A Christopher Prayer for Doctors

I was recently looking through a book written by The Christophers’ founder, Maryknoll Father James Keller, in 1958, and came across this prayer for doctors that he wrote. It’s timeless and embodies the spirit of godly service that should define the life of a physician. If you’re a doctor yourself or know one, please pass along Father Keller’s prayer to them:

“Thank you, O Lord, for the privilege of being a doctor; for letting me serve as Your instrument in ministering to the sick and afflicted. May I always treat with reverence the human life which You have brought into being. Keep me constantly alert to see that the sacred right to live is never violated for even the least individual.

“Deepen my love for people so that I will always give of myself gladly and generously to those stricken with illness and suffering. Help me to listen patiently, diagnose carefully, prescribe conscientiously, and follow through faithfully.

“Teach me to blend gentleness with skill to be a doctor with a heart as well as a mind. Let me be calm without being cold, patient without being weak, and strong without being proud. Help me Lord, to give encouragement without over-confidence to tell the truth without being blunt.

“May I be prompt to relieve pain quick to hold out the hand of honest hope. Inspire me always to show a special tenderness for the poor and forgotten, for those who are broken in spirit as well as in body. Amen.”

– Father James Keller, M.M.