Sacrament of Reconciliation & Anointing of the Sick-

Insightful words from all as always!

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the most powerful and convicting  sacraments to me and my  spirit.  As I was reading, I found Vorgrimler's forms of forgiveness to revive the dimensions of human life, including mine!  ( Walter also stated these forms)  These forms of forgiveness are of primary  importance.  Matthew 5:23-24 speaks of reconciliation as a PRECONDITION within us for God's EFFECTIVE forgiveness.  Being conscious of this precondition... How can we ask for TRUE forgiveness and approach the Heavenly Father with a "clean and pure heart" if we harbor ill feelings toward a brother?  I along with many others have faced several heart wrenching situations.  It was not until the past five years that I realized being able to truly forgive was not an easy thing to do, but was vital in Christ.  With much prayer and supplication, God helped me to truly forgive and to draw nigh unto Him and the GRACE of God like never before.  I believe that it is within our pain and suffering that allows us to know God's divine grace and forgiveness in a way that transforms our thinking and our hearts forever.  One that allows us to forgive others without hesitation and with a clarity and effectiveness of God's forgiving word.  Vorgrimler states, "If it is true repentance, it also involves an inward longing for the sacrament" (210).  It was not until my life was "shaken" these past five years that I gained a true understanding of the sacrament of Reconciliation.  "For Christian believers this tangible place of divine forgiveness and reconciliation is called Jesus Christ" (Vorgrimler, 201). 

"Reconciliation begins with ourselves.  It begins with a pure heart, a heart that is able to see God in others." Mother Teresa

These sacraments are expressions of the church's life and are symbolic actions to the effectiveness of divine forgiveness.  This is predicated in a special way by Vorgrimler's view of the sacrament of anointing the sick.  "In the sacrament of anointing the sick the symbolic action unites the petition of the Church community that the sick person be strengthened in face of serious illness with a petition that his or her sins may be forgiven" (Vorgrimler, 205).  My church back home believes in anointing the sick by the laying on of hands and anointing of oil... on EVERYTHING!  :)  If I had the smallest sinus infection, my pastor would anoint me with oil in passing.  I would be thinking... "Seriously... Oh my goodness... Jesus has much bigger healings to respond to than my tiny stopped up nose!"  (I am not being disrespectful at all, it just makes me smile when I think about it!)
Although, the quote below reminds us that we serve a mindful and healing God no matter how big or small our situations are.
"The sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick presupposes that the situation is NOT concealed, but rather is brought to consciousness and thus placed in the presence of the loving and merciful God" (Vorgrimler, 235).  Is this quote not powerful???  This is a reminder to us as believers that once our situation has been brought to Him, we can do nothing, but TRUST and have FAITH in the one and only loving and merciful God!!  It is within the sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick that we can experience Christ in a more powerful, pure, humbling, faith-driven, and deeper way!

Sacraments of Healing: Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick

Sacraments of Healing: Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick

            Good morning Saints! I am once again excited by the readings concerning the Sacraments of Healing. I rejoice for the revision of the meaning of the Sacrament of Penance, written about in Sacrosanctum Concilium, Chapter 3, Paragraph 73. As one of the Baptist faith, when we anoint the sick, we do so with the belief of a person’s healing. If it is not in God’s plan for that person to receive a healing, of his/her physical body, then his/her Spiritual body will be made ready to receive God. Please understand that we do not just go around “laying hands” on and anointing anyone who is sick. That person has to already have knowledge of Jesus being his/her Lord and Savior, or be willing to accept the teachings, before we go through the process of anointing and praying for one’s healing. The reason for this is because you have to know who God is, and what His will is for your life, in order to be healed. If you do not know God as a healer, who wants what’s best for you, then how would you be able to accept the Sacrament of Healing?

            Case in point, I come from a family riddled with just about every ailment there is. I see this as a generational curse. Through Christ, I have successfully broken that curse over the heads of my children. Before I had Knowledge and understanding of God and what these curses were, I too suffered from migraines, ulcers, and un-Godly marriages to name a few things. In 1992, the Lord graciously and lovingly granted my supplication and healed me from my ulcers. I have not had any more problems with ulcers since. In 2003 Father healed me of my migraines, and I have had no more problems from them either, PRAISE God!! I’m not saying that the enemy has not tried to attack me through my health anymore, but I now know that if God has allowed it, He must have something for me to learn from it being in my life; or to help others from my having experienced it.

            I guess why the Catholic faith believed at one time, and some still feel suffering is a good thing: that it brings you closer to God.  I too, believe that it brings us closer to the Lord, but have issues with it being good (ha, ha). Oftentimes the only time we communicate with God on a daily basis is when we are suffering in some form or another. “The purpose of the sacrament of anointing, especially in light of the rite's expectation that religious education, pastoral visitations, and a variety of rituals suited to individual and communal circumstances will be practiced, is not only to grace suffering believers with gifts that enable them to renegotiate (transform) their lives in relation to their illness. It is also to grace (transform) the community with greater faith through their interaction with the sick and suffering, who become living witnesses for them of a crucial dimension of the gospel, namely, that in the raising up of the lowly God's reign is known” (Morrill, BB 489-490). Can anyone think of a way for us to have a testimony without a test? Suffering sometimes is God’s way of testing us, before he can bless us. It’s just like when we are in school, before we can go to another level, we must first pass a test. 

           There is a song of reconciliation that comes to my mind I would like to share with you all. I pray you will be blessed!!