On Friday, February 11, the Church celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick. It is a recognition of the importance to pray and care for those who are ill in our community and in our world. Jesus always had a preferential option for the sick and constantly reached out to them and healed many. However, Jesus did not physically cure all of them and I often wonder why not. Maybe there is something I did not see here. Maybe there was some spiritual healing that we do not hear about.
In a similar way, many people go to Lourdes and most of them do not get physically healed from their illnesses. Yet everyone receives some spiritually healing. I can attest to that reality after several trips to Lourdes on pilgrimage, including last fall with several members of our parish.
Yes, prayer changes us and not God. In other words, when we hold others who are ill in our prayers, then our hearts are changed. That is the powerful and beautiful thing about prayer. We ask God to bring them healing spiritually and if possible, physically.
In honor of this feast day, this weekend at all Masses, we will offer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to those who are currently ill; physically, mentally or emotionally. We will invite those wishing to receive the sacrament to come forward immediately following the homily and the priests will anoint them. In a special way, we ask the community to pray for each person who asks to be anointed. We may not know why they seek the anointing as they may wish to remain private (nor should we go up to them and ask), but we can hold them in our prayers throughout the week.
In addition, at the 9:00 a.m. Mass we will commission our new Mental Health Ministry team members who serve within our parish. This ministry is called Hope and Wellness and we seek to eliminate the stigma and discrimination that people living with a mental illness encounter in our Church and in our society. They will provide parish-wide education about mental health issues so we can make our parish a safe place to talk about our struggles. Our Hope and Wellness team members do not take on the role of a psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist but are here supply “Christian love, prayer and true human connections.” In other words, the “Catholic spiritual component” that is often left out in the treatment of mental illness. They seek to be a resource that provide information and education about mental health and wellness, and appropriate referrals, as needed.
These Mental Health Ministry members are available to all those in our parish family who have questions or concerns related to mental health. We are blessed to have this Mental Health Ministry join the other ministries serving our parish community. I would like to introduce the ministry members again here: Maria Allo, Linda Batton, Anna Pryor, Linda Ramelot, Dolores & Larry Thompson, and Rose Lue.
They will be available outside after the 9:00 a.m. Mass this weekend. Please join us for some light refreshments, pick up a bookmark that’ll show upcoming events, and get to know our Mental Health Ministry team.
Remember that the difference between mental illness and mental wellness is the “i” moves to the “we” and our community supplies that “we.” For us to be successful in this endeavor, we need all members of our parish to realize our parish is most successful when we are compassionate and caring to those who suffer.
Finally, I want to invite everyone to join us for a Concert with John Angotti called Living Real: Songs and Stories of Faith on February 25, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. in the Church. John is a gifted Catholic Musician and Artist who has composed and written some of our most popular contemporary Catholic music. I truly believe that art and music have a way of healing the soul in ways that words alone cannot do. Come join us for some healing music and please invite some friends. It is free to all and we encourage you to especially reach out to young people to join us.
God Bless,
Fr. Brendan