September Newsletter

As you read this, we are in the middle of our Annual Educational Conference themed Imago Dei, Male and Female He Created Them, in Orlando, Florida. Many thanks to Dr. Felix Rodriguez, chairman of the conference, his planning committee and for the staff of the Catholic Medical Association for putting together this beautiful conference. In keeping with its focus, we propose the theme for this month’s EMBERS to be Restoring the Image of God Through the Cross.

We celebrate The Exaltation of the Cross (Sept. 14) as on this date in 320 A.D., the Cross, discovered by St. Helena, was venerated for the first time in the newly dedicated Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Rather than being scandalized, when we look upon the Cross we see the love of God, manifested by Jesus Christ’s acceptance of death on a cross for our redemption. Saint Francis offered this prayer before the crucifix of San Damiano:

Most High glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart. Grant me an upright faith, secure hope and perfect charity. Fill me with understanding and knowledge that I may fulfill your command. Amen.

The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows immediately follows on Sept. 15. In our personal lives and in the lives of our patients, we see and experience suffering, both physical and emotional. We can rage against it, feel powerless against it or we can embrace it, being willing to carry a small sliver of the Cross of Christ. We can choose to go through the suffering and encourage those we care for to go through it, for the sake of love. The mystery of redemptive suffering is explained in Pope St. John Paul II’s 1984 apostolic letter, Salvifici doloris.

Immaculée Ilibagiza, who survived the Rwanda genocide, said Our Lady asked we pray the Chaplet of Our Lady of Sorrows on Tuesday and Friday. We suggest praying it for our priests and bishops. We recommend the documentary If Only We Had Listened.

The subjects of grief, shame and suffering are dealt with well in Season 4 of The Chosen. This is how we can assess our handling of suffering; this article is worth the read.

The next short video from the Thomistic Institute’s Aquinas 101 series is Analogy.

The next CMA ZOOM Prayer Group meets Saturday, Sept. 14 at 2:00 PM EDT. Come join us in prayer!

St. Pius of Pietrelcina, (Sept. 23), also known as Padre Pio, is remembered as a Capuchin priest of the 20th century who endured the stigmata for 50 years, had many spiritual gifts such as bilocation, healing and the reading of souls and suffered tremendous persecution. He heard up to 100 confessions a day after celebrating Mass and founded The House of Relief and Suffering in San Giovanni Rotondo. You can learn more about him here. We also recommend the movie, Padre Pio, Miracle Man, to get to know him better.

Lastly, the Feast of the Archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael is Sept. 29. Many parishes today recite the St. Michael Prayer and here are prayers to all three. We recommend the book, St. Michael and the Angels (TAN).

Chair: Kathleen M. Raviele, MD

Vice-Chair: Lynne Bissonnette-Pitre, MD, PhD

Chaplain: Fr. Christopher Kubat, MD

Donna C. Dobrowolsky, MD

Richard Florentine, MD

Jennifer Johnson, MD

Christina Chan, MD

Marie-Alberte Boursiquot, MD

Chris Moon, MD

Deacon Bruno Schettini, MD

Maria Martinez Ramos, MD

Sister Edith Mary Hart, RSM, DO

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