Since the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church has followed the tradition of offering special Masses for members of specific professions. These Masses have come to be designated by color, with a “Red Mass” honoring legal professionals and elected officials, a “White Mass” acknowledging healthcare professionals and administrators, and a “Blue Mass” recognizing first responders and the military.
On Sept. 11, members of these noble professions gathered with diocesan faithful at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, Allentown for a “Red, White & Blue Mass” celebrated by Bishop Alfred Schlert. The Mass, held on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country, honored those who serve our communities and our nation.
The Mass began at 8:46 a.m. in remembrance of the moment American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 – the opening moment of an attack that would claim nearly 3,000 lives, including hundreds of first responders who ran toward the danger.
“Your professions are more than occupations,” the Bishop told the congregation. “They are vocations of sacrifice. Jesus tells us in the Gospel, ‘No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.’”
Although “fulfilled perfectly in Christ,” those words are also manifested “whenever men and women choose service over self, courage over fear, and love over hatred.”
The Bishop said that the 9/11 attacks “revealed both the terrible reality of evil and the astonishing power of goodness.” The latter was made known by the “renewed awareness that we belong to one another and that our lives are not merely our own.”
He exhorted the people to practice the “profoundly Christian” virtues of truthfulness, unity, service, and charity. In doing so, the Bishop asserted, they will succeed in “weaken[ing] the power of hatred and strengthen[ing] the civilization of love that Christ came to establish.”
“Darkness,” avowed Bishop Schlert, “has never been able to extinguish the light of God.”
That light has been exemplified for more than four decades by Sister Deirdre “DeDe” Byrne, P.O.S.C. (“Piae Operaiae a Sancto Corde,” or “Little Workers of the Sacred Heart”). Sister Byrne, who gave a talk in the Cathedral’s social hall after the Mass, is an active missionary sister and retired Army colonel who is double board certified in family medicine and general surgery. Sister shared her recollections of being in New York on 9/11, “that demonic day when the world of innocence changed.”
“I wasn't a sister yet,” she recalled. “I was in the process of joining the Little Workers, but we were going over to Manhattan because [one of the sisters] had had open heart surgery … near Harlem. We’re sitting in the hospital lab lobby, and we witnessed by the TV set the first plane hitting North Tower. The second plane hit the tower, and then all hell broke loose, mayhem.
“Sister Priscilla called me and said, ‘I want you to go down as close as you can to the towers. Bring food and water. I want you to give it to the people that are fighting this fire.’ And miraculously, we made our way to what used to be called the Twin Towers.
“We had Mother Teresa's signature card, which is the Miraculous Medal, and we were passing those out and praying over people as we made our way. It was surreal and beautiful at the same time, that we were able to be there to give witness and bring the love of Christ to the incredible men and women that were down there.
“Despite all the suffering, we can reflect on the reality that God was helping to guide us through those very difficult moments.”
Dr. Tom Seykora presented the Msgr. James Mulligan Award to Sister Dede "For clearly articulating the teachings of the Church on Natural Moral Law and the Gospel of Life in relation to Medical and Biological Sciences."
After Sister DeDe’s talk, Bishop Schlert thanked Sister for her witness. He noted that “the human spirit and the willingness to sacrifice for others is … deep inside each and every one of us.”
The Red, White, & Blue Mass may be viewed on the Diocese of Allentown YouTube channel.
Photos by Norm Steinruck and Lilly Fallon.
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