"Through this holy anointing..."

I recently suffered an injury that while more of an inconvenience than anything, has caused me a great deal of pain, and has prevented me from fulfilling some of my obligations this week.

Today, I had the opportunity to receive the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. As the priest laid his hands on my head, and offered prayers to God on my behalf for the healing of not only my broken body, but also for my mind, heart and spirit, and then anointed my head and hands,

“Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
“May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up. Amen.”

I could feel the power of the Holy Spirit flow through my body. And for a brief moment, Father ceased being “Father” and became Jesus, laying His hands on me and releasing me from the burdens of my ills. And while the pain I am feeling is nothing compared to what Jesus endured, I have learned from this experience that I must learn to bear my sufferings with  grace, dignity and complete surrender to the will of the Father, just as Jesus did when he died on the cross.

It was a grace-filled moment, that did indeed lift the heaviness in my heart that was keeping me in the “Why me, Lord?” mentality rather than bringing me into joy of solidarity with Christ in His suffering.

What an awesome gift this sacrament is!