Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

News and Notes:

Anointing of the Sick... We are celebrating the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick this weekend after the 4PM Saturday Masses in both parishes, during the 10AM Sunday Mass (SMG) and after the 7AM and 11AM Sunday Masses (OLA) in observance of the 28^th  annual World Day of the Sick (which is officially February 11).  In his message for this occasion, Pope Francis says to the sick:  “The Church recognizes in you a special presence of the suffering Christ.  It is true.  At the side of ---and indeed within---our suffering is the suffering of Christ; he bears its burdens with us and he reveals its meaning.  When the Son of God mounted the cross, he destroyed the solitude of suffering and illuminated its darkness.  We thus find ourselves before the mystery of God’s love for us, which gives us hope and courage: hope because in the plan of God’s love even the night of pain yields to the light of Easter; and courage, which enables us to confront every hardship in his company, in union with him.”  To those who enjoy good health the Holy Father says:  “By virtue of Baptism and Confirmation we are called to conform ourselves to Christ, who is the Good Samaritan for all who suffer.  ‘We know love by this…he laid down his life for us---and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.’  When we draw near with tender love to those in need of care, we bring hope and God’s smile to the contradictions of the world.  When generous devotion to others becomes the hallmark of our actions, we give way to the Heart of Christ and bask in its warmth, and thus contribute to the coming of God’s Kingdom.” 

World Marriage Day... Next weekend we will celebrate World Marriage Day, a wonderful occasion to celebrate the vocation of marriage and to call down God’s blessing on all our married couples as they live out their call to sacrificial love in family life, and to model the intimate nuptial relationship between Christ the Bridegroom and the Church his Bride. 

Blessings to all of you in the week ahead!