ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,

It gives me great pleasure to be present with you at this annual gathering of healthcare professionals, you men and women who labor so faithfully in service to the frailest, sickest, and neediest in our midst. I appreciate very much the desire of the Philadelphia chapter of the Catholic Medical Association to have me celebrate this Mass with and for you.

Before turning to the Scriptures to uncover what the word of God is speaking to us this morning, I wish to express my gratitude for your generous service to the cause of human life and human dignity. I wish to acknowledge the great efforts that you make on behalf of your patients, particularly those efforts made without the knowledge of anyone except yourselves and God. Your sacred activity of healing and comfort is so desperately needed today and the Church wants you to know how highly she values the contribution that you make for the well-being of God’s people here in Philadelphia. Healthcare—particularly Catholic healthcare—is a powerful witness of Jesus’ continuing mission in our day, demonstrating God’s goodness and healing power. In your daily encounters with the sick people you serve, God’s healing presence is made manifest and felt.

The readings in today’s Mass speak to us about the manner in which Jesus’ disciples are to pray, with humility and perseverance. The Gospel parable reminds us that when we come to God in prayer, we are to come with humble and open hearts. To come otherwise is to come in haughtiness and pride—attitudes which the Lord makes clear are not a part of Christian discipleship. No matter how numerous our accomplishments are, self-sufficiency is not acceptable in God’s Kingdom. Rather, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (also called the publican) warns against self-promotion as a substitute for humble prayer. An awareness of one’s place before God is absolutely essential if our relationship with Him is to be authentic.

While the theme of the parable is prayer and one’s attitude in regard to God, there is another reflection that merits our particular attention in the context of this gathering. For a long time Catholic healthcare operated in a manner that was relatively low-key and generated relatively little attention. It operated so often in obscurity, without trumping its achievements, not seeking any limelight, simply offering healing and dignity to the persons being helped. Over the years many Catholic-sponsored healthcare operations grew into tremendously large operations, treating thousands of persons annually without regard to religious background. Care for the indigent was a part of the reason for the existence of so many clinics and hospitals. As we all know, the industry changed significantly beginning in the last decades of the 20^th century, resulting in a very difficult and competitive environment. Now Catholic healthcare is struggling for survival against obstacles which assail it from every side. These obstacles cannot be allowed to weaken its corporate witness and its need to be genuinely Catholic: Catholic in its motivation, Catholic in its self-understanding, and Catholic in its identity.

The current climate in the social arena calls all Catholic healthcare professionals to acknowledge rigorously their identity. An effort in our nation to attack the conscience rights of the religious providers of healthcare seems to be gaining in momentum. Institutions and professional staff are being saddled with obligations to furnish particular services which are incompatible with Catholic values. Third parties cannot be allowed to discriminate against us because we choose to protect our Catholic identity in terms of the services we provide. Catholic healthcare institutions and Catholic medical professionals have a right not to be involved in procedures which violate the principles of their institutions and their personal consciences. Their expression of integrity cannot be construed as an imposition of one’s morality. It is rather fidelity to the healing ministry of Jesus Himself as normative.

Knowing oneself and one’s place before God, I submit, entails faithfulness in two areas: faithfulness as a baptized Christian and as a professional healthcare provider. By virtue of our baptism we have all been called to share in the life and work of Jesus Christ. We have been conformed to Christ and empowered to do His work. The recognition of individual dignity demands deep respect for others. To be able to see the presence of God in our brothers and sisters in need makes the call to serve them not only a duty to fulfill, but a privilege to enjoy.

Catholic healthcare is a service to persons in need, not a commodity geared to provide returns to investors. You have all responded to a vocation to be healers, continuing the work of the Lord in this time and place. Your professional and personal gifts have been generously shared with others and contribute to a healing ministry that is part of the mission of the Catholic Church. You are the living instruments of God’s presence, and effective signs of God’s care to those whom you assist.

It is my hope for you as Catholics engaged in healthcare services that you will always view your work as the expression of a vocation to which the Lord has called you. A person’s identity calls him or her to live in a particular way. All of us are meant to bear witness and to live as Jesus did, by communicating God’s goodness to others. We are God’s humble instruments called to serve in wonder, in humility and with perseverance.

Humility before God and a healthy recognition of one’s limitations are qualities which Jesus praises in this morning’s Gospel. As Catholic physicians and nurses, as people serving in many facets of healthcare, you are challenged to persevere with hope and confidence. In witnessing to the value of human life, as is seen daily in Catholic healthcare services, your work and the manner in which it is performed are tremendous signs. They signify the inherent dignity of individuals regardless of their abilities; they signify the healing love of the Lord manifest in your care for the sick; and they signify the continuity of Jesus’ ministry of healing in our day. The challenges to Catholic healthcare cannot deter you from engaging in your work of healing as Jesus did. The constant assaults on human life must not weaken your hope or diminish your conviction that life will be victorious!>

In these difficult times it is even more important than ever to work collaboratively, to avoid competition among Catholic providers, and to welcome opportunities to gather together. For the good of the mission of the Church at the service of all humanity, you must continue to treat people according to ethical guidelines of the Church as taught by the Bishops in union with the Pope, and in a manner that is unashamedly and non-apologetically Catholic. Knowing yourselves and your place before God gives you every reason to rejoice in the gift to the Church that is Catholic healthcare, serving, defending and loving human life.

At this Mass may you appreciate ever more the dignity of your calling. And may you unite your work, your prayers and all your strivings with the great Eucharistic Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is His great act of love and praise of His Father. And may the Lord Jesus Himself give you deep fulfillment, satisfaction and joy as you commit yourselves anew to Catholic healthcare offered in His name. Amen.