Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the Church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. (Jas 5:13-20)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022622.cfm
We come to the end of the Letter of James, and we hear the tender instruction about the Anointing of the Sick. God touches us through the hands and the prayers of the community and raises us up! Today as we continue to pray for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, we have the Ukrainian Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos (Mother of God). The icon is the Mother of God, Light in All Darkness.
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Saturday of our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, February 26
