Students

Boot Camp: A Much-Needed Spiritual CPR

July 11, 2023

By Javier Mariscal

When I signed up for the Catholic Medical Association’s Medical Student and Resident Boot Camp in Ave Maria, Florida, I was seeking answers and support.

In my undergraduate years at Florida State University, I rediscovered the Catholicism of my youth, which I had previously naively dismissed as silly and antiquated. It was an exhilarating yet comforting experience. As GK Chesterton put it in “Orthodoxy,” the experience of discovering the depth and majesty of Christianity has all the fascinating terrors of going abroad combined with all the humane security of coming home again. I spent hundreds of hours reading philosophy and spiritual classics. I marveled at the unmatched beauty of Catholic art and architecture while studying abroad in Spain. It all led me to eventually return to the Faith and began frequenting the sacraments.

However, despite my fascination with Catholic culture and philosophy, I have always struggled to unite science and faith intellectually and practically. These two subjects were almost always presented to me as opposed to one another. In fact, my decision to pursue a career in medicine was partly motivated by my desire to not only intellectually unite science and faith, but also to put this union into practice in my daily life as a physician that cared for body and soul.

The weeklong CMA Boot Camp was undoubtedly a massive step in my journey to integrate science and faith as a future physician. Throughout the week, we started each day with morning prayer and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In the homily for the opening Mass of the retreat, Father Christopher Kubat advised us not to compartmentalize our faith. If Jesus Christ is God, He must touch every aspect of our lives, perhaps especially our careers. Our faith cannot just be something we “do” before difficult tests and on Sundays. Our faith is our greatest strength as clinicians, it allows us to always have hope even in the face of death and show the love of Christ to our ailing patients, who are all made in the image of God.

On the first day, we hit the ground running with a series of talks on prayer by Father Roger Landry. The talks were directed towards Catholic medical students and residents who have incredibly busy lives but still deeply desire to find time to pray. This was the exclusively “spiritual” part of the retreat. It set the tone and laid the foundation for the entire Boot Camp. After this foundation, we arrived at my bread and butter, philosophy. Before getting into the nitty gritty bioethical controversies, Dr Peter Colosi started us off by talking about metaphysics of the human person. I appreciated this because many modern philosophers make the mistake of asking about human virtue before thinking about the proper metaphysics of human personhood.

Those first couple days laid the groundwork for the incredibly in-depth and fascinating discussions on tough bioethical issues including ectopic pregnancy management and brain death, all from a uniquely Catholic perspective. Throughout all these intellectual talks, I also began to form close bonds with my fellow medical students. We had fun and fruitful conversations throughout the day, in the evening socials, and in the pool (it was Florida after all)!

One talk that particularly stood out to me was a talk by former abortionist now passionately pro-life doctor, Dr. John Bruchalski. His medical practice, Tepeyac OB/GYN, operates as the largest fully pro-life OB/GYN in the nation. A few months before the retreat, I had read Dr. Bruchalski’s fantastic memoir, “Two Patients: My Conversion from Abortion to Life-Affirming Medicine,” not knowing that he would be attending the CMA retreat.

Hearing his story passionately retold was incredibly impactful. I could feel the pain and regret he had for having been an abortionist, but I could also see the abundant graces God had poured upon him after his conversion. It was a powerful testament to the mercy of God, and Dr. Bruchalski’s strength of character. I also saw in him a fellow stubborn Christian. He was open and honest about his wrestling with God in the past, and as someone who is an expert wrestler with God (surprise, God always wins), Dr. Bruchalski was a great inspiration and role model to me. I hope to emulate Dr. Bruchalski’s great love for his patients, for the most vulnerable, and for God in my own medical career. We spoke for hours after his talk, and his stories and advice will stay with me as I embark on my medical training and go into the practice of medicine. It was a great privilege to meet him in person.

The CMA Boot Camp was an incredibly formative and fruitful experience. It was intellectually and spiritually enriching, and showed me that it is possible to integrate science and faith both practically and spiritually through the practice of medicine. I know the spiritual direction, new friendships, and abundant graces I received through this special time with like-minded students and physicians will help me bring the love of Christ to my future patients.

Javier Mariscal is an incoming first year medical student in Florida.

Please consider donating to the Medical Student and Resident Education Fund that makes it possible for students like Javier and others to attend Boot Camp and the Annual Educational Conference. You generosity is much appreciated.