SHC organises Mass for the Sick as part of its weeklong festive celebration

KOTA KINABALU  – Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish here organised a Mass for the Sick as part of its weeklong celebration of its patronal feast day recently.

“Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up!” (CCC, no. 1513).

Archbishop John Wong explained the meaning of the above prayer said during the Anointing of the Sick  to a good number of parishioners who turned up for the Mass for the Sick on 3 June 2016.

The Mass for the Sick was an initiative of the SHC parish to launch at parish level the corporal works of mercy in conjunction with the week-long celebration of the parish feast of the Sacred Heart from May 30-June 5.

The prelate said that many have expressed to him of being unsure of how to receive the Anointing of the Sick.

The prayer, he said, is indicative of the Lord’s desire to ‘free us from sin, save us, and raise us up’ and heal us from both our physical, and especially spiritual ailment.

Referring to the Gospel on the love of the Shepherd for his lost sheep, Abp Wong encouraged the faithful, whether sick physically or spiritually, to approach the Lord confidently “through Jesus, so as to find the Father’s love towards us is unconditional, full of mercy, and full of compassion.”

The Mass for the Sick was also seen as a response to Pope Francis’ call to “go out of ourselves and our comfort zones, to address the misery of others – those who are suffering spiritually, morally and materially.”

At other levels, individuals and groups have carried out corporal works of mercy of feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and the imprisoned, and burying the dead.