September 2026 Embers

The 95th Annual CMA Conference begins next week in Phoenix and in keeping with the theme of the conference, our theme for this month is Restoring the Practice of Medicine to Heal the Whole Person. No one personified that better than St. Teresa of Calcutta (Sept. 5), who gave her life to help the poor and dying. When she was seriously ill, Dr. Lombardi was called upon to help her. His story is here. Mother Teresa described herself: “By blood and origin, I am Albanian. My citizenship is Indian. I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the whole world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.” Today the Missionaries of Charity have over 5,000 sisters who work in 138 countries. We recommend the movie, Mother Teresa, and any of her writings.

The 25th anniversary of that tragic day, September 11, will be remembered this year. The Diocese of Allentown, PA will honor all police, firefighters, and first responders at an 8:46 AM Mass that morning at the Cathedral Church of St. Catharine of Siena. The events of 9/11 remind us of the dangers emergency personnel may encounter every time they respond to rescue us.

We suggest reading Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics by Daniel Ali and Robert Spencer and this is a powerful conversion testimony from a former Muslim.

The monthly CMA ZOOM Prayer Group will meet on, Sat., September 19, at 2:00 PM EDT. Come bring your intentions! Bishop James Conley has offered to say Masses for members’ intentions. To receive Mass cards, email info@cathmed.org.

There are four feast days honoring Our Lady this month, but we would like to focus on Our Lady, Undoer of Knots (Sept. 28), popularized by Pope Francis. St. Irenaeus of Lyons stated, “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by the obedience of Mary.” This devotion began in the 17th century and is incorporated into the Rosary seen here for all the knotty situations in our lives. 

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Sept. 14) is followed by Our Lady of Sorrows (Sept. 15). Our Lady of Kibeho requested her Rosary of the Seven Sorrows be prayed on Tuesday and Friday. Saint Padre Pio (Sept. 23) was a powerful saint of the 20th century, ministering to the spiritual and physical needs of the people while being persecuted for the stigmata he bore for 50 years. We recommend the movie Padre Pio: Miracle Man (Ignatius Press).

Several guilds are named after the brother physicians, SS. Cosmas and Damian (Sept. 26), who provided free health care in Cilicia until they were martyred under Diocletian. They are the patron saints of pharmacists.

Lastly, SS. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael (Sept. 29) remind us of the extraordinary mission of these Archangels in salvation history. St. Michael, whose name means Who is as God?, is the leader of the Army of God against Satan and the defender of the Catholic Church. We suggest reciting the St. Michael prayer daily.

Further reading includes Life of Christ by soon to be beatified (Sept. 24) Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, The Life of Padre Pio by Gennaro Preziuso, Saint Michael the Archangel by James F. Day and Mother Teresa in the Shadow of Our Lady by Joseph Langford, MC.

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