Analise D Mello MBBS, MS obgyn, DNB

“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand.
touched the leper, and said to him, 
“I do will it. Be made clean.”

As I read the week’s Gospel, I smiled. I am sitting past midnight in my apartment, extremely anxious and stressed about my final exam, the main oral exam on Friday! I am nervous and scared (like every exam—ask my parents), and I am stress studying!

This Gospel made me smile—it made me realize I am that leper! the unclean spirit but with faith way less than him. He believed and rushed to Jesus while I am chewing my nails off their beds in anxiety and stress eating food!

All my life I have been known to make a to-do list every morning and try to adhere to it—most days I fail, but it always gives me a sense of control of the day! Knowing where I am expected to be at any given time makes me feel secure about my life. So whenever I walk into an exam hall, mentally I know how well prepared I am or how I could be (regrets of procrastinating), and that combined with the fact that I have no control of what will be asked or what patients I will be allotted or the fact that I may blank out of sheer anxiety and stress (happened once 8 years ago) gives me a tummy ache, and the cortisol hormone is soaring high in my blood!

And as always, my mother and father would laugh at my nerves and calm me down with a prayer and blessing (via video call). I always pray for the help to recollect what I know and never ask for an easy exam!

So today while I share some of my anxious thoughts, I learn from the leper in the Gospel to have faith and surrender to Jesus and ask him to make me clean of these thoughts and be the doctor I should be to my patients!!

Keep me in your prayers!

AMEN

About the Author

Hello! I’m Dr Analise Maria D’ Mello, (MBBS, MS obgyn, DNB) from the beautiful state of Goa in India. I was born and raised in a Roman Catholic family, learning my prayers, catechism and Catholic values from my parents and grandmothers. I am currently practicing as an obstetrician and gynecologist for 3 years since my residency.

I often speak on anti-abortion to college students and married couples, and counsel distressed pregnant women with appropriate medical advice. I am part of the St Luke’s Medical Guild of Catholic Doctors in my state providing services in prisons, and Lenten and advent retreats for medical professionals and their families.