In one of my former parishes, couple times a year there was a special mass held that was dedicated for the sick. The priests would pray for all of those who are sick in the parish but also offer the sacrament of anointing at that mass. There were usually about 70-100 parishioners who came, some could come on their own, but some needed the assistance of others. I remember that each time we held the anointing, there was a young man in his 20’s who was coming with an older man in a wheelchair. I always thought that it was his grandfather, so I was so surprised when I discovered that he was just his next-door neighbor. What a great example of service and Christianity, I thought. That young man was bringing his elderly neighbor to be anointed who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to come on his own. I think about that when I read today’s Gospel which says that: “Whatever villages or towns or countryside Jesus entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.” There are people in our families and in our neighborhoods who may need to be brought to Jesus because for many reasons they can’t come on their own. We need to be concerned about others not only their physical health but especially about their salvation.
