized, high technology, fragmented with frequent transitions among care settings, burdensome to patients and families, driven by efficiency and effectiveness, and lacking in key areas, for example, access to palliative care and adequate pain and symptom treatment. Patients and families are often left with a choice of two extremes: vitalism or utilitarian pessimism (utilitarianism). The Catholic Church, however, rejects both of these extremes, and Catholic social teaching (CST) at end of life focuses on ordinary-extraordinary treatments/means, a culture of life and human dignity, accompaniment and community, and caring for whole persons through the end of life. The Catholic tradition of ordinary-extraordinary means is helpful to guide complex end-of-life decisions, regardless of one's religious beliefs, and offers a middle ground between vitalism and utilitarianism that can inform end-of-life care and decision-making for all patients in Catholic health care. While it does not provide answers, it offers guidance and enables conversations that are crucial for the dying and their families to make autonomous, informed decisions about end-of-life care. It provides an opportunity for the dying to let the care team, loved ones, and decision-makers know what a life with meaning, purpose, and passion is for them-and how they want to live and die. This article will summarize the problem, describe end-of-life Catholic teaching, and discuss how it offers a middle-ground. Arguments for and against vitalism and utilitarianism will be explored, including a discussion of CST's response to those receiving care in Catholic health care facilities who are outside the Catholic tradition and do not believe in the teaching. The last section describes a model of collaborative partnership where local parishes and Catholic health care come together to tackle the challenges of caring for and ministering to the seriously ill and those facing death.
RESUMO
Catholic medical professionals whose sacred mission of journeying with patients "with suffering" will be challenged regarding the truth of soteriology (how we are saved) with their work with patients. Using St. John Paul's Theology of the Body and "On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering," this essay gives a profound understanding of the coredemption in which healthcare professionals can participate.
RESUMO
The modern problem caused by the Enlightenment of reducing human beings to cadavers seriously affects the image medical professionals have of their art. The world of the spirit and therefore the place of the spiritual soul should be taken into consideration even in problems of physical healings because the human being is a combination of body and spirit. The teachings of faith can contribute to this. Because of the unique attitude of Christianity to the problem of physical and spiritual healing, Christ is a special model and teacher in this.