White Mass Held For Health Care Workers
When members of the Southwest Indiana Guild of the Catholic Medical Association gathered for Mass with Bishop Charles C. Thompson on Oct. 28, they heard a thank you and a reminder.
The occasion was the 2015 White Mass, held at St. John the Baptist Parish in Newburgh, and it provided an opportunity to ask God’s blessings upon health care providers.
Bishop Thompson told those in attendance “of my greatest admiration for your work. We thank you for the sacrifices you make to serve the sick.”
He reminded them that, “each of us is called to be a missionary disciple, to meet people where they are and accompany them on their journey — even sometimes preparing them for death.”
The bishop noted that the First Reading in the Mass was taken from Ephesians 2, and that he took his motto “Jesus the Cornerstone” from this passage. The words “remind us we are all fitted together as one family of faith . . . the foundation must be Jesus Christ. Any other foundation will not last.”
He sited Pope Francis’ words in “Laudato Si’,” his encyclical on the environment, which offer the four essential relationships: with God, with self, with others and with creation. Each relationship cannot exist without the other three, the bishop said, because there must be an interconnection.
The Southwest Indiana Guild is a physician-led community of healthcare professionals that, according to its mission statement, “informs, organizes and inspires its members, in steadfast fidelity to the teachings of the Catholic Church, to uphold the principals of the Catholic faith in the science and practice of medicine.”
The White Mass is named for the color worn by those in the healing profession of medicine.
Dr. Tony Schapker, a deacon with the Diocese of Evansville, said, “The gathering of the healthcare community at the White Mass affirms the importance of healthcare workers in their role of being the hands of Christ in our world in caring for the sick and bringing to them the healing love that God has for all of His children.”
Dr. Schapker serves as vice-president of the guild. He is a parishioner at St. John the Baptist Parish.
Dr. Bill Blanke, also a member of the guild, said, “The source and summit of our Catholic faith is the Eucharist. Being able to share the Eucharistic meal with co-workers in health care at a Mass with our bishop helps remind me that I am expected to use my time and talent to help provide healthcare for those whom I see for physical pain, emotional pain and spiritual pain.”
Dr. Blanke is a parishioner at Good Shepherd Parish in Evansville.
CUTLINE:
Dr. Peter Rosario, left, talks with Dr. Anthony Schapker, a deacon for the Diocese of Evansville, before the start of the White Mass on Oct. 28. Dr. Rosario is the president of the SW Indiana Guild of the Catholic Medical Association. Dr. Schapker is the vice-president.
