Embers February 2025

Our theme for February is The Holy Family, Model of All Families as we celebrated The Presentation of the Lord (Feb. 2). Obeying the Law of Moses, Our Lady and St. Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to present him to God as was proper for the first-born son and for Our Lady’s purification. As Catholics we should model their obedience in our daily lives.

February is designated as Black History Month. We would like to highlight Venerable Augustus Tolton (1854-1897) the first known black priest in America. Denied admission by all the American seminaries because of his race, he was ordained in Rome and returned to serve in Alton, Illinois. Despite all the bigotry he endured, he demonstrated heroic charity and humble service to all. 

Venerable Pierre Toussaint (1766-1853) was a house slave to a plantation owner in Haiti. He came to N.Y.C. with the slave owner’s family and trained as a hairdresser, supporting the entire household after his master’s death. His mistress freed him on her deathbed. 

Lastly, we want to acknowledge the late Kathryn Moseley, MD, MPH, academic pediatrician, neonatologist and bioethicist, who sought to address race-based disparities in health care especially concerning African American unborn babies and their mothers. She was posthumously awarded the People of Life Award by the U.S. bishops in 2023.

The next CMA ZOOM Prayer Group will meet tomorrow, Feb. 8 at 2:00 PM EST. Come join us in prayer! 

There will be a Catholic Men Physicians’ Retreat May 1-4, 2025 at Bethany Retreat House in Dickson, Tenn. The topic is Growing in a Mature Prayer Life with Father Christopher Kubat as retreat master. To register and for more information contact rich_florentine@yahoo.com.

Pope Francis has declared the Ordinary Year of Jubilee 2025 and asks us to become “pilgrims of hope”. This is the decree explaining the indulgence attached to confession, Holy Communion, prayers for the Holy Father and pilgrimage to a designated site. The indulgence can be obtained for yourself or a deceased loved one.

Saints we would like to highlight this month from a medical standpoint or in keeping with our theme include St. Blaise (Feb. 3) and St. Josephine Bakhita (Feb. 8). 

St. José Luis Sánchez del Río (Feb. 10) was a 14-year-old martyr from the Mexican Cristero War and his story of heroism is here.

We encourage you to look into the #1 podcast, The Rosary in a Year (Ascension Press) with Father Mark-Mary Ames, CFR. 

We have a treasure trove of resources this month including the movies:

• Something the Lord Made, an account of the real developer of the Blalock-Taussig heart procedure

• Lilies of the Field

• For Greater Glory. 

Books include:

• Fr. Robert Spitzer’s Christ, Science and Reason: What We Can Know About Jesus, Mary and Miracles

• Harriet Washington’s Medical Apartheid

• Matthew Kelly’s The Three Ordinary Voices of God 

• Malachy Carroll’s The Stranger

We hope you enjoy these edifying resources.