One Path of Mercy

Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, referred to mercy as “the principal path.” This week the Atkins Center for Ethics and the Social Justice Institutes co-sponsored a presentation by Sister Karen Schneider, RSM, MD, MPH, who was in Pittsburgh to meet our students who are going to Haiti in the spring on Carlow’s first alternative spring break trip to Haiti. In this public talk, “One Path of Mercy,” aimed at the wider Carlow community, she spoke about her work in Haiti, Guyana, Peru, Kenya, and Nigeria and how her own path of mercy was changed during an internship in the interior of Guyana as a 4^th year medical student. Today she is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, focusing on pediatric medicine and tropical medicine. For those who missed her presentation here are three points that were particularly striking for me.

First, for our students, Dr. Schneider emphasized that there are so many paths for students, even once they’ve chosen their majors. Her story is an illustration of the many different paths that one can take and how the experiences we have in life, particularly in encountering people and situations of dire need, can have a profound impact on us. Gaining such an awareness is an important aspect of a transformative education that is grounded in the liberal arts. For Carlow students, opportunities to meet and encounter people in need through service trips, service learning courses, and Mercy Service Day have the potential to be life changing. These kinds of experiences are intentionally embedded in the curriculum and are an important dimension of a Carlow undergraduate education as a reflection of our Sisters of Mercy heritage. Yet there is no single path of mercy, and every student’s journey on the path is unique, as was Dr. Schneider’s.

Second, Dr. Schneider emphasized the simplicity of mercy. “Mercy is compassionate treatment of those in distress,” she said. She developed this idea as she shared from her experiences in places with no potable water, where malnutrition and lack of access to basic medical care lead to the death and suffering of children. She explained, “There are so many places in the world where a simple intervention can save lives.” She also read a great quote from Catherine McAuley that emphasizes the realistic, action-oriented approach of the Sisters of Mercy: “The poor need help today… not tomorrow.” Her experiences provided several powerful examples of how an individual can make an impact in peoples’ lives through simple service in their area of study and future areas of professional expertise. The connection between one’s field of study and the opportunities it opens to serve others was also a timely reminder about the value of higher education in educating students to meet the complex needs that exist in the world today.

Third, she reflected on why she keeps going back to these difficult situations. In the end, it amounted to the idea that if she did not go, or if no one went, the dramatic changes in peoples’ lives that she sees would not be possible. In places where malnutrition, intestinal worms, cleft palates, and hernias go untreated, the opportunity to receive treatment can radically change a person’s life. She explained, “Surgery on one child will not change the world, but for that one child the world will change forever.”

Seeing a lecture hall full of Carlow faculty, staff, and students from nursing, biology, and other disciplines engage with her presentation was encouraging. Part of a mercy-oriented education that is grounded in the liberal arts includes expanding students’ visions of what might be possible for them in serving others. There are many paths our students can follow as they complete their degrees and pursue graduate studies or move directly into a career. Dr. Schneider shared her example as one path with hope that our students will find their way on the path of mercy as well.

Catherine McAuley’s words about mercy as the principal path are worth quoting in full to conclude this post. She referred to mercy as “the principal path pointed out by Jesus Christ to those who are desirous of following Him” (source: MercyWorld.org). Mercy is a path that is open to all, and is the path modeled by Jesus. Dr. Schneider’s talk was a challenge to all of us in the audience to reflect on our own path. Where have we seen situations of need and been able to show mercy? Who will we encounter on the path of mercy today?