March 19
Fourth Sunday of Lent
“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”
“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.”
Anyone who is familiar with these words is probably also familiar with real uneasiness, fear or anxiety, pain or suffering, or any combination of these either for themselves or for a loved one. While the priest prays these words aloud, he anoints with oil the forehead and hands of one who is ill or infirm and in need of deep strengthening.
Remarkably, the overwhelming majority of individuals (in my experience) on the receiving end of this healing Sacrament experience inexplicable comfort. Many times, this comfort comes as something visible, something felt, and without a doubt there is also simultaneously strengthening hidden beyond sight; a peace from the Spirit is extended that only the Lord can provide. In all such cases though, the Sacrament of the Sick is an encounter in which the Lord pours out his grace that allows for the Holy Spirit to “rush upon” us (cf. 1 Sam 16:13) and to remain with us. This actually is true across the board in each of the Sacraments–they all extend grace–but you’ll notice several involve anointing with oil: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, Anointing of the Sick. Each time this grace is extended in this way, we are in a very real sense recreated as the Spirit rushes to pour life into us and can even change us at our deepest level of being. When we find ourselves ill or dying, the Sacramental anointing strengthens us precisely in our ability to stay in communion with God so that we are not shaken at our core.
David is anointed king in our first reading—because of something hidden within his heart, something seen and known by the Lord. The unnamed man in our gospel reading is also anointed, not for his own benefit but again for something only the Lord could foresee. Jesus spits on the ground to make mud which he smears over the man’s eyes (literally in the Greek—Jesus anointed his eyes). What’s the lasting effect? For David, the Spirit of the Lord rushes upon him and stays with him the rest of his life, and for the man in the gospel, sight is restored (both physically and spiritually) as the anointing is coupled with a cleansing wash. We know that these anointings did not perfect these two to make them divine, but yet the extension of grace rather enabled them to come to bear the Light, to begin to walk in and with the Light that only comes from the life of the Spirit. A sharing in the divine life. God calls each of us to this gift.
Remember the attention given to our sight: “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). “[Jesus] came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind” (John 9:39). By the help of God’s grace, may we be among those whose sight is fixed on Christ. Do you want to have your eyes opened anew? Do you want to be restored to life? There’s still more than enough time in Lent…heed St. Paul’s instruction: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” Go to the Sacraments and let the Lord well up in you the power and life of his spirit—you’ll see, I promise.
Peace,
Fr. Foley
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