… Jean Vanier recently addressed the Canadian Parliament’s Committee on Palliative Care. ” … we are all vulnerable people. Each one of us is important, especially the weakest among us. In our vulnerability we are easily hurt¸ and we have elaborate systems of self protection which keep us from being open with each other. We […]
jean vanier on the care of vulnerable people … Read More »
Millet’s ‘The Sick Child’ “The simple and daily gesture of a mother, when looked at deeply, reflects the love and patience of those who elect to entirely devote themselves to keep the ill person company. But it may be that only she who takes part in giving birth can most serenely accept the tribulations and
accompanying the sick … Read More »
… to avoid being present to those for whom we care? … read dom Andre Louf … ” … for me really to love, it is important that I feel a sense of need myself. My own need for love plays a role as great as the material or even the spiritual needs of others.
active, generous service as a way to avoid love? Read More »
… “After so much stress on the necessity of a leader to prevent his own personal feelings and attitudes from interfering in a helping relationship … it seems necessary to re-establish the basic principle that no one can help anyone without becoming involved, without entering with his whole person into the painful situation, without taking
wounded healer … henri nouwen … Read More »
… an interview with Thea Bowman, “a Franciscan Sister who became a huge inspiration to black Catholic communities, and to wider circles for her joy and gratitude, her nobility of spirit, and her very real spirituality.” “When I first found out I had cancer, I didn’t know if I should pray for healing or life
let me live until I die … Read More »
… a profile of Daniel Sulmasy… a Franciscan brother who is also a … physician, philosopher & member of the Obama administration’s bioethics council. “There is no heroic physician who inspires my medicine. It is more about St. Francis embracing the leper. That is the sort of way in which I’m inspired to be a
embracing the leper … Read More »
… Giancarlo Cesana’s reflections on our limitedness. “Limits are our human condition, to be shared. This is the only way in which we can respect also the people whose limitations are apparently more evident than ours.” “If I am the ugliest man in the world, but the most beautiful woman in the world loves me,
we are all limited … Read More »
… burnout … compassion fatigue … brokenness … emotional fatigue … stress … anxiety … The paradox is that it is only through our woundedness that we are able to heal others. Frank Ostaseski discusses here. (scroll down a little to “Too of ten in care-giving …”) Rachel Remen discusses in a previous post. Leonce
we have many words to express our woundedness… Read More »
“Being whole doesn’t mean being more than who you are this very moment. It means being who you are this very moment. It means accepting the parts of yourself that used to make you ashamed, or feel small. These are the parts of yourself that will allow you to connect to other people, allow you
on being whole … serving others from our need … Read More »
… use of the first-person plural … One of our articles in Journal Club this week is Kinsman et. al.’s “We’ll Do this Together”: The Role of the First Person Plural in Fostering Partnership in Patient-physician Relationships. (J Gen Intern Med 25(3):186-93) (NLM link) Tulsky comments in PC-FACS … “This well designed mixed-methods study demonstrates
patient – physician communication … Read More »
