Each year close to the opening of the academic year there is a very popular and colorful ceremony in countries all over the world known as The Red Mass. The celebration is designed to closely coincide with the formal opening of the court year and brings together the members of Bench and Bar. The media is particularly interested in this celebration at this moment in the United States because the Supreme Court of the Nation has a large number of Roman Catholics sitting as Justices. And, as most know, the Chief Justice is himself a serious Catholic. The legal community gathers at the cathedral in each diocese to join the bishop and broader church in asking for blessings on their work during the coming year. It is called The Red Mass because it is celebrated in honor of the patron of attorneys, St. Thomas More. Thomas More was the Chancellor of England under Henry VIII and was beheaded when he refused to deny the legitimate authority of the Church in matters that pertained to it. In the Diocese of San Jose we have an active St. Thomas More Society so the Red Mass is quite a DO. It shifts between Stanford and Santa Clara University and features the bishop as presider, a special homilist, an elegant dinner and an appropriate speaker.

So, other colors and other liturgies? Absolutely. There is also a celebration called The Blue Mass and honors all that are involved in the public safety field. So members of police, fire and other departments pray through the intercession of St. Michael, Patron of Peacekeepers, and is called blue, I think, because of the consistent use of blue in the uniforms of so many public safety officers.

Today I want to focus on the White Mass. This is the annual celebration honoring all who work in the health care field. So physicians, nurses, researchers, lab techs, clinical and departmental assistants, dentists, chiropractors and all others who dedicate their lives to the service of good health for all people and at all levels. The patron of such people is St. Luke, the physician. We do not celebrate the White Mass in the Diocese of San Jose so we thought it would be the best of all places to begin. What better place than Stanford with its world famous health services and hundreds of professionals working for the common good? The small committee, working under the guidance of the Pastoral Council, has designed a wonderful celebration to recognize and honor these dedicated people and has established an award to be named for Mother Rose Hawthorne, founder of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne who care for cancer victims in a number of free hospitals founded by Mother Mary Alphonsa, O.P. (Rose Hawthorne) to care for the sick/poor who are cancer victims. The Sisters operate a half a dozen such hospitals in this country and just opened a new hospital in Kenya. Rose Hawthorne is known as a "servant of God" as she is a Venerable - on her way to canonization. The Hawthorne Cross, a stylized Dominican cross reflecting the French roots of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) founded in 1216. In addition to the cross there will eventually be a fund from which a grant will be given to the recipient of the award who, in turn, will be able to give this money to a student engaged in medical research. Since it is our first White Mass we are beginning slowly. We will invite all who are in any way related to the health care fields to a Mass on Monday, April 14th in Memorial Church and celebrated by Bishop Patrick McGrath. After the liturgy there will be a light reception in the area behind the church where the community can gather and honor the recipient of the Hawthorne Cross. It is notable, by the way, to realize that Rose Hawthorne was the daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne, an important person in the early days of our country. In her biography it is said that "...Rose, daughter of author Nathaniel Hawthorne, gave up a life of privilege to care for destitute persons afflicted with incurable cancer. She said 'I set my whole being to endeavor to bring consolation to the cancerous poor.'" Dr. Russ Altman of the Medical School faculty will make remarks honoring Prof. Alain Enthoven for his years of service to the creation of a health care system that really has been designed to bring medical help to all persons.

If this celebration is a success the bishop will elevate it to the status of an official celebration of the Diocese of San Jose - as it has for the Red Mass. In time the honoree, speakers, etc will be selected by a wider committee than presently provided by our own Pastoral Council. But we are convinced that this small start will bear much fruit. Think of the thousands of physicians trained and training at Stanford Medical School, the countless of hospital staff, medical plan representatives, faculty, etc just right here. There are many others in our community or beyond it that should be properly honored by the entire Catholic family. We are gathering names for a mailing list at this point so if you would like to be invited to the celebration, know others who might like the idea or want to pass the information along please do so. Names for the list should be sent to me at labelle@stanford. edu. Include at least an email address and a residential address if possible. There will be no cost for the event but when the invitations are sent out we will require an RSVP so that the proper food can be provided for the reception. One need not be a Catholic to be so honored but the focus is certainly on the Catholic apostolate of the care and service to the sick. If you have any questions or suggestions please send them to Fr. Patrick or Catherine Wolff (cwolff@stanford.edu).