Dr. Rey Espiritu

Dr. Albert Schweitzer- Man of God, Man for Others

by Dr. Reynaldo E. Espiritu

One lazy Sunday afternoon while listening to one of my favorite songs, “Fool on the Hill” by the great composer Sergio Mendez, I was cleaning up my bookshelf and cabinet of old magazines, books and medical literature, and all those stuff. We have this habit of keeping “things” and we hesitate to throw them away. But you feel good when finally you let go of them. Detachment. That’s it, let go. Anyway, as I was dusting off an encyclopedia, I happened to come across a familiar name- Dr. Albert Schweitzer. My mind raced back to my high school days. I remember how my teachers would talk about him. In fact we studied his life and works. I asked my students and some fellow doctors whether they have come across that name. I got blank stares. Never heard.

Let me share with you the life and work of this extraordinary doctor. He is considered to be one of the greatest Christians of his time. He was born in 1875 in Germany. He studied theology and became a preacher. He became internationally known as a writer on theology. He loved music and became fascinated with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. He interpreted the works of Bach and became an authority of Bach’s life.

In 1902 he became principal of the St. Thomas Theological College of the University of Strasbourg. But because of his passion (“That’s it – passion!”) to serve humanity he decided to become a medical missionary and studied medicine. After medical school, he wanted to go to Africa. He devoted his life to the service of the poor people in the hinterlands of Africa. He raised funds by giving concerts and built a hospital and a leper colony in Lambarine, now Gabon. His untiring devotion and passion to serve the poor people of Africa won him the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize. He used the $33,000 prize money to expand the hospital. In 1955, he was conferred by Queen Elizabeth of England the highest civilian award – the Order of Merit. Being a doctor and an advocate of life and the dignity of the human person, he opposed the atomic weapon testing. He believed that radioactive fallout could be detrimental to human beings.

Schweitzer’s passion for serving God and man is rooted in his philosophy - “reverence for life”. He believed that God has gifted us with intellect and free will. It is up to us whether we use our mind in self-indulgence or self-gratification like many of our lawmakers (“Ooops- sorry- back to Schweitzer.”) or use them to serve others. A Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, had this to say – “to know and not to do is not to know”. Schweitzer also believed in the principle of “thought and action”. Sad to say many of our lawmakers are only good in thought and debate, consuming people’s money and time in debates. No unified action to bring us out of this “Third World pit”. “Bakit ba nabalik ako sa mga lawmakers?” Well, sometimes to emphasize the good we need to cite the negative of a human creature. The stars are brightest in a darkened sky.

Dr. Schweitzer was a man of “thought and action”. And a man for all seasons. Schweitzer was a healer, scientist, physician, musician, preacher, missionary, a brilliant philosopher and a humanist. He died in 1965.

The following is an excerpt from Dr. Schweitzer’s writings “Man Belongs to Man” and the “Teaching of Reverence for Life” which were lifted from Belinda Cunanan’s article on “Faith” in her column “Political Tidbits” in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, January 12, 2004:

“Three kinds of progress are significant: progress in knowledge and technology; progress in the socialization of man; progress to spirituality. The last is the most important.

“As soon as man does not take his existence for granted, but beholds it as something unfathomably mysterious, thought begins. Ethical affirmation of life is the intellectual act by which man ceases simply to live at random and begins to concern himself reverently with his own life, so that he may realize its true value. And the first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings.

“To the primitive, this solidarity has narrow limits. It is confined, first to his blood relations, then to the members of his tribe, who represent to him the family enlarged. I have such primitives in my hospital. If I ask an ambulatory patient to undertake some small service for a patient who must stay in bed, he will do it only if the bedridden patient belongs to his tribe. If that is not the case, he will answer me with wide-eyed innocence: “This man is no brother of mine.” Neither rewards nor threats will induce him to perform a service for such a stranger.

“But as soon as man begins to reflect upon himself and his relationship to others, he becomes aware that men as such are his equals and his neighbors. Gradually he sees the circle of his responsibilities widening until it includes all human beings with whom, he has dealings. In the preaching of Jesus, as in that of Paul the Apostle, it is a fundamental tenet that man has a duty toward every other human being. The idea of brotherhood of all human beings is inherent in the metaphysics of most of the great religions. Moreover, since antiquity, philosophy has presented the case for humanitarianism as a concept recommended by reason.

“Throughout history, however the insight that we have a wider duty toward human beings has never attained the dominance to which it is entitled. Down to our own times it has been undermined by difference of race, religion and nationality.

“Man belongs to man. Man is entitled to man. There is much coldness among us because we obey a law of proper reserve and do not dare to be as cordial as we really are. The ethics of reverence for life require that all of us somehow and in something shall act as men toward other men. Those who in their occupation have nothing so to give, and who posses nothing else they can give away, must sacrifice some of their leisure, no matter how sparse it may be.

“Fortunate are those who find some good cause in which they can act as man for other men. Their own humanity must be enriched.

“Open your eyes and seek another human being in need of a little time, a little friendliness, a little company, a little work. It may be a lonely, an embittered, a sick or an awkward person for whom you can do something, to whom you can mean something. Perhaps it will be an old person or a child. Or else a good cause that needs volunteer worker. Do not lose heart, even if you must wait a bit before finding the right thing, even if you must take several attempts.

“None of us knows what he accomplishes and what he gives to humanity. That is hidden from us, and should remain so, though sometimes we are allowed to see just a little bit of it, so we will not be discouraged.

“Our age must achieve spiritual renewal. A new renaissance must come: the renaissance in which mankind discovers that ethical action is the supreme truth and the supreme utilitarianism. By it mankind will be liberated.”

By the time this humble contribution of mine will be out it will be almost Christmas. We could be hearing Christmas carols in the air and seeing Christmas lanterns lighting the roadside. We Filipinos are blessed because we have the longest Christmas season among all Christian nations and the season is always a time of grace – and that is if you believe in grace. Let us just remember that it is not the season but the reason for the season. “For God loved the world so much that He gave His only son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

May the life and work of Dr. Schweitzer inspire us and challenge us and may the spirit of our Lord Jesus – the greatest physician and healer of all time stir our hearts and minds and push us out of our “comfort zones” and to “let go” of the many earthly things that we try to hold on to. Our country is in crisis and we have not progressed much (health care, science & technology, poverty alleviation) compared with our Asian neighbors. Let us unite in “thought and action”. It demands sacrifice and heroism for a better Philippines and for the future of our children. “To whom much is given much is required, Doc!”

May the Lord, our Savior, be more merciful to us this coming season of grace, give us the spirit of courage and boldness to love this country with passion and to be men for others – especially the underprivileged. A blessed Christmas to all!


NOTE: Please read and reflect on “Panata sa Diyos at Bayan”

Mahal ko ang Diyos at ang bayang ipinagkaloob
niya sa akin.

Handa akong ibigay ang aking talino, kakayahan,
yaman at buhay para sa ikauunlad ng aking mga
kababayan lalo ng mga mahirap.

Ipagtatanggol ko ang mga naaapi. Ako ay
magiging tinig ng mga walang tinig, mata ng mga
walang paningin, kamay at paa ng mga kapos sa
buhay.

Sisikapin kong buwagin ang mga kultura at
sistemang nagpapahirap sa bayan.

Huhubugin ko ang aking mga anak na may
marubdob na pag-ibig sa Diyos at sa Inang
Bayan.

Gabayan nawa ako ng Maykapal.



Dr. Reynaldo E. Espiritu
Ass. Professor, AUFCOM
Head, Department of Pharmacology
Professorial Lecturer, Bioethics
Provincial Area Director Couples for Christ