Dear Parish Family,

We celebrate the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick at Mass this weekend. Along with the Sacrament of Confession (also called Penance or Reconciliation), the Sacrament of Anointing is one of the two Sacraments of Healing of the Church. The foundation of these two Sacraments of Healing comes from Christ's own integrative healing ministry. Christ healed the whole person, not just one or another part of the person. Remember those stories in the Gospel about Jesus healing someone physically and then saying, "Go and sin no more." He connects our physical healing with the whole of our created nature: body, mind, and spirit. Since the priest serves in the name and person of Christ, those who approach Confession or Anointing also seek this integrative healing of body, mind, and spirit.

The Scriptural witness to the Sacrament of Anointing comes not only from Jesus' healing ministry, but also from the Letter of James: "Are there any among you who are sick? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save them, and the Lord will raise them up. If they have committed any sins, their sins will be forgiven them" (James 5:14-15). Even from the earliest days of the Church, the sick had a special Sacrament devoted to the healing of their whole human nature.

It always strikes me in one of the concluding prayers for anointing someone in extreme or terminal illness, "Look with compassion upon your servant, whom we have anointed in your name with this holy oil, for the healing of his/her body and spirit." It sounds odd to pray for the healing of the physical body of someone who is actively dying, and yet this prayer encompasses that healing of the whole person for which our hearts long. Will the person recover physically due to being anointed? Perhaps. But even if the person dies, the prayer for healing of the body of someone who has died looks forward in hope to the resurrection of the body, the total transfiguration and divinization of the person's human nature into God's divine nature. We will live in heaven not just as spirits, but in our bodies. What a wonderful gift of love from our Lord!

New Rectory Town Hall Meetings
There's still time to RSVP to our last town hall meeting on the new rectory proposal. Our final town hall will be this Tuesday, November 14 at 7:00 pm in the Banquet Room. The presentation will last about a half hour with time for parishioners from St. Mary and St. Patrick Parishes to provide input and ask questions. I kindly ask for your participation in this process as we develop our plans. Please RSVP to the parish office ahead of time if you're able so we know how many tables and chairs to set up.

Prep for #WeGiveCatholic
Get ready for Giving Tuesday on November 28 as we invest in our St. Mary School teachers! Every donation supports initiatives requested by our teachers, including providing them with new laptops and upgrading the desks and chairs in our upper elementary classrooms. Mark your calendars for early giving starting next Sunday, November 19!

I am yours in Christ,

Fr. Scott Goodfellow