From Archbishop Donoghue

Dear Friends,

I first want to say how honored I am to accept your invitation, which was extended to me by Dr. Raviele. This is the third such event to be celebrated here in our Archdiocese, and I have been a part of all three. The previous occasions have seen me in the role of celebrant and homilist at the Mass. Tonight I have been asked to talk here at the dinner, and on the subject of faith. IÕm not sure whether that represents a promotion or something otherwise, but I am happy to share some thoughts with you just the same.

I think we all know that one of the most important things about our religion, the Catholic religion, is faith. We use this word all the time. We say to people who are discouraged, "You must have faith," or "Keep up the faith," or "Let faith be your guide." Often when we talk about our Church we even call it "the Faith." If someone asks us why we believe something, we might answer, "Because it's a part of my faith, the Catholic Faith."

We use this word easily enough, but sometimes I am not sure we all understand just what "faith" means. St. Paul says that the greatest things are faith, hope and love. We understand pretty easily what love is - doing what is best for someone else, with no thought for ourselves - and hope is counting on the future, counting on the possibility that all things turn out for the best in the end. But faith is not so easy to understand, and I think it's because faith has to be before and under and around everything else that we believe.

And that is the key word to understanding faith - "believe." Believing is knowing what is true, telling ourselves what is true, even though we can't see it, even though we can't prove it.

At Mass, we don't say, "We see God," or "We know that God is there." Instead, we say, "We believe in GodÉ"

We say this, because that is what God wants us to say. If that were not so then the Church would not teach us to say, "We believe in GodÉ" But why does God want this of us? Why doesn't God just show Himself, so that we know He is there, so that there is no doubt at all, and then we would all be relieved, and we wouldn't have to rely just on belief ever again?

The answer is, that if we actually knew absolutely that God is, then we would probably take Him for granted, and that is the last thing God wants from us. How many times in our lives do we think we want something so badly, we would do anything to get it. We think about the things we want, and we imagine what we will do when we get them - it might be for instance, something very special we have worked for all our lives, but only now are we making enough money to actually get it. But I don't care how precious it is, or how much it cost - we might be happy about it for a while - we might look at it, use it, and admire it with great energy at first. But eventually, like all things in the world, the day will come when we get tired of it, when something else attracts our attention, and the thing that we wanted so much, it will no longer interest us - we will put it aside, or store it away in a closet, or lock it in the vault, and very possibly, never notice it again, or even be conscious that we have it.

God does not want that to happen between us and Him - He wants us to love Him every day for all our lives, and one way of making this happen, is to ask us to believe in Him. By asking us to believe in Him, He also asks us to think about Him every day, to look for the reasons why we should be grateful to Him, and to imagine how wonderful it will be when we are finally with Him in Heaven.

Jesus knew this lesson about belief, because He was God. And even though He came to earth and became a man, and even though everyone could see Him easily enough, and even though we see Him, in the form of the bread and wine that we believe - and there's that word again - the bread and wine we believe are His Body and Blood - even though Jesus could and can be seen, He still knew how important faith, how important believing is.

Whenever He does something for anyone in the Gospel - especially when He performs a miracle of healing, He always says something like, "Your faith has saved you." Or if someone is especially truthful about saying they believe in Him, He says, "Such faith I have never seen before."

At one point in the Gospel, our Lord uses another word that explains faith. When two blind men come to Him one day, and ask to be cured, He asks them, "Are you confident I can do this?" When they answer, "Yes, Lord, we are confident," then He cures them - He gives them back their sight, and explains to them, "Because of your faith, (this is done for you)". He could have cured them without them saying anything, just as God can do anything to us and for us, without our saying anything. But Jesus, and His Father want to hear us say, "Yes, Lord, we are confident that you love us - yes, we are confident that you can save us - and yes, we are confident that you will do everything that is good for us." And what is confidence? It is believing beforehand that something good will definitely happen. And what is faith? It is believing beforehand that God will do something good for us. Not because we want it - not because we demand it - not because we achieve it Ð not because of anything we do, except to believe in His love for us. That is all it takes for God to be our friend, and to take care of us - to believe that He loves us, and that He will do everything good for us. And that is what faith is.

One of the oldest statements I know of that involves faith, belief, and confidence, predates our Gospel by some five centuries, and it is something that is, I hope, still well known to physicians and all professionals of the medical field. I am referring to the Hippocratic Oath. Some of the terms of this oath are steeped in antiquity, but other passages, I think, speak to us clearly, even bluntly - and especially to physicians of the Catholic Faith. I donÕt know what gods Hippocrates believed in, but I do know that this oath, so long the initial binding oath for all practicing physicians, presumes the existence of a higher power Ð a power to be believed in, a power capable of producing sure and certain consequences, if the oath is violated. I have in mind especially these words which occur towards the end of the oath:

While I continue to keep this Oath unviolated, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of this art, respected by all men, in all time. But should I trespass and violate this Oath, may the reverse be my lot.

Now I call that a serious agreement. No escape clauses, no a posteriori adjustment mechanisms, no conditions except the most basic: if I keep my oath to heal, to preserve life, then long may I enjoy success Ð if I donÕt, then let me fail, and let my failure be public. Interesting, that in this oldest of the articles governing the conduct of medical professionals, we should find those same elements taught by Christ with regard to faith: Ð first, belief in a superior, perfect power Ð a power that enjoys the capacity to judge and to reward and to condemn Ð in other words, belief in God, and more particularly, belief in God the Father as our Faith, our Catholic Faith, teaches us; - and second, confidence Ð confidence that God will keep His part of the agreement, and confidence that if I donÕt keep mine, then very bad things will happen to me.

Now the question put before me to answer today, was ÒHow to live faith in todayÕs society.Ó I think that everyone might have a different answer for this question, depending on the circumstances of their daily lives. But for Catholic physicians Ð for those who willingly risk taking other peopleÕs lives and deaths and well-beings into their own hands, then I think living faith every day must begin in the morning with a recollection of what this oath says - that you have made an agreement with God, and that He is present with you always, not just to oversee the agreement, but to assist you in keeping it. God is love, and His love is meant to help us, not to harass us. What better way to begin the day, as doctors, than to reassert your faith in the Power above, to check in with the Director of Operations, and remember that He is always watching, and always guiding.

But faith, and the daily living of faith has another component as well - a more active component - a part which is not satisfied simply by the passive declaration that we believe in something outside ourselves, and are confident of its power to affect our lives. Faith also includes this element - that we believe that because we believe, something will happen outside of us, and because of us.

For if faith is first, the declaration that God is - and second, the declaration that because of the power of God, things will happen Ð those two premises being faith and confidence - then the last portion, the portion that is the substance of our daily lives, is that if we open ourselves to God, and to His power, then He will make things happen through us Ð that He will sue us to produce results. We are not the power of God - but we are certainly the instruments through which He expresses that power.

Of course, we know God also expresses Himself through nature as well - through the natural processes of the universe - birth, death, agricultural regeneration, the forces of the weather acting to change the very structures of creation which surround us - these are all examples of the effects of God's self-expression upon His creation.

And God also expresses Himself through the natural law, a fact almost totally forgotten in today's self-seeking world. Modern legislatures define themselves as the sole authors of the laws they make, and most people follow suit, deciding that Òwhat is right for me, is what I decide is right for me.Ó

Catholics, however, believe that God expresses Himself in the human conscience, teaching us a priori, the difference between right and wrong, between good and bad. And it is this last expression of Himself, that God uses, to make us more than we are Ð to make of us, in fact, that final component of faith Ð or better put, to make us do that final thing, that expresses faith, that shows our belief, and that supports our confidence. For by forming our consciences, and especially by teaching us through our Catholic belief, God makes us instruments of His will. And this instrumentality is the proof of the pudding Ð this use God makes of us, is the bottom line of our faith, and gives true meaning to our entire lives.

For God uses human wit, human skill, and human emotion, as a means of working out His will on earth. This is seen most perfectly in His Son Jesus Christ. But it is also seen to a lesser though still significant extent, in how He uses us.

The point of this excursion into the nature of God's operations, is that for us, faith must be, in addition to prayer, in addition to the recognition of God's effect on life and reality - faith must be the belief that we are doing His will, and making it happen for others.

And now, to come back to the practicality of how to live your faith. For doctors, living the faith, must be connecting God Ð His power, His will, His dispositions Ð connecting God with everything you do in your daily profession: establishing trust; making a diagnosis; communicating assessments, both mental and physical, and counseling patients in how to accept your findings; prescribing treatment; maintaining vigilance over long-term care; persistence until healing is effected; and when all efforts are defeated by the impermanence of life, inspiring in your patients, that sweet sister of faith, who appears when faith is really put to the test Ð hope Ð the last of all practical remedies on earth.

And so, doctors, the second way to live your faith every day, after that early morning reminder that the Big Boss is watching and guiding Ð the second way is to ask Him for all the answers, for certainly, He does not begrudge us our weakness, and as any good Father would and does, He will come to our help. Remember what Christ said: ÒThose who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.Ó With such a ringing endorsement from His only Son, can anyone doubt that God would help the good and honest and faithful physician?

Well, dear friends, I have tried to provide you this evening with some beneficial, and I hope, enjoyable thoughts about faith, and about how healers might live the faith better every day. I do not doubt for a moment that you already have factored faith into your lives, and into your daily responsibilities. I do not doubt for a moment that the best physicians in both general and specialized practice to be found in our city and state are also to be found here in front of me tonight. My aim has not been to lecture you as if you do not already know, but instead, to offer you some gentle reminders about how good God is to us Ð reminders about keeping in touch with Him every day, especially when it concerns your professional duties.

In that light, I am going to close by offering you some more ancient wisdom, though not quite so far back as Hippocrates. It comes from the great 12th century Jewish Rabbi and physician Maimonides, and is said to be the prayer which he uttered every morning, before setting out on his duties of healing and teaching. I think, especially for physicians, it says it all, and especially, it expresses those three facets of faith about which I have been speaking this evening Ð belief, confidence and results. This is MaimonidesÕ prayer:

Oh, God, Thou has appointed me to watch over the life and death of Thy creatures; here am I ready for my vocation - and now I turn unto my calling.

Thank you again for inviting me to speak tonight, and GodÕs blessing and good counsel be with you all.

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