Encouragement

The Glory Of The Lord Rises Upon You

by Maria Franco
04/12/24
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The Sacraments as we all know are powerful outward and inward graces of the Holy Spirit where anointing, consecration and absolution of sins are given.
We have seven sacraments handed down to us by the church and each one is so important in our Christian journey without which we cannot reach our heavenly home.

I was intrigued by a true story on how a pastor in Lebanon gets a visit late evening from a women who keeps knocking on his door with great urgency. When the pastor opens the door, the woman hurriedly gives him a paper with an address on it and implores him to go quickly to this place as someone is dying and needs to be given the sacrament. The pastor hurries off on his bicycle and goes to the mentioned address. The door is opened by a young man and when the pastor recounts about the woman, the man tells him that he is fine and neither sick nor dying.  He thought maybe the lady had got the wrong room number so they go to all the apartments in the building but to their surprise, there is no sick or dying person in any of these.

Returning back to his apartment, the young man offers the pastor some coffee as he thinks he must be tired after going around to inquire at so many houses. While they sit and talk, the young man opens up about how he used to be a regular church goer but after the demise of his mother, he had stopped going to church or praying as it was always his mother who had encouraged him to attend mass with him. The pastor then asks him if he would like to receive the communion which he had brought with him. The man agrees and first makes a good confession, receives the communion and promises to return to his spiritual activities. Satisfied that the young man's heart was transformed and his visit was not entirely in vain, the pastor leaves.

The moment he steps out of the building, the bomb alarm goes off, he runs and hides in a nearby bomb shelter. Within minutes the building that he had just visited was flattened to rubble. The pastor is shocked and runs to find the young man. After a frantic search he locates the man who is now dead. The pastor notices a locket on the man's chain around his neck. When he opens the locket, he sees the picture of a woman with the word, ' Mom' inscribed on it. This was the same woman who had visited his house that evening and handed him the paper with her son's address on it. God had allowed her to reach out to the pastor and help save her son's soul just before he died.
This story can cause goose bumps. But this is the power of the Sacraments which we all need in this life and in order to reach the next.

Those who die a blessed death are the ones who receive the anointing of the sick just before they close their eyes forever. Sick people on receiving the Sacrament of healing bounce back to health.  A young saint whom I read about in my childhood used to always recite this prayer, "Jesus do not allow me to die without receiving the last Sacrament and save me from sudden death."
The Sacrament of anointing should be given to a person who is seriously ill.
This Sacrament unites the suffering of the person to the passion of Christ, renews his faith, gives him strength for the onward journey and forgiveness of sins. The Viaticum is the Eucharist given as the person receives Jesus as food for the soul. The Apostolic Pardon is given at the final moment of imminent approaching death which is an indulgence given for the remission of temporal punishment due to sin.

It is very important that we are aware of the power and gifts of the Sacraments without which our mortal life can be in danger with respect to the state of our souls if we do not repent and turn back to the Lord. Also we should receive the body and blood of Christ in a worthy manner. The Sacraments give us grace to wipe away our sins so that our hearts are ready and shining to receive the Lord in the Eucharistic meal.

The memorial of the Passion of Christ should be kept alive and above all in our hearts. Just as we cannot forget the memory and moments spent with our departed ones as their love, voices, care and touch remain alive in our hearts as we carry on with life. So also, we should be reminded with every beat of our heart, about the life of Jesus when he lived on this earth, his teaching, preaching, miracles, his noble death on the cross, his glorious Resurrection and the life awaiting us some day with the Lord in endless time.

Death should no longer be a threat to us. The Resurrection of Jesus calls us all to rise up even now while on this earth, to rise above our shortcomings and live a full life experiencing the joy of Easter as the Prophet Isaiah (60:1) put it; "Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you."

Maria Franco