Medicine is a genuine ministry. All one need to do is to read the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles to know that the ministry of Jesus and his early disciples was a ministry of preaching and healing. Similarly, St. Francis of Assisi and the early friars preached in city squares and cared for lepers. Yet, while much has been written about the spirituality of patients coping with illness, little attention has been paid to the spirituality of being a health care professional.

Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, O.F.M., M.D., Ph.D., presents “The Patient as Teacher: What Dr. Dan learned from Fred,” a narrative account of his relationship with one patient as a means of providing insight into medicine as a spiritual discipline. Review by The Catholic Theological Union