Many other doctors more deserving of the award...

"There are many other doctors more deserving of the award.” This is the answer our office received from Dr. Michael Fitzgerald, in response to his nomination. However, this Sunday on the Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist, it was my honor to witness Dr. Fitzgerald receiving the Mission Doctors Association, 2009 Catholic Doctor of the Year Award at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles White Mass.

While it was a daunting task deciding on the award winner from the more than a 1000 nominations sent out nationwide, Dr. Fitzgerald stood apart for his commitment to his community and those around the world.

Dr. Fitzgerald volunteers with the Poverello Clinic, a free clinic for the uninsured. His service has also taken him to the Sacre Coeur Hospital in Milot, Haiti, as well as hosting Haitian physicians who come to the US for specialized training. Dr. Fitzgerald in addtion serves annually as a volunteer physician accompanying and ministering to the sick and disabled who make the pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, in southern France.

Thank you Dr. Michael Fitzgerald for your dedication to your patients and your ability to recognize the face of Christ in all you serve.

To learn more about Dr. Michael Fitzgerald, please read the spread on the award and his service from the Diocese of Syracuse paper.

International Day of Peace

Today, September 21^st is the International Day of Peace. In 1981, the United Nations General Assembly established this International Day of Peace with the intention of having the entire world observe a day of peace and nonviolence.

In response to our own Catholic World Day of Peace on January 1, Pope Benedict XVI quoted his Predecessor Pope John Paul II drawing attention to the negative repercussions for peace when entire populations live in poverty. “Poverty is often a contributory factor or a compounding element in conflicts, including armed ones. In turn, these conflicts fuel further tragic situations of poverty. “Our world”, he wrote, “shows increasing evidence of another grave threat to peace: many individuals and indeed whole peoples are living today in conditions of extreme poverty”.

Millions of people today live in extreme poverty around the world. This poverty has the power to hold peace at bay.

Today, and for more than 50 years, Mission Doctors have served at mission hospitals and clinics to offer health care to those most in need.

While the healthcare debate rages here in the US, the need in Africa and Latin America call some dedicated lay missionaries to leave the comfort of home and family to share their gifts and live their faith. They bring their professional skills and in doing so are also bearers of peace.

May we carry peace in our heart, share it in our families and workplaces, our communities and pray to hasten the day that swords will be beaten into plowshares.

A Prayer on 9/11

September 11 was celebrated in my house growing up, it was my father’s birthday. A special dinner, followed by my less than stellar attempts at a birthday cake.

Sadly, since 2001, September 11 leaves us now remembering the shock of the horrific and tragic events of that morning. Today we remember those who died and we pray for the loved ones left behind who suffered the greatest loss.

On this day of grief, reflection, service and prayer, this prayer of St. Francis challenges us to try to go beyond the pain, beyond the grief, beyond the fear, calling us to the light in the darkness.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may
not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.
- St. Francis of Assisi

For those whose lives were lost on September 11 we pray that you welcome them to Your eternal life Oh Lord. For their families and those whom they love, may Your consolation be theirs.

The Power of Prayer

Doing a quick Google news search for “power of prayer” everything, from the current health care debate, to stories of people lost at sea, come up. Each of these stories, while significantly different, has in common a belief in the power of God’s grace.

The mission doctors who serve at hospitals and clinics around the world, often with their spouses and families, do so believing in the power of God’s grace. Grace to get them there safely; to guide and protect them while their serve; the grace to offer professional care with limited resources; and upon returning, the grace to arrive home safely.

I want to take this blog post to invite you to share some of your prayers for our missionaries serving the poor around the world. If you would like to send a prayer of support and encouragement to our mission doctors and their families, you can do so here.

Thank you for becoming our partner in prayer!

Our Lady Brings the Rain

Drs Melanie and Roy Elfrink served this summer with four of their six children at St. Martin de Porres Hospital in the diocese of Kabale, Uganda. Melanie wrote about the start of the rainy season, and the link to the Feast of The Assumption, which is a National Holiday in Uganda...

Melanie writes:
One of the highlights was seeing the rainy season start. Everyone kept saying that it was going to rain on the 15th, the Assumption. It's a national holiday, and the people say "Our Lady brings the rain on her feast day". Since that was Saturday and we'd had no rain for some time we decided to see. Skeptically, like the Americans we are. Wednesday: a few clouds, no rain. Thursday: a few clouds and a clap of thunder, no rain. Friday: a few clouds, two claps of thunder, and a teeny sprinkle that barely counted as rain. Friday night: downpour. Saturday: downpour. Sunday: downpour. Repeat that last part every day since the Assumption. Father John told us at mass, "Our Lady brings the rain every year on the Assumption to show the people of Uganda that she has a special love for them because we have a special love for her."

It felt like Easter, because after months of that red dust coating everything, including your body/eyes/even teeth if you walked very far, Saturday of the Assumption the air smelled clean, the plants were all clean, and the people were so happy they were giddy with relief and gratitude. Mass was filled with beautiful music, special dancing, people pledging themselves to Mary.

May the changing of the seasons be an opportunity for us too, to recognize our dependence and to celebrate, with gratitude, the example of the lady who said yes to God!

Honeymooning at Karoli Lwanga Hospital

Mark and Sheila Bisanzo were married on June 12, 2009 (My husband Tom and I were married that same day 33 years earlier!) Unlike many newlyweds, they didn't set up their home near work or family. They are beginning their lives together serving as members of Mission Doctors Association at Karoli Lwanga hospital in rural Nyakibale, Uganda. The reflected on how, beginning their married life in the missions has given them cause to reflect on the challenges and blessings.

As we continue on this journey of acclimatization and discovery, we appreciate the significance of ritual in our daily life together, especially because we are beginning our marriage in Uganda. We are creating a rhythm of daily rituals in our new home and surroundings while we accept the lack of running water and current drought.

We celebrate the threads of joy and gratitude woven throughout our experience, such as an enthusiastic "Agandi!" (“Hello, how are you?”) and smile by a child along the road, or watching the soulful sway of parishioners dancing and singing to the drum beat at mass. A common greeting which our colleagues and neighbors extend to us says it best, "You are so welcome." The Ugandans whom we have encountered and whom we will work and live alongside have made us feel wholly welcome, as they express warm appreciation for our coming to work at the hospital. We only hope that we can share some humble offering in return as we continue our work as part of the Nyakibale community.

I Stand on my Soapbox for the Feast of St. Luke

Did you know that St. Luke is the patron saint of doctors?

As a member of the Los Angeles Archdiocese White Mass committee, I know it is my responsibility to promote this special event. And really, what better venue to do so, than my very own online soapbox?

A White Mass is traditionally celebrated for all physicians and medical personnel on the Feast of St. Luke. This institution follows the centuries old customary Red Mass, recognizing the service of Catholic judges, prosecutors, attorneys, law school professors, students, and government officials.

It was coined the “White Mass” not because of the liturgical color, but because medical personnel typically wore white rather than the more common of the greens and blues today.

The theme, “Celebrating Health; Blessing Healers”, reflects the spirit of this event. Los Angeles Archdiocese and Mission Doctors Association have come together to celebrate the service and recognize the challenges and blessings Catholics in who serve in health care face today.

Local Catholic doctors are encouraged to take part in this event, October 18, 2009, as an opportunity to come together seeking God’s blessing on their work. To learn more about the upcoming event visit the White Mass website.