At the beginning of Lent, I invited us to reflect on the difference between being a true follower of Christ or simply an admirer.  How we have undertaken our Lenten journey will give a good indication of the camp to which we belong.  The question we can pose to ourselves is simple:  after this Lenten journey, is it evident that I love God more than at the beginning of Lent?  And by extension, do I love others more than at the beginning of Lent?  Those are the questions that are most important for us to ask ourselves, not how successful we have been with our Lenten practices, for if they have not resulted in this increase in love for God and neighbor, they have been ineffective, at least according to what the Church expects of us from our Lenten observances.  Being the so-called “best version of ourselves” must always be seen through the lens of the Gospel, not through the lens the world which focuses just on self-perfection and self-love.  The true follower of Jesus comes to the beginning of Holy Week with greater love in their hearts.  Admirers, however, have remained largely unchanged in their hearts, despite checking all of the boxes of Lent. 

As I share these challenging words, I do not intend for them to make us as feel discouraged if we find ourselves in the admirer camp.  The fact of the matter is, we all likely have a mix in our hearts of being both a follower and an admirer.  But there is good news for us, even if we feel that we have not lived this Lent well.  There is still time for us to make good use of the season, even if there are only a few days left.  Just look to the example of the Good Thief who, in the final moments of the Passion of Jesus, turned to Him with that moving request: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”, to which Jesus responded: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)

It is not too late for us to make that intentional decision to live as a follower of Jesus Christ, asking for His grace to overcome those areas of our hearts which still only admire Him from a distance, unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to be more completely His.  A week may not seem like enough time for this type of conversion, but this is no ordinary week!  The love of Christ is on full display for us this Holy Week as we recount the gift that He won for all of us through His suffering and death.

May I suggest a final Lenten practice for each of us this week?  Find a crucifix and keep it visible to you throughout the week.  Look at it regularly, and as you do, make many acts of reparation for your many sins, and follow them up with acts of thanksgiving and love for the sacrifice He offered for each of us.  Even if you have struggled with your Lenten disciplines, this simple practice of adoring our Lord’s Cross during this week can bear great fruit that can redeem your entire Lenten journey and so prepare you to celebrate Easter in the way the Church intends, as a follower, no longer just an admirer.

Father Alford     

When a priest receives a call to celebrate the Anointing of the Sick, he always brings several items along with him: the Oil of the Sick (usually in a very small vial or oil stock), a small prayer book, and a stole. In case of an emergency, the priest really only needs the Oil of the Sick, but it is good when possible to also wear a stole and pray the prayers from the book which surround the Anointing of the Sick. 

The Oil of the Sick is olive oil which receives a special blessing at the Chrism Mass, which our diocese celebrates on Tuesday evening of Holy Week. Nothing is physically added to this oil when it is blessed. I was surprised to learn recently that our oil simply comes from the grocery store before it is blessed. I had never really thought about where the oil comes from until I came to the Cathedral, and our staff here is responsible for purchasing this oil every year. 

God uses simple physical means in all of his sacraments: oil, water, bread, wine, and simple words spoken. However, after the oil is blessed, it is no longer regular olive oil, but instead becomes an instrument of God’s healing grace. Here is the prayer of blessing which the Bishop prays over the oil. 

O God, Father of all consolation, who willed to heal the infirmities of the weak through your Son, listen favorably to the prayer of faith: send forth from the heavens, we pray, your Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, upon this oil in all its richness, which you have graciously brought forth from the verdant tree to restore the body, so that by your blessing, everyone anointed with this oil as a safeguard for body, soul, and spirit, may be freed from all pain, all infirmity, and all sickness. May your holy oil, O Lord, be blessed by you for our sake, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Most priests keep a small oil stock in the glovebox of their car, and some even keep a very small vial in their pocket. We do not want to be in a situation where somebody needs the Anointing, but we are not able to offer it because we forgot to bring the oil with us. In cases of emergency, a priest can bless some oil himself (using the prayer from the book) instead of going to retrieve the oil that has been blessed by the Bishop.

The Anointing of the Sick typically involves three anointings on the body. First the priest traces the sign of the cross on the patient’s forehead while saying, “Through this holy anointing, may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.” Then, the priest traces the sign of the cross on the palms of each of the patient’s hands while saying, “May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up.” There are some situations where a person’s hands or head may be bandaged after an accident, and in that case, the priest may anoint only one part of the body or even the part of the body which needs healing. 

This concludes our parish’s reflections on the Anointing of the Sick. If you remember one thing, just remember that when a Catholic is near death or seriously ill, do not hesitate to call a priest and ask for the Anointing of the Sick! 

Celebrated whenever Our Lord Jesus Christ’s Passion is Told

Just inside the door of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher – the gigantic, ancient, Church in Jerusalem that sits on top of the locations for Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection – you come across a strange sight (amongst many found in that Church, at least to us Western Catholics, who over the centuries have developed a different variety of liturgical and devotional traditions and accoutrements than the Coptic, Armenian, Russian, Greek, and Ethiopian (Orthodox) Christians, which form the most prevalent other groups visiting and praying in this tremendous Basilica).  That sight is a stone slab elevated just a bit off of the uneven stone floor, flanked by large candles and situated under a rank of 8 large, glass, oil lamps.  Unless you walked in just as the giant doors opened in the morning (around 5am), there is probably a crowd of pilgrims crouched and reverencing this particular stone, and bemused tourists standing around with cameras.  The air around you smells of oldness and oil, the sound of the markets and streets outside has been replaced by the reverent bustle and busy-ness that saturates this beautiful, profound, mystifying place.  You are standing before the Stone of Anointing long held to be where Jesus was washed, anointed, and wrapped in linen before His burial.

After this Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds’ weight. They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. – John 19:38-42

I had never considered the fact that all of the scenes we know so well of Jesus’ crucifixion, passion, death, burial, and resurrection all happened within a handful of yards of each other.  Of course, all four evangelists indicate that Jesus was buried once Joseph had asked for His body, and that the tomb was not far away because they had to act quickly to be done before the Sabbath started.  So perhaps I should not have been surprised to find this anointing stone only a handful of yards from Golgotha, and a similar distance to the sepulcher where Jesus was buried.

Still, not only does this Basilica put in perspective the distance and reality of all those locations, it also brings us close to the characters that were present at those places, on that terrible but wonderful, horrible but good Friday.  His mother, and the disciple whom He loved.  Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Mary of Clopas. Salome, and the other women. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.  The Centurion, soldiers, Simon, and the Chief Priests.  They stood around these same places, but they held in their heart very different perspectives on the scenes unfolding before their eyes.  Last week I put us in the shoes of Ciaphas – not exactly a saint in these scenes! – yet it is helpful to put us in the shoes of all the different characters who had the grace to be present before Christ upon the cross.  Some chose to believe.  Some chose to run.  Some chose to deny, decry, or despair.  Some chose the puzzling path of asking for Jesus’ body and preparing it for burial.  

We get to choose our place as well.  Will we act in our day, as the saints did then?  The Sanhedrin?  The spectators?  The sorrowers?  The soldiers?  The sinners?  

– Fr. Dominic Rankin has had the chance to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  He will (hopefully) never forget a long night spent in prayer in the dark and locked church.  It was chilling physically, but transformative spiritually.  A place like none on earth: where God laid down His life, and took it up again.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Pope Francis has designated this year to be a Year of St. Joseph, marking the 150^th Anniversary of the Proclamation of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church by Blessed Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1870.  To kick off the year, Pope Francis released a beautiful reflection on St. Joseph in his Apostolic Letter, Patris corde.  I highly encourage you to read this relatively short letter, especially during this month dedicated to him.

There is a hidden nugget to be found in this letter that I did not discover when I first read it.  That nugget is found not in the main text of the letter, but in the footnotes!  The footnote is referenced by the following line in the text which seems rather insignificant.  The Holy Father writes:

Every prayer book contains prayers to Saint Joseph. Special prayers are offered to him each Wednesday and especially during the month of March, which is traditionally dedicated to him.

Great.  Thanks for the heads up, but who takes the time to jump to read every footnote?  But reading this footnote is like finding gold, as it offers something very personal and beautiful about Pope Francis and his personal devotion to St. Joseph.  Here is how the footnote reads:

Every day, for over forty years, following Lauds I have recited a prayer to Saint Joseph taken from a nineteenth-century French prayer book of the Congregation of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary. It expresses devotion and trust, and even poses a certain challenge to Saint Joseph: “Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph, whose power makes the impossible possible, come to my aid in these times of anguish and difficulty. Take under your protection the serious and troubling situations that I commend to you, that they may have a happy outcome. My beloved father, all my trust is in you. Let it not be said that I invoked you in vain, and since you can do everything with Jesus and Mary, show me that your goodness is as great as your power. Amen.”

What a moving prayer that is!  When we think of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, we might think that our own needs are so minor in comparison to all of the needs of the Church throughout the world.  Does he really have time to listen to my prayers and struggles?  Absolutely!  Just as a good father has time and concern for the individual needs of each of his children, so too with St. Joseph, our father and lord (as St. Josemaria Escriva likes to call him).  I think the above prayer prayed each day by our Holy Father is a witness to that reality.  Perhaps you and I could adopt that same practice of turning to St. Joseph each day, asking for his help in bringing about a happy outcome to every struggle we entrust to his intercession. 

Father Alford     

We all know that the Anointing of the Sick should be offered to all Catholics who are nearing death, and also those who are facing a serious illness or weakness from old age. The Church talks about four specific graces that Jesus offers to those who receive this special sacrament. This can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1520-1523. 

The first grace is described as “a particular gift of the Holy Spirit.” People who have received this sacrament can probably testify to the effects of this gift of the Holy Spirit. In this moment, God gives strength, peace, and courage in the face of difficulty. This courage also helps one to be victorious in the battle that takes place “at the hour of our death” as we pray in the Hail Mary. In the moments before death, the devil knows that it is his last chance to tempt us to despair. The grace of God comes in at this very moment to strengthen us! Also, one’s sins can be forgiven if they were not able to receive Reconciliation. The soul is healed and the body is also healed, if God wills it for one’s spiritual good. 

The second grace of this sacrament is a special union with the passion of Christ. Through our baptism, we are all united with Christ’s death and resurrection in a spiritual way. However, when our bodies die, we share with Christ’s death in a physical way. As we near this moment, our suffering is especially close to the suffering that Jesus endured in his Passion. As St. Paul tells us, our suffering fills up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, and Jesus uses our suffering for the salvation of the world. 

The third grace is called an ecclesial grace. “Ecclesial” refers to the Church. In addition to uniting one to Christ, the Anointing unites one more fully to the Church. They can experience a special closeness to the saints in heaven, and their suffering becomes a gift to the entire Church throughout the world. 

The fourth and final grace of the Anointing of the Sick is a preparation for the final journey. This is the last sacrament many will receive before passing away (except for Viaticum hopefully). We all receive several anointings during the celebration of the sacraments: two anointings in Baptism, one in Confirmation, and for priests, at the reception of Holy Orders. This final anointing fortifies the end of our earthly life as we prepare for the journey from earthly life to eternal life. 

The Anointing of the Sick certainly offers us many graces at what may be the lowest point of our lives. “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful.” The Lord is very close to us in our suffering, and especially in our death. This past Friday, we just celebrated the Solemnity of St. Joseph. He is the patron saint of a happy death, and we should all pray that we will die a “happy death.” God did not make death, but he has transformed it into the gateway of eternal life. May we all pray that we will receive the gift of the Anointing of the Sick before we die, so that we can receive all these gifts that Jesus desires to offer us.