Dear Friends,
On July 2, 2024, Pope Francis released a brief video message stating:
“This month, let us pray for the pastoral care of the sick. The Anointing of the Sick is not a sacrament only for those who are at the point of death. No. It is important that this is clear.”
When the priest draws near a person to perform the Anointing of the Sick, it is not necessarily to help them say goodbye to life. Thinking this way means giving up every hope.
Let us remember that the Anointing of the Sick is one of the “sacraments of healing,” of “restoration,” that heals the spirit. And when a person is very ill, it’s advisable to give them the Anointing of the Sick. And when someone is elderly, it’s good that they receive the Anointing of the Sick.
Let us pray that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick grants the Lord’s strength to those who receive it and to their loved ones, and that it may become for everyone an ever more visible sign of compassion and hope”.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops echoes these words of the Holy Father:
“In the Church's Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, through the ministry of the priest, it is Jesus who touches the sick to heal them from sin – and sometimes even from physical ailment. His cures were signs of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. The core message of his healing tells us of his plan to conquer sin and death by his dying and rising.
“The Rite of Anointing tells us there is no need to wait until a person is at the point of death to receive the Sacrament. A careful judgment about the serious nature of the illness is sufficient.
“When the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given, the hoped-for effect is that, if it be God's will, the person be physically healed of illness. But even if there is no physical healing, the primary effect of the Sacrament is a spiritual healing by which the sick person receives the Holy Spirit's gift of peace and courage to deal with the difficulties that accompany serious illness or the frailty of old age.”
Fr. Thiago and I invite you to always approach us for this beautiful and powerful sacrament of healing before or after any Mass you attend here at Immaculate Conception.
In Christ,
Fr. Jim