Each Sunday we gather as Catholic Christians in a spirit of deep gratitude
for the tremendous blessings God has bestowed upon us…
upon our families, upon our Church, our school, and our community.
The very word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving”
and each time we gather to celebrate Holy Mass…
we give thanks that Jesus comes to be present with us
and that He nourishes our souls
with His own sacred Body and Precious Blood.
In this month dedicated to “respect for life…”
we give thanks for the precious gift of life…
for the beautiful life we are so blessed to share as human persons
as creatures loved into being by God our Heavenly Father.
As Catholic Christians who are grateful for the gift of our own lives…
we are called to pray and to work to defend the sanctity of all human life…
to help the world around us once again value human life…
and to never cease to proclaim the truth by our words and deeds:
The truth is that each and every human person…
from the very moment of conception until the moment God calls us home…
is a unique creation of God…
is loved by God…
and every human life is to be cherished as sacred.
[PAUSE]
Today…in a special way…we give thanks for the sacramental life of the Church…
through which we constantly nourish…strengthen…and deepen
our relationship with Christ.
In today’s Gospel we see the healing power of Christ’s love
effective in the lives of the ten lepers whom He heals.
In the life of the one Samaritan leper who returned to give thanks to Jesus…
we see a model of gratitude for the gift of life and for Christ’s healing grace.
What is striking in the story is that Jesus…
Who could have healed instantly
and without interaction with any other person…
says to the lepers:
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
It is through the hands of unworthy priests
who act in the person of Christ…
that Christ makes Himself present on the Altar
and administers His healing grace in the Sacraments.
And so we give thanks for the gift of the Priesthood in the life of the Church.
As the Letter of Saint James teaches…
“If there are sick among you, let them send for the priests…”
Today the priests of this parish come to you to offer the healing of Christ’s grace
through the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.
We will invite those who are in need of this sacrament to come forward…
Those who are seriously ill…whether adults or children…
Those anticipating surgery…
The elderly who are sick or seriously weakened…
Those who have mental illness and are in need of healing…
And those who are in danger because their illness has worsened…
When you are invited to come forward,
please extend your hands that they may be anointed...
Together as the members of Christ’s Mystical Body,
we give thanks and praise
for the love that is made present to us in the person of Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment