The Church has always built hospitals
by Anthony Esolen
Why were there no hospitals, for anyone and everyone, in the ancient world? Because Jesus had yet to give mankind, through his Church, the great directive.
One day, as Jesus was entering Capernaum in Galilee, a Roman centurion sent for him, and pleaded with him to heal his dying servant whom he dearly loved.
The Jewish elders joined in the plea, because this centurion was a friend of the Jews. He may have been, in his heart, a convert to the faith in the one God. "He loves our nation," they said, "and has built a synagogue for us!" Seeming to take no note of that reason, Jesus approaches the centurion's house, but the centurion, abashed because he knows that he is a pagan and a sinner, says, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed."
Jesus marvels, saying, "I have not found such faith in all of Israel!" And the servant was healed from that moment.
But the scene prompts a question. The centurion is rich enough to build a synagogue at his own expense. He lives in the bustling town of Capernaum, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee; and the new Roman city of Caesarea Philippi is not far away. Why hasn't he brought his servant to the hospital?
You will answer, "Because there were no hospitals in those days," and you will be right, in part. There were health resorts, often built up around natural hot springs in those lands perched atop the volcanic ring of fire. Wherever the Romans found hot springs, they built resorts, even as far north as England: Bath. But there was no such thing as a hospital, where you could go if you were ill and needed care and were not rich enough to get to the spas, and had no money to hire the learned physicians. Apparently there was nowhere to go in Capernaum, even for a centurion with means.
And that prompts another question: "Why were there no hospitals?" It cannot be for want of funds. The Romans were energetic at public works, and when their armies were not busy fighting, they were employed as a corps of engineers and construction workers, building aqueducts, theaters, the civic halls we know as basilicas, temples, roads, and bridges. They could have built hospitals also. Nor was it for want of medical knowledge. The Greeks had learned medicine from the traditions of the Egyptians, whose accumulated knowledge spanned two thousand years. The Greek Hippocrates had bequeathed to the world the oath that bears his name, enjoining a sacred code upon all physicians. "The art takes a long time to learn," said Hippocrates, "and life is short." Those are not the words of a quack.
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Read more: catholiceducation.org
Why were there no hospitals, for anyone and everyone, in the ancient world? Because Jesus had yet to give mankind, through his Church, the great directive.
One day, as Jesus was entering Capernaum in Galilee, a Roman centurion sent for him, and pleaded with him to heal his dying servant whom he dearly loved.
The Jewish elders joined in the plea, because this centurion was a friend of the Jews. He may have been, in his heart, a convert to the faith in the one God. "He loves our nation," they said, "and has built a synagogue for us!" Seeming to take no note of that reason, Jesus approaches the centurion's house, but the centurion, abashed because he knows that he is a pagan and a sinner, says, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed."
Jesus marvels, saying, "I have not found such faith in all of Israel!" And the servant was healed from that moment.
But the scene prompts a question. The centurion is rich enough to build a synagogue at his own expense. He lives in the bustling town of Capernaum, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee; and the new Roman city of Caesarea Philippi is not far away. Why hasn't he brought his servant to the hospital?
You will answer, "Because there were no hospitals in those days," and you will be right, in part. There were health resorts, often built up around natural hot springs in those lands perched atop the volcanic ring of fire. Wherever the Romans found hot springs, they built resorts, even as far north as England: Bath. But there was no such thing as a hospital, where you could go if you were ill and needed care and were not rich enough to get to the spas, and had no money to hire the learned physicians. Apparently there was nowhere to go in Capernaum, even for a centurion with means.
And that prompts another question: "Why were there no hospitals?" It cannot be for want of funds. The Romans were energetic at public works, and when their armies were not busy fighting, they were employed as a corps of engineers and construction workers, building aqueducts, theaters, the civic halls we know as basilicas, temples, roads, and bridges. They could have built hospitals also. Nor was it for want of medical knowledge. The Greeks had learned medicine from the traditions of the Egyptians, whose accumulated knowledge spanned two thousand years. The Greek Hippocrates had bequeathed to the world the oath that bears his name, enjoining a sacred code upon all physicians. "The art takes a long time to learn," said Hippocrates, "and life is short." Those are not the words of a quack.
...............
Read more: catholiceducation.org
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