Pastor’s Letter: April 19, 2026

Pastor’s Letter: April 19, 2026

17 Apr 2026 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,

Continued Easter Blessings to you all! As I am writing this, we are preparing for our First Communion celebration this coming Sunday afternoon. What a great joy! I am always so edified by the genuine faith of our young people, and especially the care they show in receiving Communion so reverently. Our children truly are the great treasure of our parish—they point us toward a strong future for our church and school. Their good faith and reverence are a reminder to us all of the great gift we have in Jesus present in the Eucharist. Please join me in a prayer of thanksgiving for our young people receiving First Communion this weekend!

Continuing our review of the Sacraments, I thought we would dive into a Sacrament that can sometimes be misunderstood…both in terms of when it happens and who should receive it:  The Anointing of the Sick. As our Catechism teaches, Anointing of the Sick is “One of the seven sacraments, also known as the ‘sacrament of the dying,’ administered by a priest to a baptized person who begins to be in danger of death because of illness or old age, through prayer and the anointing of the body with the oil of the sick. The proper effects of the sacrament include a special grace of healing and comfort to the Christian who is suffering the infirmities of serious illness or old age, and the forgiving of the person’s sins” (CCC, Glossary, p.866). Because of the long connotation of being a “sacrament of the dying,” sometimes people only associate it with end of life situations, but as we will see in the weeks ahead, there are several health situations and times where Anointing of the Sick is a great and fitting gift for a person in the midst of health challenges.

Anointing of the Sick is included in the list of Sacraments of Healing, along with Baptism and Reconciliation (sometimes the Eucharist is included as well because of the spiritual strengthening which comes from frequent worthy receptions of Holy Communion). These Sacraments of Healing provide for significant needs of the spiritual life: Baptism is the sacrament of spiritual rebirth; Reconciliation is the cure for the spiritual sickness of sin committed after Baptism; and Anointing of the Sick strengthens us when seriously ill or dying. In His wisdom and love, Jesus has gifted us with these powerful sacraments to help us in these challenging moments of life.

When we think about illness, we certainly think of it as a negative thing. We feel the pain or discomfort…we aren’t able to live in the normal way…oftentimes illness requires us to have extra rest and perhaps certain medicines to help our recovery. If we think about the spirituality of illness, we can reflect on the negative aspects of what we experience. Bodily illness and suffering are part of the consequences of Original Sin. We experience our limitations and sometimes our powerlessness over the illness. Reflecting on the suffering can sometimes lead to anguish, self-absorption, questioning or anger at God, and sometimes even despair. On a positive note, illness can often help us see very clearly who and what are the true essentials of our lives. Illness and suffering can spur us on to search for God (and if needed return to Him), since we encounter what is at times beyond our own capacity. In a unique way, suffering can also unite us with Christ on the Cross (see CCC, 1500-1501). Our Catechism highlights this connection with Jesus in the introductory paragraph of the section on Anointing of the Sick: “By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the people of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ” (CCC, 1499).

Hopefully, reading those words draws out some powerful truths that are such a gift in the midst of suffering. First noted there, through the Sacrament of Anointing we are connected to the “whole” Church, which is praying for the person—that in itself is amazing to think about! Of course it means we are never alone, even when we feel that way. We are also encouraged to “freely” unite ourselves to Christ through His Passion. No doubt, this can sound scary as we think about the suffering of the Cross. But at the same time, this reflection can give us hope and once again remind us we are never alone. If we are united to Christ in suffering, He certainly is there with us…and if He is with us, we can always be strengthened in hope. As we are now in the Easter Season, we are celebrating the victory of Christ over sin and death. We recall with joy that He has offered Himself in sacrifice and risen from the dead in a decisive victory over anything that would burden us or be an obstacle in our lives. We are hopeful because we know that Christ is with us and that through His love and generosity He always provides us what we need.

Next week, we will reflect more on Christ the “Divine Physician” and how the Sacrament of Anointing fits in with His ministry of healing. Know of my prayers and blessing for you all!

In Christ,
Father Luke