Gold Mass; first for Diocese, N.J.

DOVER  Local Catholic scientists and engineers — who often experience resistance from non-believers in their professional communities — gathered on Nov. 15 morning in Sacred Heart Church here to profess together publicly for the first time, “We are scientists. We are Catholic and we believe in God.” On that Thursday, they came together to attend a Gold Mass in honor of engineers and scientists — and their patron, St. Albert the Great — the first of its kind celebrated not only in the Diocese, but also in New Jersey.

Wearing red and gold vestments, Father Brendan Murray, pastor of the combined Sacred Heart and Most Holy Rosary Parish, celebrated the Mass, which was organized to foster fellowship among local Catholic scientists and engineers. The event — which included a networking reception afterward — also helped lay the groundwork in establishing a forum for participants to pose questions about science and faith. The 10:30 a.m. Gold Mass featured prayers of intercession to St. Albert and a homily by Deacon Peter Cistaro of St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany. In it, he emphasized Church teachings about the connection between science and faith and the Church’s long-time support of science.

“This [Gold Mass] is a beginning. We are so grateful to God. Science works together with faith. Scientists of faith do their work, so that God can be glorified,” Father Murray said, during the Mass, which was held on Nov. 15, the feast day of St. Albert. It was the first step in the Diocese to help establish a nationwide tradition in the Catholic scientific community.

The Gold Mass follows the tradition of Masses for other professions, such as Red Masses for lawyers and Blue Masses for police officers. It was called the Gold Mass, because of the color of the hoods worn by graduating doctoral students in science and because St. Albert worked as an alchemist, who turned base metals into gold. The Mass included prayers and readings as suggested by the national Society of Catholic Scientists, which held the first-ever Gold Mass in the U.S. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Nov. 15, 2016. This year, numerous groups of Catholic engineers and scientists around the U.S. held Gold Masses that day, said Johnny Figueroa of Sacred Heart, a third-year candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese, who helped coordinate the Gold Mass at his parish.

The Gold Mass honors St. Albert, a 13th century German Dominican friar who was named one of 36 doctors of the Church. His interests and studies included the natural sciences, as well as math, astronomy, philosophy, ethics, economics, politics and metaphysics. St. Albert’s 40 volumes of writing on the natural sciences served as an encyclopedia at the time. He also helped pioneer the inductive method of reasoning, said Figueroa, a supervisory project manager at the U.S. Army’s Picatinny Arsenal in Wharton.

That morning, worshippers prayed several specific intensions, such as “O God, who made the Bishop St. Albert great by his joining of human wisdom to divine faith, grant…that we may so adhere to the truths he taught, that through progress in learning we may come to a deeper knowledge and love of you.” Assisting with the Gold Mass was Deacon Cistaro, who also serves as director of the diocesan Office of the Permanent Diaconate. He had originally studied industrial engineering but pursed a career in management, retiring as vice president of gas delivery for Public Service Electric & Gas in 2007.

In his homily, Deacon Cistaro noted that many science-minded people respond to the question, “Do you believe in God?” by saying, “Sorry, I’m a scientist — I only believe in facts!” This comment “could lead one to believe that there is a great void or chasm between faith and science —and never the two shall meet,” he said.

“Yet, we all know that the opposite is the absolute truth. All of us here believe in God and we all use verifiable facts, data and information in our daily work as scientists and engineers. We believe that there is a connection between faith and science,” Deacon Cistaro said. “Today we thank God for all the goodness that he gives us. We thank him for our individual talents and education. We thank him for all of our accomplishments and any and all benefits we have been able to pass on to others. Today we are all proud and privileged to say, ‘I’m not sorry. I’m a scientist. I’m a Catholic and I believe in God,’ ” he said.

The Church always has supported science, like when the First Vatican Council in 1868 declared, “Faith and reason are a mutual help to each other”; when Pope Pius XI founded The Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1936; and when Pope Francis recently had addressed a plenary session of the pontifical academy, Deacon Cistaro said.

Furthermore, many priests, religious and other noted Catholics have become important scientists. They include: Nicolaus Copernicus, the father of astronomy; Augustinian Father Gregor Mendel, the father of modern genetics; Msgr. George LeMaitre, who formulated the Big Bang Theory; and Sister of Charity Mary Kenneth Keller, a pioneer in developing BASIC computer programming, Deacon Cistaro said.

Praying with great happiness in a pew at Sacred Heart on Nov. 15 was Elizabeth Mezzacappa, Ph.D., of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish, Edison, in the Metuchen Diocese. She works as a chemical scientist at Picatinny, tasked with improving the relationships between soldiers and their weapons. Inspired by having attended national conferences of the Society of Catholic Scientists, Mezzacappa proposed the idea holding a local Gold Mass to Andrea Stevens of St. Jude Parish, Budd Lake, an innovation manager at Picatinny, she said.

Then, Stevens pitched the idea to Figueroa, who has attended Catholic Masses in the base chapel with his two colleagues. Not able to hold the Gold Mass in the base chapel, Figueroa suggested that it be held at Sacred Heart; spoke with Father Murray, who approved it; and secured permission from Bishop Serratelli. He also promoted the event, including within the Permanent Diaconate, he said.

“It’s important for us scientists and engineers to be strong in professing our Catholic faith. At Picatinny, many of my colleagues are fact-based non-believers. I try to talk to them about my faith, when appropriate,” said Figueroa, a U.S. Army veteran, who oversees the destruction or dismantling of old, outdated ammunition in a safe and environmentally friendly way at the arsenal. “My job reminds me of God’s creation but also reminds me of the delicate balance between peace and war — and the need for us to pray that we don’t have to use them [weapons and ammunition at Picatinny].