This �White Mass� honors you for your commitment to life and dignity

By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami

I must begin by making a confession.  When I was finishing our meeting of the Florida Catholic Conference this noon at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, the thought occurred to me to pass up the opportunity of driving up here on the Florida Turnpike and just call up to cancel.  To be honest I might have given in to that temptation if it weren’t for the gospel reading we have just heard.  But I didn’t want to appear like that son who said “yes” to his father but then didn’t go and work in the vineyard.  The most important part of life is simply showing up.  And you all know that in your own lives – talk is cheap, it’s the walk that counts.

But I am happy to be here – and I hope that all of you are as well.  This Mass concludes the national meeting of the Catholic Medical Association. Given the various challenges we Catholics face in the public square – and in the health profession – we need each other more than ever. We need to be, as St. Paul says in today’s second reading, “of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing”.  This is a “White Mass” – the reference is not to the white vestments of the priests – but since this Mass gathers together doctors and other medical professionals it refers to the white smocks that traditionally identified doctors and nurses at work.  Of course, today “scrubs” come in a variety of colors; but, nevertheless, this “White Mass” honors you for your commitment to the life and dignity of the human person shown in your compassionate care of the sick.

The gospel reading today puts before us the question of honesty and integrity – Jesus through the parable of these two sons unmasks the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees who as the religious leaders of their people appear to say “Yes” to God but actually are saying “No” to him by their rejection of first John the Baptist and now Jesus himself.

Today, many give “lip service” to the noble aspirations of the healing professions.  But actions betray them. In Caritas in Veritate, the now Pope emeritus, Benedict XVI, repeating what his predecessor St. John Paul II had already wrote, cautions that “a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized.”  And these same sentiments today are echoed by Pope Francis when he condemns a culture that would exclude and throw away the weakest and poorest among us.

Today, the medical profession – and indeed each of us – is challenged to advance a culture which respects fully the gift of human life from the moment of conception till natural death.  Today we are experiencing a period of intense and critical struggle in the promotion of a culture of life in our nation.  We see this in the continuing debate over health care reform.  That reform was and still is needed was not the question; rather, at least for us bishops, the question has always been will the proposed reforms take into account the truth about the human person and the conditions necessary for human flourishing in our society?  

In the face of the culture-of-death inspired confusions, you, Catholic doctors and medical professionals, have a unique service to office.  As Catholics in the United States, before the weighty ethical and social questions shaping America’s future we must continue to insist that have a place at the table and our arguments grounded in natural law and confirmed by the perspective of faith be heard.

St. Paul says, “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.”  Your vocation in the healing professions, in spite of the very real challenges you face today in an increasing hostile culture, is a beautiful gift – but not a gift given for personal enrichment but really a means of living your lives for others. Increasingly today Catholic doctors who refuse to go along with the prevailing culture are being called upon to give witness to their faith within their profession in the face of ridicule, the loss of professional advancement and increasing limitations on their freedom to serve in accord with their consciences.
 
We invoke the prayerful intercession of the physician and evangelist, St. Luke on you all so that as healers you may never “play God” rather they see yourselves as servants of God’s compassion and healing grace. A Haitian proverb says it well:  ou peye dokte a; men se Bondye ki geri.  You pay the doctor but it is God who heals.  And, if the most important part of life is simply showing up, I thank you for showing up – and doing so with honesty and integrity.