(This article is updated with more photos.)
In thanksgiving to God and to honor the cherished gifts of those who live with special needs, archdiocesan Catholics gathered for the 12th annual White Mass celebrated on Oct. 31 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, D.C.
“Today, we pause to honor those who live successfully, fruitfully and joyfully with disabilities in ways that can enrich and inspire all of our lives as they remind us that they are not limited in their humanity by these disabilities,” said Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory during his homily.
The liturgy to recognize persons who are deaf or live with disability drew persons of all ages with intellectual and physical disabilities, as well as their families, friends, caregivers, catechists and others who work in special needs parish ministries. The White Mass is sponsored each year by the Office of Deaf and Disabilities Ministry in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
“To all those present here at this White Mass who enrich the Church with their courage and their gifts, I say, “Thank you and God bless you,’” said Cardinal Gregory.
Cardinal Gregory, the main celebrant, was joined in concelebrating the Mass by Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, rector of the cathedral; Father Min Seo Park, chaplain of St. Francis Deaf Catholic Church and Gallaudet University campus ministry; as well as archdiocesan priests and deacons, all wearing white vestments to symbolize the connection to the Baptismal promises of all those present.
At the beginning of the liturgy, the congregation was blessed with holy water as a memorial of their Baptismal vows.
Msgr. Jameson welcomed all those in attendance at the White Mass, which honors persons, whom he said Pope Francis describes as “masterpieces of God’s creation, made in His image, destined to live forever and are deserving of our utmost respect.”
Cardinal Gregory praised those living with special needs for their witness and determination to overcome obstacles, while emphasizing the precious treasures they bring to their families and the Church.
“This Sunday, we focus our hearts on the presence and the blessing of those members of our family of faith who remind us that our human dignity is never lost or lessened by any disability, whether observable to others or perhaps known only to ourselves,” the cardinal said.
Those who live with special needs, said the cardinal, must always be valued and treated with dignity and respect by their fellow Catholics.
“God can and always does use every person to draw the human family closer to Him and one another,” he said. “Like a stark desert, where it might seem impossible to produce anything worthwhile, but with God’s grace, even such a place can blossom and be filled with life and beauty. We need only to believe that nothing is impossible with God.”
During the White Mass, people who are deaf and those who live with disability served as lectors, altar servers and gift bearers. Several archdiocesan Catholics involved in special needs ministry and those supported by special needs ministry who have passed away were remembered in the Prayers of the Faithful: Patricia and James Sullivan, Mattie J.T. Stepanek, Kathy Buta, Carl and Antoinette Ruppert, Tom Draper, Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Francis and Cubby LaHood, Colleen Welch, Flynn Fry, Evan Finn Gardner, Gina Marie and Nancy Bleggi, Angela Mayer-Whittington, Francis and Cubby LaHood, Maria Gillis, Andrew Vocke and Althea Wallace.
The Mass has a tradition that all the participants at the liturgy wear white to symbolize the bonds of community shared through the sacrament of Baptism. In 2017, the U.S. Catholic Bishops based their Sacramental Guidelines for Persons with Disabilities on this primary foundation: “By reason of their Baptism, all Catholics are equal in dignity in the sight of God and have the same divine calling.”
Following the liturgy, Cardinal Gregory spent time greeting dozens of Mass-goers, taking photos with several individuals with disabilities and their family members and offering a blessing or words of encouragement to them.
