PHOTOS: Healing profession continues Christ’s work, archbishop says

The work of healthcare workers – healing people – is “an extension of the love of God,” Archbishop Michael G. McGovern said.

The archbishop celebrated an Oct. 11 White Mass with healthcare professionals at St. John Church on the Creighton University campus in Omaha. The theme of the Mass was “Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life.”

After the Mass, many of the worshipers attended a Converging Roads Healthcare and Human Dignity regional conference at Creighton.

Accounts in the Bible demonstrate that even more than preaching the Kingdom of God, Jesus healed, highlighting His mercy, Archbishop McGovern said in his homily at the 8 a.m. Mass.

When patients feel cared for, they recognize the goodness in their caregivers, and might be curious about what motivates them, he said. They become open to hearing about Jesus.

In St. John’s Gospel, the archbishop pointed out, Jesus says, “whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

After Pentecost, the disciples went out preaching and healing in the Name of Jesus Christ, Archbishop McGovern said, and Christ’s mission continues today.

Healthcare workers and others are called to make Jesus’ Name “visible, audible and lovable today in a fresh way,” he said.

“The Lord is in the restoration business,” the archbishop said. “He comes to make us whole.”

“He wants to restore all of humanity today through us. … May we bring the healing gift of the love of Christ” to others.

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