Anointing of the Sick is the sacrament that is received by those who are ill or suffering. By the sacred anointing and the prayer of the priest, the whole Church commends those who are sick to Christ. The sick person receives the Holy Spirit’s gifts of strength, faith, peace, and courage, and his or her suffering is united with the suffering of Christ for the building up of the Church (CCC nos. 1520-23).

As we enter into this season of Lent, allow me to share with you “10 Things to Remember for Lent,” written by Bishop David Ricken, former chairman of the USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis.

Brothers and sisters, the first form of care needed in any illness is compassionate and loving closeness. To care for the sick thus means above all to care for their relationships, all of them: with God, with others, with creation and with themselves. Can this be done? Yes, it can be done and all of us are called to ensure that it happens.

As we come together, let the spirit of generosity flourish in our hearts. May we be instruments of Your love, sharing the blessings You have bestowed upon us. In this annual appeal, may our faith, love, and compassion shine brightly, illuminating the path for those seeking hope.

Our hearts are filled with gratitude because we now experience the freedom that costed Jesus his very life. How can we repay the Lord for his goodness? Only through gratitude that allows us to offer ourselves to him and to his cause. This weekend, I invite you to prayerfully evaluate your expressions of gratitude to the Lord and greatly consider the Diocesan Development Fund and the purposes that this campaign wishes to promote.

We are now in Year B of the Church’s liturgical calendar. On most Sundays of this year, the Gospel will be taken from St. Mark. We keep in mind that first century Mediterranean societies were predominantly oral/aural cultures, that is, people communicated by speaking and listening rather than by reading and writing. This means that most people at that time would have heard Mark’s Gospel recited from memory.

The Lamb of God is the most meaningful title given to Jesus in the Scriptures. It sums up his love, sacrifice and triumph on the Cross - for our sake.

Although calendars now give the date of Easter and the other feasts in the liturgical year for many years in advance, the Epiphany proclamation still has value.

In an effort to extend the liturgies of the Church to the domestic church, that is, your own homes, I invite you to gather at the table or at the Christmas tree or manger scene and pray this as a family on New Year’s Eve.

Out of a loving desire for us to reach our eternal destination, he gives us his flesh and blood as food and drink for the journey. The destination is not just any land but the Kingdom of God. Nothing in this world can sustain us in the journey; only the living flesh and blood of God himself. Thus, only the Eucharist can bring us to our salvation. To deprive ourselves of the Eucharist is to make it impossible for us to reach the new Promised Land - Heaven.

This year is unique because the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve fall on the same day. This happens about every six or seven years, although a leap year might render the interval longer. Our Church teaches that Catholics are required to participate in the Holy Eucharist on Sundays and other Holy Days of Obligation.

The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the only picture of Mary that we have directly from heaven. She miraculously appeared on the Tilma/cloak of St. Juan Diego in the presence of Bishop Zumarraga. In the Tilma, we see Mary as the Mother of God teaching us how to adore her Son. One can easily say that the Tilma is a catechesis on the spirituality of Eucharistic faith and devotion through the personal witness of Mary. Let us briefly detail a few things that Our Lady of Guadalupe is teaching us today.

The Advent season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and to the anniversary of Our Lord’s birth on Christmas.

The metaphor of “oil” refers to the way we do (or do not) live the virtuous life that God freely empowers us to live. You cannot “borrow” these virtues at the last moment; you must “live” them everyday. These Gospel words are very sobering, and they remind us that we can never use the excuse, “But no one told me.” We know what God wants us to do. We need to remind ourselves that when much is given, much is also required.

The logo for this year’s Harvest Festival bears elements worthy of knowing and reflecting on. The first is the theme itself, “Taste and See that the Lord is Good” taken from Psalm 34, 9.

October is the Month of the Holy Rosary primarily because the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on October 7th. The feast was introduced by Pope St. Pius V to commemorate the miraculous victory of the Christian forces in the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. He attributed more to the “arms” of the Rosary than the power of cannons and the valor of the soldiers who fought there.

And so, this October, I invite all Catholics to think about building a culture of life in terms of radical solidarity. We are the Church. Our prayers, witness, sacrifices, advocacy, and good works are needed now, more than ever. We are the hands and feet of Christ in the world today and we each have a personal responsibility to care for one another.

“Let Justice and Peace Flow” is the theme of this year’s ecumenical Season of Creation, inspired by the words of the prophet Amos: “Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (5:24).

The visionaries were two poor and uneducated children. They were entrusted with a beautiful message of reconciliation with the self, others, nature and God. God calls us back to Him. When we sin, He is generous with his forgiveness. But we must also be willing to reconcile with others and extend the forgiveness God has extended to us, as illustrated in the Gospel parable this weekend. To refuse to forgive those who have sinned against us would be to exclude ourselves from receiving God’s forgiveness for our own sins.

You may have already noticed by now that the theme for this year’s Parish Annual Report and Harvest Festival is the same: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” In the context of the Annual Report, the theme invites us to remember the many blessings the Lord has given us, both personally and communally. The Lord has been so good to us that he has allowed us to achieve many great things as a church. In the context of the festival, it invites us and all people to see the goodness of coming together, playing together, eating together and creating beautiful memories together. These are good things that can only come from the Lord, for He is a God of unity, and not of division.