Paying it forward—Stewardship in Action

By Robert J. Motley, MD

Dr. George Isajiw gave me a complimentary membership to the Catholic Medical Association when I was a first-year med student 40+ years ago. It came with a subscription to the Linacre Quarterly, the CMA journal. That journal was a fountain of knowledge and support for me in my desire to be a good physician and a faithful Catholic. That same year, one of my classmate’s father had a stroke that left him severely disabled. His doctors offered a poor prognosis. I had just read an article on care of the severely disabled in the Linacre. I gave my copy to my friend Jack. A few weeks later, he shared with me how helpful that article was to him and his family, as they made decisions about his father’s care.

Fast forward to 2025: I never forgot Dr. Isajiw’s investment in my future. Both the national and local CMA have been there to help me grow in faith, connect with other Catholic colleagues, educate me in important moral issues that continue to emerge in American healthcare, and to defend my rights of conscience all the way from medical school to just three months ago.  Our St. John Neumann Philadelphia CMA Guild is more than a professional association. It is animated by gratitude, prayer, service, mentorship, and stewardship.

The Gospels offer three parables about stewards—one highlighting faithfulness over time, one focusing on generosity and forgiveness, and the parable of the talents. The questions posed by each one of these are: 1) What has God given to me? 2) What is expected of me? 3) How do I respond?

None of the moral dilemmas I faced as a med student have gone away. American healthcare and its educational institutions are challenged by financial pragmatists, secular humanists who don’t fully appreciate the uniqueness of every human person, and some investigators whose research looks only at what can be done, not what should or should not be done. As faithful Catholics, there is hardly a nurse, doc, pharmacist, PA, NP, counselor or student who hasn’t had to give witness or to suffer through persecution for obeying God’s ways, rather than what everyone else is doing (under the guise of “the standard of care”). 

Why does our Guild exist? Why do we need your ongoing contributions and support? Members of our Guild pray for each other through our daily intentions, at the Annual St. Luke’s Mass, and at CMA Masses in each of the five counties surrounding Philadelphia. We’re encouraged when we connect at a picnic, interact with content on our newly designed website or at an educational conference. Each year, we reach 50+ medical and other health professional students through sponsored faith & ethics events—and scholarships to the Annual CMA Bootcamp, a one-week spiritual immersion, ethics training and leadership training conference.

As you think about your annual contributions to your CMA guild, the national CMA — and additional support for our  student programs — please reflect on: What have I been given? What is expected of me? How do I respond?

We depend on your gifts of time, talent, and treasure to help our colleagues thrive in a difficult health care environment and to help “pay it forward” for the next generation of Catholic clinicians who will likely care for us when we need it in the coming years.

Dr. Robert J. Motley is the president of the St John Neumann Philadelphia Guild. He is a family medicine doctor in Allentown, Pennsylvania and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area.

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