Bishop Earl Fernandes and Father Ramon Owera concelebrated a Mass for Anointing of the Sick and administered the sacrament of anointing on Sunday, Feb. 12 at Columbus Holy Rosary-St. John Church.
The annual anointing Mass, sponsored by the Order of Malta, coincides with the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, which was observed a day earlier on Feb. 11, and the World Day of the Sick.
The Order of Malta and the Knights of St. John, a fraternal order, joined a procession at the opening of the Mass that included Bishop Fernandes and Father Owera, the church’s pastor. Members of the congregation received the sacrament of anointing at the Mass, and the Order of Malta sponsored a reception afterward.
Bishop Fernandes referred to the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in his homily.
“One person who said ‘yes’ to God was the Blessed Virgin Mary,” he said. “What did Mary say? ‘Let it be done to me according to Your word.’
“And she never took back her ‘yes.’”
He went on to explain how Mary remained loyal to her Son and was always at His side.
“Mary must have wondered when her Son was put on trial and suffered His passion, but she stood faithfully by the cross, never withdrawing her ‘yes’ but always thinking in God’s plan something good will happen,” the bishop said.
“And sure enough, He did rise from the dead, and her fidelity was rewarded. … For her faithful ‘yes,’ she was assumed body and soul in the glory of heaven.”
Bishop Earl Fernandes lays hands on Gary Rhoades. CT photo by Ken Snow
That ‘yes,’ the bishop emphasized, came from her Immaculate Heart and was never a half-hearted ‘yes,’ which is what Christ asks of His people when He tells them to be faithful and make disciples in every nation.
“But more than that, He also calls us in the proclamation of the kingdom to care for the sick,” Bishop Fernandes said. “In the letter of St. James, it says, ‘Are there any who are sick among you, 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.’
“And the prayer of faith will save the sick person. And the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed any sins, his sins will be forgiven him.”
The Church’s sacraments, starting with baptism, open the door to healing the body and soul, the bishop reminded those gathered for the Mass. One of those sacraments is anointing of the sick.
“At this Mass, we will confer the sacrament of the sick, praying for the sick of our community, praying that they will receive the interior as well as, hopefully, the physical healing they so desire as well as the forgiveness of sins,” Bishop Fernandes said.
“God raises us up from death to life. God raises us up from mediocrity to greatness. God raises us up from the dust of the earth to the heights of heaven. Let us give thanks to God for His Son, Jesus Christ, Who accomplishes all these things and Who is the ultimate ‘yes’ to the Heavenly Father.”
Adjacent to Holy Rosary-St. John is the Order of Malta’s Center of Care, which provides health and dental care in the St. John Community Center that also houses a variety of social services, including a food pantry, learning center for adult education and a community kitchen.
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (mainly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights and Dames of Malta) has been a lay religious order since 1113. Its mission is to defend the faith and provide care and service to the poor and sick throughout the world.
