Emerging from a long winter
This winter and the Lenten season have been exercises in perseverance. Coupled with a busy illness season, the winter months can sometimes feel “endless.” Compared with the Israelites’ journey of 40 years, our six more weeks of winter predicted by a surly groundhog in early February will soon give way to true Springtime weather and Easter Joy. Hang in there!
Bucks County Mass for Health Professionals = New Acquaintances
Despite the threat of snow, our St. John Neumann Guild sponsored its 2nd County Mass on February 22nd at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Doylestown, PA. Fr. Matt Guckin was a gracious host, along with his Hospitality Committee who prepared the reception after Mass. Along with Guild members, Denise Wilcox, George Isajiw and Fr. Joseph Ryan (our chaplain), we met several new colleagues, including Wendy who is a vestibular physical therapist, Carolyn, a pediatric respiratory therapist, Rich, who is a dentist who works in the Doylestown area and provides care to the underserved locally and at a Federally Qualified Health Center in Philadelphia, Kathy who is a physical therapist with decades of valuable experience, and Alan, who is an adult psychiatrist. We’re hoping they’ll stay in touch through our newsletter and website. Later this year, we hope to sponsor a Mass in Montgomery and in Delaware Counties. Stay tuned!
Call for new Board Members
Are you a faithful Catholic healthcare professional? Skilled at listening and working together and encouraging others? Able to see the bigger picture? If so, please pray and discern if God is calling you to serve our Guild as a Board member. We currently have 3 open positions and are particularly interested in members from Philadelphia, Delaware and Chester Counties.
While Board service can sound scary, the requirements are not onerous—about an hour of time each month. We’ll provide a good orientation and help you learn as you go. If interested, please email: president@neumannguild.org
Continued Tour of our New Website
This month, we highlight another page of our redesigned website: Prayer & Devotions.
Prayer and short daily devotions offer Catholics spiritual nourishment, grounding individuals in faith and providing a sense of peace and purpose. They create moments of stillness amidst the busyness of life, helping us connect with God, reflect on our actions, and seek guidance or strength. Three formal prayers are featured near the top of the page: 1) an Intercessory Prayer to our patron, St. John Neumann; 2) Prayer of St.John Paul II for Catholic Health Professionals, our Guild’s Prayer for Vocations. If you would like to join other members of our Guild who have pledged to pray for priestly & religious vocations for our archdiocese, please email me at: president@neumannguild.org.
- The lower half of the Prayer and Devotions page features specific devotions—and how to access them. Committing to a few minutes of prayer or reflection on a daily basis brings us closer to Jesus and helps to unite our will to His. Consider trying one or more of these now and in the coming weeks:
The Hallow app: Hallow offers a curated collection of prayers and meditative techniques, Scripture readings, audio-guided Bible stories, and guidance with setting up a daily prayer routine. The app was born from its founders’ personal experiences of struggling to maintain a consistent prayer life amidst the demands of modern life. They realized that many, like themselves, sought a deeper connection with their faith but lacked the structure and guidance to do so effectively. Accessible via your device’s app store. - The Liturgy of the Hours (Lectio Divine): a daily cycle of prayer that sanctifies the day through psalms, Scripture, and intercessions, prayed at set times from morning to night. Many people start with Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer, offering 10 minutes a day throughout the week. Access the iBreviary app at iBreviary.org or online at DivineOffice.org, which offers an audio version.
- The Holy Rosary: a great meditative prayer, focusing on events in the life of Jesus and the Holy Family. Our Lady of Fatima has asked that we prayer the Rosary daily as a sign of love, atonement for sin, and for peace in our world. Catholic.com How to Pray the Rosary.
The Rosary has been a favorite prayer for many saints and ordinary Catholics. St. Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter on the Rosary (2002) takes a deep dive into the history, structure and promises associated with this beautiful devotion. - Chaplet of the Divine Mercy: TheDivineMercy.org Pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. If there is one thing we’ve needed in modern times, it’s been a reminder of our dependence on the Love and Mercy of God. Like the Rosary, the “Chaplet” is a rhythmic prayer highlighting what happens at Holy Mass: the offering to God the Father the sacred body & blood, soul and divinity of His dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Chaplet’s themes focus on atonement for sin and God’s unfathomable Mercy. It is commonly prayed at 3 PM and for those who are near death or have passed.
- Daily Catholic Devotional Prayers: MyCatholic.life/catholic-prayers/: For those who might want to brush up on prayers we learned as children or who might like to immerse in some of the rich prose and poetry offered to God over the centuries, this site is a great resource!
Save the Date!
Our Annual St. John Neumann CMA Guild Picnic and Hippocratic Oath Ceremony for Graduating Students will be held on Sunday, May 3rd, at the Motleys in Lansdale, PA. Mark your calendar now! An invitation will be posted on our website just after Easter. This is a catered event, although you are welcome to sign up to bring a salad or a dessert treat. There is no charge for this event—and you are welcome to bring your family.
Come celebrate with—and encourage—our soon-to-graduate med and other health professional students!
Donate to support our Future Doctors and Health Professionals at the CMA “Boot Camp”
The CMA Boot Camp will be held this year the week of June 14th. It is an opportunity to learn about Catholic medical ethics and grow in faith with fellow Catholic students, residents, and physicians. The format is a week-long immersion in Catholic spirituality and biomedical ethics, with opportunities for professional networking and mentoring. Started at our St. Charles Seminary in 2010, we’re now seeing the fruits of this Program, with clinicians who have emerged as faithful, knowledgeable leaders for their hospital staffs, Ethics Committees, their patients and communities. It has been an effective way to counter the secular culture of death and commoditization that has emerged in health care AND educational settings.
Our Guild offers up to three student scholarships to help defray the cost of travel and the Boot Camp registration fees. If you have it in your heart to make a special donation to this cause, please click the “DONATE” button below and earmark your gift for the Boot Camp.
Faculty & students at last year’s Boot Camp. In addition to her studies, Philly CMA member Jocelyn Chou (above left) won the Annual 5k race and was awarded the Bishop’s Trophy
Meditation on the Passion of Christ
New release: Dr. Tom McGovern, Moh’s surgeon and national CMA member has released a revised and expanded version of his book, What Christ Suffered: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Passion, available from multiple book outlets, including Amazon.
Several other books and essays have been written on the Crucifixion of Christ. If you are national CMA member, you can log in and access past issues of The Linacre Quarterly for some of these spiritual reflections by Catholic doctors.
Happy Easter!
May you and your family be blessed with the promises of Easter Hope and Easter Joy! May you be ready to share Easter greetings with those around you: “Christ is Risen!” “Christ is Truly Risen!”
