Saint. Agnes Medical Center, 75^th Anniversary Mass

 

August 5, 2004

 

Homily by Bishop John T. Steinbock

 

Today we celebrate the 75^th anniversary of St. Agnes Hospital—a milestone in the life of the people of God here in the Central Valley.  The setting for this celebration is the universal celebration in this Mass of the dedication of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, which was built on the occasion of the solemn declaration of the dogma at the Council of Ephesus in the year 431, that Mary is the mother of God.  Ever since that date, devotion to Mary has spread throughout the world in every century and in every country —a devotion that is meant to lead us all the more to faith and love of her Divine Son.

 

Each year throughout the universal church we continue to celebrate the dedication of the three major basilicas in Rome:  St. Peter’s, St. Paul outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major, as they are the mother churches of all Christianity and their celebrations recall our bonds to the Holy Father as the successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ on Earth.  It is a reminder to us in every parish and in every ministry of the Church that we are a universal church and that our mission continues the proclamation of the good news of Jesus in every corner of the world and in every generation.  No parish and no mission in the Church is isolated unto itself but continues the mission of the Church, of Christ Himself, united with the whole church of God through each successive generation until Christ comes again in glory.

 

I emphasize this as St. Agnes, for 75 years, has not been a ministry unto itself for all those years, but has been united with the mission of the whole Church in proclaiming the good news of Jesus handed down to us from Christ and the Apostles through its healing ministry in our community.

 

The healing ministry of St. Agnes is a continuation of the healing ministry of Jesus Himself.  Jesus, above all, came to bring us the fullness of His love, the fullness of life, of the eternal life He shares with his Father.  His healing ministry spoke of values much greater than physical life, or of what the medical world would speak of as quality of life. His healing ministry, and the healing ministry of St. Agnes, for 75 years in this community, has spoken of the inner healing that leads to fullness of life, for which Jesus died and rose from the dead to bring us.

 

We give thanks to God on this occasion to the Sisters of the Holy Cross who have been so intricately involved in the mission of St. Agnes Hospital through these years, and we give thanks to all those who have served in this hospital in so many roles, the medical staff, nursing staff, and the support staff, now and throughout all the years of the past. 

 

And we ask God’s continued blessings upon St. Agnes hospital for all the years to come. May God, through the intercession of St. Agnes who gave her life at a very young age, in witness to God’s power and love, continue to bless our community through the healing ministry of Christ made visible through this hospital.  May Mary the Mother of God, continue to ask God’s blessings on everyone in this hospital so that all who work and minister here and all who come here for healing, along with their loved ones, find the love and compassion and healing of Christ Himself. +