Each year, the diocesan Office of Pro-Life Ministries co-hosts the White Mass with the Central Ohio Guild of the Catholic Medical Association (CMA). A White Mass is celebrated to honor Catholic healthcare professionals, who often wear white coats. Typically, the special Mass is celebrated around Oct. 18, the feast of St. Luke, patron of doctors.
This year, Bishop Earl Fernandes celebrated the White Mass at Columbus St. Thomas More, home of Buckeye Catholic, on Saturday, Oct. 17. The White Mass was concelebrated by Fathers Adam Streitenberger, executive director at Buckeye Catholic; Bob Penhallurick, chaplain of the Columbus CMA; and other clergy serving as hospital chaplains.
During his homily, Bishop Fernandes reminded healthcare professionals that during the COVID-19 pandemic, even when priests could not visit patients, they could still bring the presence of Christ to them. Today, with challenges that threaten human life and dignity, healthcare professionals are still called to bring the Word of Life to the sick, the weak and the dying.
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After the White Mass, Sister Mary Rebecca Koterba, RSM (Religious Sisters of Mercy) delivered a talk. Sister Mary Rebecca is a perpetually professed sister of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan.
Many of the Religious Sisters of Mercy are physicians as a part of a charism to be living witnesses of the mercy of the Father to the poor, sick and vulnerable. Sister Mary Rebecca worked as a general surgeon for 30 years during a time when women, and especially religious sisters, were rarely seen in the operating room.
Sister Mary Rebecca used the example of St. Simon of Cyrene accompanying Christ to Calvary as a model for how healthcare professionals should accompany patients through suffering. She called healthcare professionals to be vulnerable with their patients and to help bear their sufferings. By doing so, healthcare professionals grow in virtue and self-discovery that would not otherwise be possible.
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Sister Mary Rebecca also recounted a few stories of her patients.
One was a prisoner who came to the hospital with a bowel obstruction. While he was being discharged, Sister Mary Rebecca asked if there was anything else she could do for him. He asked for a Burger King sandwich, so she wrote him a prescription for one. She later found out that the guards did indeed take him to Burger King, and he was able to enjoy one small freedom before returning to prison. Such acts, she said, are small ways to show mercy and recognize another’s humanity.
If you would like to join the Central Ohio Guild of the CMA, visit: https://cmacbus.com/.