Rather than allowing technological advances to shape how medicine is practiced, today’s health care providers should follow the example of Jesus Christ, who cured the sick by listening to them and offering his own touch.

That was the advice offered by father Michael Manning in his homily during the White Mass. The Mass of Thanksgiving was held Oct. 26 in St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral, Metuchen, to honor physicians, nurses and healthcare personnel in the diocese. The principal celebrant was Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski.

Father Manning, pastor of St. William the Abbot Parish, Howell, practiced medicine in Staten Island before becoming a priest. In his homily, Father Manning said he knows that because of exhaustion or fear, there may be times when health care professionals are tempted "to flee the bedside" of a patient who is seriously ill.

"There’s a danger now of retreating from the patient to the chart; the image," he said.

But those who stay are connected to Jesus, who treated and worked with diseases that varied from leprosy to blindness, he said.

Father Manning said it’s best to let patients speak, ask questions and let out their emotions.

"It hurts to stay there in solitude. Jesus cut through people’s isolation with his touch. We must never be too afraid, too busy to touch people," he said.

At a reception held after the Mass, Grace Rehm, a registered nurse from Somerset, who is a member of St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Kendall Park, said she uses prayer for patients.

"We tend to have long days. It’s a busy time," she said.

Mary Molignano, a registered nurse from North Brunswick who is also a member of St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, works with adults and children at a psychiatric hospital in Piscataway. She also prays for strength and her patients.

Noting that it’s easy to get caught up in the tasks of her job, she said Father Manning’s homily helped "bring you back to the reason why you should be there."

Molignano said she gets inspiration to help people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol from one of the visionaries of the supposed Medjugorge apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"Her vocation now is caring for patients with drug abuse issues. It helped me realize there is a need and calling for that," Molignano said.

Sheryl A. Slonim, president and chief executive officer of St. Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick, said spirituality is a necessity to be a good health care worker.

"There’s a distinct difference in attitude from the minute that the morning prayer is said overhead (on the intercom)," Slonim said. "And I say that because I’ve worked in non-Catholic as well as Catholic institutions and I can remember the first time hearing it, it shocked me. But it sets the tone for whole day — of respect. And honestly, it makes a significant difference in the way you practice."

Dr. Vincent Cannamela, a Metuchen resident and member of St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral Parish, said he practices internal medicine in his hometown. Dr. Cannamela said he’s used his faith for strength and guidance throughout his long career.

"I do believe in prayer to help cure, or at least relieve discomfort," Dr. Cannamela said.

Dr. Cannamela said his faith also has provided him with guidance in making decisions about certain procedures.

"From the moment I became a physician, I have been totally against abortion," he said. "I also never ordered birth control pills. That’s not my job as far as I’m concerned. I wrote a letter about partial-birth abortion to the local newspaper in which I indicated that this, to me, was murder."

Dr. Frederic F. Primich, also of Metuchen and a member of the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, began his medical career as a surgeon in 1962.

Primich, a chest surgeon, said praying for strength and guidance in the hospital was sometimes not only a choice for him, but a necessity.

"In the operating room they have a basin of water where they rinse off our gloves," Dr. Primich said. "Periodically, when an operation was impossible and I didn’t know how to proceed or best to proceed, I’d go over and wash my hands and reflect a little bit and go back and do what’s right."

Primich is also coordinating the new Diocese of Metuchen Physician’s Guild, an organization open to Catholic physicians that will reinforce what Father Manning said and provide a forum for teaching and discussing medical issues from a Catholic perspective.