Patch Adams Reflection

In Patch Adams, Robin Williams portrays a doctor who strives to “improve the quality of life.” The movie is a perfect example of many cases of sacramental awareness and the sacrament of Annointing of the Sick. Patch encounters a “once-brilliant” man in a psychiatric clinic. Arthur Mendelson helps hunterThe first character Patch meets is Arthur Mendelson. Arthur influences Patch’s ability to see through problems. In a Christ-like manner, we must see through and past the problems and look ahead toward the solution. Christ died for our sins by looking past the problem.

Patch also helps his roommate

, Rudy, out. This brings on a revelation for Patch which lets him see through the scientific names of diseases. He learns to treat the person, not the disease. When he agrees to become a doctor, Patch is not only venturing into the field to physically heal people but also more importantly to spiritually heal people. This parallels Annointing of the Sick After meeting his two close friends, Truman and Carin, Patch desires to reach out and help people, not to bury himself in his books. His friends quickly jump on the bandwagon and help him to carry out his theories.

The sacramental awareness of Patch’s roommate

is questionable until we find that he is genuinely good in the end. However, Dean Walcot is up until the end a foe of Patch’s. He is concerned with the physical aspect of healing much more than the spiritual aspect of healing. In the old church, Annointing of the Sick was sometimes believed to be physical. The spiritual aspect of healing would later