Doctor and Patient

Doctors and nurses have a unique view into suffering and pain. Day after day, they see people at their most vulnerable, not only physically but often emotionally. By taking responsibility for the lives of others, they are blessed with the privilege of comforting and healing, but they also carry a burden that can be overwhelming--unless they are strengthened by the Divine Physician.

Adrienne von Speyr, one of the freshest and most original spiritual writers of the twentieth century, draws from her long experience as a medical doctor to teach Christian medical professionals the art of treating and loving their patients. Physicians and nurses are called by God to be more than mere custodians of health, but bearers of Jesus’ good news, healers who care for the body as well as soul. To be true to their calling, they must come to understand their patients as whole human persons--indeed, as their own equals.

This book--at once powerful and practical--offers a spirituality of the medical field. For the Catholic doctor or nurse, the life of faith ＂must influence all his actions. . . . It is the primary thing; everything must conform to it.＂ By being transparent to God and faithful to their duties, physicians and nurses can bring about profound healing and, if they are humble, give their patients a foretaste of the tender care that our Father has for us.

Adrienne von Speyr (1902-1967) was a Swiss medical doctor, a convert to Catholicism, a mystic, and an author of more than sixty books on spirituality and theology. She collaborated closely with theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, her confessor for twenty-seven years. Among her most important works are Handmaid of the Lord, Man Before God, Confession, and her commentary on the Gospel of John.