Bishop Asks Our Lord to ‘Be Present to All Those Who Are Sick’

“Today we come and we ask Our Lord to be especially present to all those who are sick,” said Bishop Alfred Schlert in his homily as he celebrated Mass for World Day of the Sick today (2/11) at Holy Family Manor, Bethlehem.

He continued, “We ask Him to send His healing power upon those through the sacraments that we celebrate today, and we ask the Blessed Mother’s intercession because she is always before Our Lord pleading for His people, and because so many miracles are attributed to her as they are at Lourdes.”

This year marked the 30^th anniversary of the World Day of the Sick, and is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, where miraculous healings take place at the Shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes in France.

The Mass was livestreamed on AD Today and on the Diocese Facebook page.

“It is a special day for us to come together and to ask God to bless our community here at Holy Family Manor,” said Bishop Schlert, “the whole community of residents, staff, administrations, our volunteers. It is a time for us also to thank them for the tremendous work that they do each and every day in being a compassionate presence of Christ.

“The thing that the Manor here does so well is what we call a Corporal Work of Mercy – take care of the sick, the frail, those in need – so it is a great privilege to come among all of you to celebrate not only the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, but the Anointing of the Sick, because it is through the power of Christ that all healing comes, whether it’s physical, whether it’s spiritual, whether it’s emotional.”

Holy Family Manor rsidents at the Mass received the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick from Bishop Schlert and concelebrants Father Simon Kimaryo and Father Tony Drouncheck.

“Our Lord came even more so than for physical healing,” said Bishop Schlert. “He came for spiritual healing, especially the woundedness, the spiritual sickness that comes from sin. So that’s why all of us are the recipients of His forgiveness of our sins.”

He noted it is not always physical healing that takes place, but spiritual strength is given to the person who is receiving the sacrament.