Word to the Wise
Saturday, September 13, 2014 - Saturday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 10:14-22 and Luke 6:43-49]"A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks." [Luke]
SEPTEMBER 13 - ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
Some years ago, I was asked to teach a class in "bioethics" to a group of allied health care students at St. Catharine College in Springfield, KY, where I was stationed at the time. These were students who were interested in such fields as pharmacy technology, radiology, nursing, medical records, etc.. At that time, and I presume it is still the case, there was considerable concern in the field of health care about "character formation" in health care providers. When a patient simply becomes "the person in Rm. 333" or "the appendectomy case," health care can become depersonalized and degrading! It becomes important to recognize the role of "virtue" in a health care provider so that they don't make decisions simply on the basis of "procedures." To tap into that "reservoir" that Jesus speaks of in regard to the good person, I would state a situation in caring for a patient and ask a student what he or she would do. The student would often answer well, but when I asked "Why?" the student would often say, "Because that's the way I was raised!"
The point of the class was to instill some principles of care that focused on doing the right thing for the right reasons. The students might do the right thing but he or she would not know why they did it. Respect for the dignity of the patient; avoiding any harm to the patient; doing things that will benefit the patient; and wise and just use of available resources are all values that require reflection and "character formation." Jesus speaks to this in today's gospel. If a person is "raised" in a culture of violence whether it be in the wider world or just in the domestic situation, the results become clear later on. Can we have the honesty to ask about our own "character formation" and see what we can do about it in the light of the gospel? AMEN
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