Upstairs: The Impracticality of Charity

This address champions the profound spiritual wisdom of being "impractical"—a selfless generosity that prioritizes faith and charity over worldly calculation. Bishop Sheen suggests that this is a vital message for anyone who feels their efforts are small, as he argues that saints, poets, and all truly great people operate on this principle of giving without counting the cost. He proposes that the greatest spiritual endeavors, like the Catholic Medical Mission Board itself, are founded not on pragmatic business plans but on a radical trust in God's providence, making this a powerful call to embrace a life of service and faith-filled giving.Bishop Sheen develops this theme by honoring the impracticality of everyone involved in the mission's success. He celebrates the donors who give from their resources, illustrating with a parable that we are spiritually fed only when we "feed our neighbor." He extends this praise to the pharmaceutical companies, describing their millions of dollars in donated medicine not as a business loss, but as a beautiful adherence to the biblical command to leave "grapes on the vine" for the poor and the passerby. He explains that this care is not for a specific creed, but for "humanity," for the human clay that God has fashioned.The talk culminates by focusing on the doctors, nurses, and medical professionals who volunteer their skills, representing the highest form of impractical love. Through moving anecdotes about figures like Dr. Tom Dooley and Mother Teresa, Sheen shows that this selfless action is the most powerful form of witness, proving that healing and forgiveness are two sides of the same mission. He concludes with the touching story of a doctor whose simple office sign, "Updike, Upstairs," became his epitaph, a perfect summary of a life lived in service to others and a reminder that the reward for such impracticality is eternal.Title podcast: Upstairs: The Impracticality of CharityName speech: Address at the 50th Anniversary of the Catholic Medical Mission BoardWhen he gave it: 1978Where, on which occasion: This was a keynote speech delivered at the 50th Anniversary Dinner of the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB)