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From Eden to Nazareth

December 8, 2025

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
By Fr. Victor Feltes

In the story of Genesis, the Lord God declares to the serpent: “I will put enmity [that is, hostility] between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” There is more going on here than an account of humanity’s dislike for slithering, venomous snakes. That tempter at the Fall was not a mere snake. The Book of Revelation identifies “the ancient serpent” as “the Devil and Satan.” And the Church saw in that declaration of the Lord God in Genesis the first proclamation of the Gospel, the Protoevangelium, foretelling what God intended to do to accomplish our salvation through Jesus Christ. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers…” (or literally in the Hebrew) “between your seed and her seed”. That’s curious, since folks typically speak of the seed a man rather than the seed of a woman. Who is this woman whom God decrees to be in a state of opposition to Satan, whose Son would suffer due to the Evil One until he crushed the Serpent’s head?

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a virgin in the city of Nazareth named Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” Gabriel hails Mary with a title, like people cried “Hail, King of the Jews” during Jesus’ Passion. But the angel is not speaking ironically like Jesus’ tormentors and the angel does not lie. What we translate into English as “full of grace” has a deeper meaning in the original Greek. Heaven’s messenger calls Mary “Kecharitomene,” a perfect passive participle of a word which means “to fill or endow with grace.” Because it is in the Greek perfect tense, it declares Mary was graced as a completed action in the past but with effects continuing to the present. Mary had already been prepared by God for that moment, to become the sinless, grace-filled mother of our Incarnate Lord.

So why did God do this? One reason is so that she could give to God a full and free “Yes.” Once the angel explained that she would give birth to the Messiah and that this child would be God’s Son conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God’s grace.” (CCC #490) Mary says “Yes” to God not due to coercive fears, nor from selfish motives, but freely and faithfully on behalf of all Creation and the Holy Church to be.

Another reason God created her pure and filled her with grace, was to make her a fitting mother — not only for her Son but all his Christian siblings, his brothers and sisters, including you and me. She is the New Eve who, by her faithful loving obedience, “became the mother of all the living.” Today we celebrate with Blessed Mary how the Almighty has done great things for her, through which we now have Jesus Christ our Lord and a heavenly mother who knows us and loves us and prays for us now.

Posted in Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast Day Homilies, Homily | Leave a Comment »

Our Crucified King

November 23, 2025

Solemnity of Christ the King
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Our English word “Excruciating” comes from the Latin words for “Cross” and “Torment.” The Romans did not invent crucifixion, the Persians and the Greeks practiced it first, but the Romans more widely used the method. It was an easy way to execute people very visibly, horrifically, and slowly as a warning example to others. Typically, when the Romans crucified someone, they would place a sign above the condemned person’s head to indicate why they were being killed. St. John’s Gospel records that Governor Pilate put a sign on Jesus’ Cross written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. You sometimes see the initials “INRI” atop crucifixes. This represents the Latin phrase “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum,” the charge against our Lord. That is, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” He was killed because of who he was and who he is: Jesus the Christ and the King of the universe.

Of course, the people who killed him did not believe this. They thought he was deluded or a fraud. Hence, the triple call for him to save himself and prove them wrong. The Jewish rulers sneered and said, “Let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.” The Roman soldiers jeered and called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” And one of the criminals reviled him by saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.” Could Jesus have saved himself from his crucifixion?

St. John’s Gospel quotes Jesus before his Passion saying, “No one takes (my life) from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.” And St. Matthew quotes Jesus later declaring in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels? But then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must come to pass in this way?” So Jesus possessed the power to escape the Cross, but that was not the will or plan of God, which the Eternal Son was party to from the beginning. Jesus assumes “our bone and our flesh” to achieve our reconciliation as a descendant of David, “making peace by the blood of his Cross.” Perhaps the Holy Trinity could have inspired less painful prophecies to achieve our redemption and forgiveness of our sins, but Christ’s crucifixion is what they chose. They chose this path to win our love.

Matthew and Mark’s Gospels suggests that the Penitent Thief (traditionally known as St. Dismas) had derided Jesus, too, at first. But seeing the extraordinary way Jesus acted, hearing the things he said, all while crucified, won over that man’s mind and heart. ‘This man has done nothing criminal and this is how he dies? He truly knows my suffering and this is how he lives. This is the Christ I want to be allied with.’ St. And Luke quotes him saying, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

That movement saved the man’s soul, and we enjoy the benefit of understanding Jesus Christ even better than him. St. Paul writes that God “proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Be moved by this manifestation of God’s great love. Submit to Jesus Christ as your King so that he may be your Savior and one day we may all be with him in Paradise.

Posted in Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Jesus Christ, Love, Passion, Redemptive Suffering, Salvation, Salvation History, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

The River From The Temple

November 9, 2025

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
By Fr. Victor Feltes

This Sunday, the Church throughout the world celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, which turns 1,701 years old this year. While St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City is more famous, the Lateran Basilica is the pope’s cathedral, the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Rome. This is why the Lateran Basilica is called “the mother and head” of the hundreds of thousands of Catholic churches around the world. Even if we had to go forward without any of these beautiful buildings, we could still practice our Catholic Faith through celebrating the Sacraments and offering our lives and prayers to God. But for Jews during much of the Old Testament, only one building was their place for sacrificial worship and considered God’s holy dwelling place on earth. In today’s first reading, the Prophet Ezekiel is taken by an angel to that Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

Of this vision, Ezekiel writes: “I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the façade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple, south of the altar.” Ezekiel records that trickling water flowing through the gates of the temple and out of the city into the east, somehow becoming a river. The angel declares, “This water flows… and empties into the sea, the salt waters [of the Dead Sea], which it makes fresh. Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh. Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.” Ezekiel’s mysterious vision of this miraculous river which purifies and renews, producing abundant life, is a prophesy which finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ and his Church.

In today’s Gospel, when Jesus forcefully clears out the animal sellers and money-changers from the temple area, the Jews ask him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” And Jesus answers, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews were incredulous at hearing this and said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years and you will raise it up in three days!?” But, as St. John the Gospel writer notes in the text, Jesus “was speaking about the temple of his Body.” After Jesus had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that Christ had said this and understood its significance.

On Good Friday, when the soldiers saw that Jesus was already dead on the Cross, one of them “thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.” Today, physicians affirm that the traumas of Jesus’ Passion and death could cause red and clear fluids to build up in his chest around his heart, resulting in “blood and water” flowing out when the spear was withdrawn, just as St. John witnessed. Do we know into which side of Jesus’ body the spear entered — was it Jesus’ left side or his right side?

Recall how Ezekiel saw the water flowing out in his vision: “The façade of the temple was toward the east” and “the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple, south of the altar.” If Jesus on the Cross faces “east” like the front-face of the Jewish temple, then water coming down from the “south side of the temple (of his Body)” would be flowing from Christ’s right side. And 2,000-year-old forensic evidence may actually confirm this detail. The Shroud of Turin, which appears more likely than not to be an authentic image of Jesus’ body in the tomb, after accounting for the image’s mirror-reflective nature, shows a wound in Christ’s right side. St. Augustine and other Church Fathers recognize flowing from Christ’s side the water of baptism and the blood of the Eucharist. In the beginning, Adam was put into a deep sleep and God fashioned a bride for him from the rib of his side. Jesus Christ on the Cross, asleep in death, has his Bride the Church fashioned from his side through his Holy Sacraments. And when the nations are one day assembled before Christ the King, for the Final Judgment described in Matthew 25, it is the sheep gathered to his right side who will be saved.

Now that trickle from Christ’s side is become a mighty river of grace; purifying and renewing, generating abundant new life in whomever and wherever it flows. Faithful Christian people and places which grow close to that river and are fed by its waters shall endure and produce good growth, healing, and nourishment. We are blessed to enjoy this beautiful church, but wherever we worship our true temple and center of grace prepared for us by divine providence across millennia is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So with awe, reverence, gratitude, and love, let us turn to him and draw near to his Eucharistic sacrifice.

Posted in Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Passion, Sunday Homilies, Typology | Leave a Comment »

A Vision of the Saints in Heaven

November 1, 2025

Solemnity of All Saints
By Fr. Victor Feltes

On this All Saints’ Day, let us consider what we can look forward to living as saints in heaven one day. But first, how does one get to heaven?

At the moment of death, our immortal souls will separate from our mortal bodies and go immediately to our particular judgment. There we will be judged according to our faith and deeds in Christ, based upon our connection to Christ and our love of God and neighbor. Then our personal punishment or reward will begin: either immediate and everlasting damnation, or entrance into the everlasting blessedness of heaven —either immediately or after the purifying process of purgatory. One day, the dead will arise and the saints will experience a new heavens and new earth in their glorified resurrected bodies. But for now, the saints only experience heaven through their souls (with the Blessed Virgin Mary being a notable exception). When someday, by the grace of God, we are saints in heaven, here are some things we will enjoy.

One thing to look forward to is probably having a perfect memory. A colleague of the genius mathematician and physicist John von Neumann writes “one of his remarkable abilities was his power of absolute recall. …Von Neumann was able on once reading a book or article to quote it back verbatim; moreover, he could do it years later without hesitation. …. On one occasion I tested his ability by asking him to tell me how A Tale of Two Cities started. Whereupon, without any pause, he immediately began to recite the first chapter and continued until asked to stop after about ten or fifteen minutes.” If this is possible with a frail human brain, how much more knowledge could our unhindered souls retain?

Another perk of being a saint in heaven is great ease in doing whatever is best. When in the unveiled presence of God, “we shall see him as he is,” and discerning God’s will should be easy. And our perfected virtues will make it easy to do what is good and right, for we shall be “pure, as he is pure.”

Another extraordinary blessing in heaven is having innumerable friends. In St. John’s vision of heaven he beholds “a great multitude which no one could count from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” Every saint in heaven has become an incredible person perfected in Christ’s beatitudes and love. There will be no lack of time to get to know people and with your perfect memory you’ll never forget anyone’s name or stories.

Yet the greatest joy in heaven is the beatific vision of God. Sometimes people worry the restful reward of seeing God and worshipping him forever will be dull. Don’t worry, heaven will never be boring. Every good and beautiful thing in Creation which you have ever delighted in has its origin in God who is supremely good, beautiful, and delightful. You have yet to fully exhaust the joys to be experienced in just one culture in one country in one century of human history, so do not imagine you will exhaust the joys to be found in our infinite God.

These are things to look forward to someday in heaven, but on this All Saints’ Day I wish to remind you that the saints in heaven know us and love us now. Yesterday, an online friend shared with me a beautiful story about the intercession of the saints and he has given me permission to share his story with you.

In January of 2018, his father suffered a massive heart attack at home. In the Emergency Room, they were able to restart his heart, but there was almost 100% arterial blockage and likely serious brain damage from the lack of oxygen. Some of the best doctors in the world could do nothing more to help. So the next day, all the family gathered to share final moments as they withdrew the mechanical life support. My friend writes:

I remember sitting in the room, in the cardiology unit there, praying my brains out for a miracle, as he lay dying. Just focused on nothing else but praying, praying, praying. Eyes closed, focused on nothing else. Praying, praying, praying for some miracle. And then I suddenly wasn’t in the hospital room anymore.

I was sitting on a bench in what to me appeared to be a huge football stadium, or more like a Roman circus (those long chariot tracks), stretching further in each direction than I could see (even the opposite side was so far away I couldn’t see it). And every seat was filled with people, all dressed differently (though most of them were in robes, in the section I was in), and all praying in different languages.

Their prayers collectively seemed like a buzzing, or the sound of a waterfall, because they were individually indistinct—countless voices all praying at once. But it was clear that each one of them were praying, non-stop, for me, my dad, and for everybody in the world.

And it was in that instant that it was told to me that I could stop praying—(“Look, all these Saints have the whole ‘praying for your dad’ thing covered for the moment…”)—and use the few moments my dad had left with us to just be with him, hold his hand, tell him that I love him and say goodbye to him. So that’s what I did. And I’m very grateful to this day that I did.

Why was my friend’s vision of the saints set in a long racetrack stadium? I recognize in this a reference to the Letter to Hebrews, which says, “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.” So be sure to befriend the saints and call upon them, because they know you, and they love you, and they eagerly want you to join their number.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Feast Day Homilies, Heaven, Homily, Last Things, Saintly People, Sunday Homilies | 1 Comment »

Lifted Up & Exalted

September 13, 2025

Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross
By Fr. Victor Feltes

During their long Exodus journey, the Hebrews once again began rebelling, despising God and his servant Moses. They even sinfully complained about the Manna bread God was providing for their survival in the desert saying, “We are disgusted with this wretched food!” So God sent venomous serpents—or perhaps he merely lifted his shield of protection around their camp—resulting in many getting snakebitten and dying. So the people repented and pleaded with Moses, who prayed to the Lord. The Lord then commanded Moses to fashion a bronze serpent and affix it to a pole so that whoever looked at it would live. Moses and the Hebrews did not realize this at the time, but that bronze serpent on a wooden pole was a symbol pointing ahead to Jesus Christ who would die for our sins on his wooden Cross so that we may live.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Later in John’s Gospel, Jesus uses the same Greek verb to declare, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” And the inspired author notes, “[Jesus] said this indicating the kind of death he would die.” But this same Greek word for “lifted up” or “exulted” appears again later to recount Jesus’ Ascension and heavenly enthronement. The Book of Acts says, “God exulted/lifted up [Jesus] to his right hand as leader and savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” “Jesus, exulted/lifted up to God’s right hand, received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth….” This is what I want to highlight: how the first lifting up of Jesus leads to the second; his exultation on the Cross leads to his exultation in heaven.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, endured our human suffering and death, even death on a cross. And because of this, God greatly exalted him, and bestowed on him a heavenly glory above any other glory. The early Christians fully believed in Jesus’ death by crucifixion, but they did not depict Jesus on the Cross in sacred art for several centuries. This was partly due to persecution but also because crucifixion still remained so scandalous, horrific, and shameful in their culture. This Sunday, we celebrate the Exultation of the Holy Cross and I want you to behold Christ crucified. Too many are turned away from him—the God who suffered, died, and rose for them—and we see where their dark paths lead. But the message I feel moved to preach to you who have kept your eyes on Jesus and walked with him for years is to understand that our crosses lead to glory.

Each of us is going to suffer in this world and—unless Jesus Christ comes back first—each of us will taste death. But just because you suffer greatly does not necessarily mean you are being punished for doing something wrong like the Hebrews in the desert were. And suffering does not mean that you are not loved by God. (Jesus Christ was perfectly good yet God’s Beloved Son was murdered.) And when you suffer, no matter how incomprehensible or unjust the pain, realize where you are: on your Cross with Jesus Christ. Whatever you endure with him advances his mission of salvation in this world and increases your heavenly glory, for it conforms you to himself. St. Peter wrote, “Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to you. But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.” Whatever may happen, let nothing deprive you of your Christian peace or purpose and never forget the incredible love that our God has for you and everyone.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Redemptive Suffering, Salvation History, Sunday Homilies, Typology | Leave a Comment »

Life Eternal — Funeral Homily for Ronald “Ron” Woolever, 75

August 6, 2025

By Fr. Victor Feltes

“We are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.” That is what St. Paul writes about himself and the Christians at Corinth in our second reading. But is this true for us today? Would we rather leave the body and go home to the Lord?

Imagine if you could have endless more years of this life on earth. Would you wish for that? Pondering such a wish you would be wise to reflect upon the burdens of bad health. The coming of such crosses in the later years of life makes many people more open to the next life. Ron endured poor health but he is freed from that burden now.

But suppose you could live an endless life on earth free from all illness and pain; the next thing you might consider is the prospect of outliving everybody you know now, as well as everyone you would ever know. Even with our well-founded hope for Heaven, where all friends of God will be reunited, the temporary separation between us and our dearly departed causes sadness in us who remain behind. It is okay to mourn at Ron’s passing, though we do ‘not grieve like those who have no hope,’ for we have hope in him who said “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.”

But imagine if each person on earth were granted pain-free immortality; the next thing to consider is what life in that world would be like. After Adam and Eve sinned at the tree they were deprived of the fruit of another—the Tree of Life—lest they eat of it and live forever in their unhappy fallen state. Even if scientists were to develop a treatment to eradicate all pain and all death, moral sickness would remain untreated in many human souls. Endless life without Christian conversion would create a hell of moral evils on earth. Ron’s love for Jesus and our Catholic faith led to his deep devotion to the Holy Eucharist and St. Paul’s Parish. He hungered and thirsted for holiness, and our holy religion helped him to go deeper, change, and grow with God in his grace.

Now suppose if everyone on earth were forever freed from pain and death and sin, to live peacefully together on earth forever—what would life in that world be like? Ron delighted in many things in our world. Beyond family and friends, there were monster trucks and parade floats, old cars, new movies, and countless good things more. But after living in our world a few decades, which is far less time than millennia, we can think to ourselves, “These things are nice but is this really all there is?” Every heart contains a God-shaped hole which can only be fully satisfied by the infinite beauty, goodness, and love of the Holy Trinity. Understanding this changes how we see our lives in this world (which we must not cling to) and our future deaths (which we must not grasp at) until the Lord finally calls us home to be with him. Jesus tells his disciples, “I am going to prepare a place for you… [and] take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”

“Therefore,” St. Paul writes, “we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.” Pray for Ron’s soul, that he may now enjoy the endless bliss of Heaven. And let Jesus Christ be the good and loving Lord of your life so that you may enter eternal life, for ‘no one comes to the Father except through him.’

Posted in Christian Perfection, Feast Day Homilies, Heaven, Homily, Last Things | Leave a Comment »

Catholic Diversity In Unity

July 3, 2025

Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Today, I wish to speak to you about Saints Peter and Paul, vocations, the Catholic Church and the Churches in her, and two aspects of the Holy Mass. This homily will be a bit longer than usual, but each of its parts are interesting. Saints Peter and Paul shared many similarities but manifested in different ways:

🔸 Both were personally called by Christ to become apostles; Peter quite early during Jesus’ public ministry, but Paul rather late, after Jesus’ Ascension.

🔸 Both beheld Jesus in his transfigured glory; making his friend Peter feel ecstatic, but making his persecutor Paul go temporarily blind.

🔸 Both preached the Gospel; Peter primarily to the Jews, but Paul particularly to the Gentiles.

🔸 Both taught the Faith; Paul the Pharisee was highly-educated, but Peter the uneducated fisherman was not.

🔸 Both experienced weakness; Peter in conquering his passions, but Paul by enduring “a thorn in the flesh.”

🔸 Both were martyred by the Roman Empire in Rome; Peter was crucified upside-down, but Paul the Roman citizen was beheaded.

That Saints Peter and Paul whom we celebrate this Sunday shared one Faith, one Lord, and one calling, and yet manifested these differently in their faithful lives. We also see this in the Catholic Church today. Peter and Paul were called to be apostles. Today, some are called to be bishops, priests, or deacons. Others are called to be consecrated male or female religious. Many more are called to the vocation of holy marriage. Others live out their baptismal mission and call as single persons or consecrated virgins. Which of these ways is the greatest way to live a Christian life? The greatest, most glorious, most fruitful path for you is the one Christ has called or is calling you to. Your life may look differently than others’, even amongst people living out the same vocation, but you can still be living a faithful, fruitful Christian life.

We belong to Christ’s Catholic Church. The word “Catholic” comes from Greek, meaning “universal, worldwide, (or) all-inclusive.” The Catholic Church, established by God for all people and places in this present age, unites humanity in our diversity, but even within our unity we see legitimate variety. Did you know that the one Catholic Church contains 24 Churches with apostolic roots and varying liturgical traditions practiced in full communion with the pope? The largest of these Catholic Churches is the Roman Catholic Church, to which we belong along with more than 98% of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics. About 18 million other Catholics are in Churches in full communion with Rome; the three largest being the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (mainly in Western Ukraine), the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (mainly in India), and the Maronite Church (mainly in Lebanon). Our one Faith differently celebrated. (Other Churches called the Orthodox Churches have nearly 300 million members put together, with valid priests and bishops and all seven sacraments like us, yet they are not in communion with the pope. Pray for our reunion. The gap between us is less than any Protestant group.) There is even legitimate variation within the Holy Mass of our Roman Catholic Church. I wish to highlight two examples: one in how one receives the Eucharist and another in how the Eucharist is celebrated.

The early Church Fathers mention the Eucharist being placed upon communicants’ hands. Other Communion customs also existed but Communion in the hand was explicitly described. For instance, St. Cyril in Jerusalem and St. Theodore in Turkey instructed the faithful to lay one hand over the other to create a throne (for both saints declare one is about to receive a King) cupping one’s palm to receive “The Body of Christ” and answering “Amen.” St. John Chrysostom observes how a communicant’s hands “hold [the Eucharistic Sacrifice] but for a time.” He writes, “Oh! What a marvel! What love of God to man! He who sits on high with the Father is at that hour held in the hands of all…” And St. Basil the Great records “in the church, when the priest gives the portion, the recipient takes it with complete power over it, and so lifts it to his lips with his own hand.” These and the writings of other Church Fathers show that receiving Communion in the hand existed in the Early Church.

However, though Communion in the hand is allowed today, the many-centuries-long tradition of receiving Communion on one’s tongue is also permitted, either standing or kneeling. Some find receiving our Lord on the tongue strengthens their reverence and devotion; acknowledging the glory of their Great Guest, extending the red carpet of one’s tongue for him to enter under one’s roof through the doors of one’s lips, humbly receiving this priceless Gift of pure grace. After next summer’s church renovation, once there is more space in front of these steps to our sanctuary, I plan to place a kneeler in the center-front as an option, as you may have seen offered already at churches in Chippewa Falls. How you receive our Lord, standing or kneeling, on your hand or on your tongue, is for you to personally discern, since they each option is permitted for you by the present liturgical rules of the Church.

The next legitimate Mass option I would like to explain pertains to the celebrant leading the congregation. Since the Second Vatican Council, the most common way priests have celebrated Mass is versus populum, or “towards the people.” Yet the much-longer-practiced custom has been for the priest and the people to face (literally or symbolically) towards the east together, or “ad orientem.” Like the Jews used to pray towards the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the writings of the Church Fathers show the early Christians prayed toward the east. St. Clement of Alexandria writes “prayers are made looking towards the sunrise in the east.” And Origen notes: “…Of all the quarters of the heavens, the east is the only direction we turn to when we pour out prayer…” Tertullian records that Christians facing east to pray caused some non-Christians to mistakenly believe we worshiped the sun. But the Christians praying toward the sunrise saw a symbol of Christ rising from the dead and of his promised return to earth in radiant glory one day. Throughout the centuries, even in churches which were not built to face east like our St. Paul’s Church, the priest and the people faced the same direction (or “liturgical east”) together. However, since the 1970’s the prevailing custom has been for the priest to face the congregation.

The Catholic Church approves both versus populum and ad orientem as valid options, and these two ways of celebrating the Mass emphasize different truths. Celebrating versus populum, toward the people, emphasizes the horizontal aspect, the communal meal. And the Holy Mass is indeed a meal, a memorial of the Last Supper, where Jesus Christ and his disciples gather at his table. Celebrating ad orientem, toward the east, emphasizes the vertical aspect, the sacrificial offering. And the Holy Mass is indeed a sacrifice, a memorial of the Cross, where Jesus Christ is offered up for us from his altar.

I experienced my first ad orientem Mass when I was still in seminary. The celebrant was a visiting alumnus and priest of our diocese, Fr. Derek Sakowski. I remember fearing that I would hate the Mass being said that way because I often dislike changes. (For instance, our seminary once changed the toaster in the dining hall and—even though I almost never used the old familiar toaster—I was annoyed when they had replaced it with a new one.) Fr. Sakowski said the same English prayers as at other Masses but watching him celebrate that Mass ad orientem, facing us when speaking to us and facing God when praying to God, I found it surprisingly beautiful and it made a lot of sense. When weekday Massgoers at St. John the Baptist Parish first experienced Mass ad orientem more than five years ago, the attendees reported positive experiences similar to mine.

I mention all this because I would like our weekday Massgoers to experience ad orientem in at least a few Masses this July and hear their feedback. After Vatican II, when Mass facing the people became the prevailing custom in the Church, pastors often introduced that liturgical change abruptly, without consultation, and without adequate explanation. It was jarring, and many lay people were bewildered and hurt. I do not wish to repeat such mistakes going in the opposite direction. Nothing will change without thorough consultation and consensus support. At the end of such a dialogue at St. John the Baptist’s Parish, one weekend Mass changed and the other stayed the same and today everyone seems happy or content with that. Our Faith, our calling, and our Lord are one, even as our faithful lives will manifest them differently. We are Catholic. So in essential things, unity. In non-essential things, liberty. And in all things, charity—that is, love.

Posted in Catholic Church, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Mass, St. Paul, St. Peter, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Feeding the Multitude

June 24, 2025

Solemnity of Corpus Christi
By Fr. Victor Feltes

All four Gospels recount the miracle of Jesus multiplying the loaves and the fishes. He receives five loaves and two fish and successfully feeds (in the words of St. Matthew) “about five thousand men, not counting women and children,” with twelve wicker baskets full of fragments leftover. Now this event cannot be reduced to a so-called “miracle of sharing.” That would be a deed less impressive than what Elijah the great miracle-working prophet did in 2nd Kings: feeding one hundred people with twenty barley loaves and having some leftover. Merely persuading people to share food for one meal would not cause a crowd to declare somebody “the prophet who is to come into the world” and make them want to carry him off to make him king, as St. John records. This miracle was a true miracle, and it foreshadows the Last Supper and the miracle of the Eucharist.

St. John mentions ‘the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.’ This Passover was at least one year before the Passover of Holy Week, yet John mentions it all the same. And then there is the way the Gospel writers describe what Jesus does with the food for the meal: “Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing…, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.” These phrases should sound familiar. They closely resemble what Jesus does at the Last Supper and what his priests celebrate at every Holy Mass.

Without Jesus, the apostles felt powerless to provide for such a great number of people. But Jesus commanded his apostles to “have them sit down in groups of about fifty,” in more than one hundred clusters on the green grass. The flock obeys the apostles as they are obeying Christ, and Jesus proceeds to feed them all through his ministers. The miracle at every Mass is greater than the one Jesus performed with the loaves and fishes. There, he made the food he was offered far greater in quantity. Now, he transforms the food we give him into something far greater, not in number but kind.

At Mass, we are figuratively fed by the Inspired Word, by both the Old Testament and the New Testament, drawn like two fish from the stream of salvation history. And at Mass we behold the Incarnate Word, the Body and Blood of Christ, which suffered the five famous wounds of his Passion. But greatest of all, at Mass we can be invited to truly partake of the Eternal Word, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, receiving his living Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist. In the Gospel we heard “They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.” So rejoice in these holy gifts as your precious treasure. Tell others about them and invite them to join us here, for Jesus Christ desires this great feast to nourish everyone.

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A Leader Like Us

May 31, 2025

Solemnity of the Ascension
By Fr. Victor Feltes

As a child in CCD class, I remember being told that a pope from the United States would never happen in our lifetimes. The common view was that having the earthly leader of the Catholic Church come from the world’s strongest superpower was something most cardinals would want to avoid. So it was quite surprising when the 69-year-old, Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost was introduced to the world as Pope Leo XIV. But that concern about coming off as “America’s Pope” is probably why he only spoke Italian, Spanish, and Latin during his first public appearance.

If you’re like me, it’s surreal having so much in common with the pope. Like all of us here, he’s a Midwesterner. He speaks English without a foreign accent. He has consumed our movies, TV shows, and music and been active on social media. He has enjoyed American sports, like when he attended a White Sox World Series game. He has voted in our U.S. elections and attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C. He ministered in Peru for many years but we have something in common there too. Our diocese has supported Servant of God Fr. Joe Walijewski’s Casa Hogar orphanage in Lima for several decades. Like me, the new pope has a mathematics degree. My parents and relatives come from the Chicagoland area too. And we both picked the name “Leo XIV” — this new pope was literally named after my 12-year-old cat. He has a friendly smile and a sense of humor, he’s easygoing but takes Catholic teaching and worship seriously, he sings well, and writes out homilies to help him preach clearly. You probably have personal connections to our new pope yourself, like belonging to the same American Baby Boom generation.

Of course, the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV is still very young and its substantial fruits have yet to unfold. In the first week following his election, a reporter shook Pope Leo’s hand as he passed by and asked, “Holy Father… any message for the United States?” The pope smiled, lifted his hands, and replied, “Many! May God bless you all!” It’s exciting to have a pope who probably understands us, our country and our culture, both the good and the bad, better than any pope before him. So what does any of this have to do with the Solemnity of the Ascension we celebrate today? Much! And it relates to our June celebration of the Sacred Heart as well.

The Ascension marks the definitive entrance of Jesus Christ’s human nature into heaven. His humanity enters everlasting divine glory, symbolized by the cloud and sky. And from heaven, seated at God’s right hand, he constantly intercedes for us before the Father. Jesus Christ, being true God and true man, has a human intellect and will perfectly attuned to his divine intellect and will, knowing us and loving us all with a human heart. As Pope Francis wrote about the Sacred Heart last year, “The eternal Son of God, in his utter transcendence, chose to love each of us with a human heart.” Jesus possesses “genuine human emotions and feelings like ourselves, albeit fully transformed by his divine love. … Entering into the heart of Christ, we feel loved by a human heart filled with affections and emotions like our own.” Divine knowledge and love are eternal and we have had popes before. But the Ascension and Sacred Heart of Jesus are significant. Like a pope who intimately understands us, because he is one of us, we can rejoice that we now have a Lord in heaven, Jesus Christ, who knows us and loves us with a human heart like ours.

Posted in Ascension, Catholic Church, Culture, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Jesus Christ, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Jesus’ Love Succeeds

April 18, 2025

Good Friday
By Fr. Victor Feltes

The story of Christ’s Passion is a chronicle of human failures. Simon Peter, chief of his disciples, denies being his friend three times. Caiaphas and Annas, the highest Jewish leaders, reject, condemn, and hand over their Messiah. Pilate and Herod, representing the world’s political powers, tolerate injustice, persecute, and execute the Innocent One. The mob of humanity chooses the violent rebel, Barabbas (whose name means “Son of the Father”) instead of God’s Son, the peaceful Savior.

It is poignant and fitting how our liturgy has us speak the mob’s words, “Crucify him! Crucify him! …Take him away! Crucify him!” since it was our sins too which sent Jesus to the Cross. And yet, even as we are humbled and convicted at Jesus being crucified because of us, remember that Jesus accepted humiliation, pain, and death because of his love of us.

Though we may fail, Jesus’ love succeeds. He said, “When I am lifted up from the earth I will draw everyone to myself.” He stretches out his arms between heaven and earth as the everlasting sign of his New Covenant to invite and embrace us. And from the Cross, he says, “I thirst,” because his love thirsts for you and me.

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Half-Measures Or Full Devotion?

April 18, 2025

Easter Sunday
By Fr. Victor Feltes

St. Peter the Apostle proclaimed: “We are witnesses of all that [Jesus] did… They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible…to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” Jesus went to his Passion and Cross after the Last Supper, and from death and his tomb to the Resurrection. His apostles witnessed these events and were willing to die to testify to them, and nobody ever dies for what he knows to be a lie. The first Christians had full devotion because Christ did not go halfway in his saving mission.

But what if our Lord, instead of enduring pain and death, had chosen to spare and save himself? Jesus had told the apostles he “must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.” He said he had come “to give his life as a ransom for many,” shedding his blood “for the forgiveness of sins.” How could we ever find forgiveness of our sins in Christian faith and the sacraments, like Baptism and Confession, if Jesus never suffered and died?

Or imagine if Jesus had just gone halfway with the Last Supper, which was the first Holy Mass. What if he had taken the bread and given it to his disciples saying, “This is like my Body. Do this with a thought of me”? Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. … Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” What would become of us if we could not receive Jesus in the Eucharist?

Or what if instead of Easter, Jesus Christ had merely suffered and died and never rose again? St. Paul’s answer is emphatic: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,” Paul says “we are the most pitiable people of all!” Therefore, if Jesus had stopped at half-measures in his mission, we would not be saved!

At the beginning of Easter Sunday Mass we sang “Jesus Christ is risen today!” We celebrate him risen not like some celebrate the Easter Bunny hiding eggs or Santa Claus bringing gifts for Christmas. A savior of merely “once upon a time” cannot save us. We celebrate Jesus Christ who was truly risen on Easter morning in 33 AD, but who is also risen, living and active, in our world today. And in the face of sin of death, he is our only hope.

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad!” Embrace today’s good news, the joy of the Gospel, firmly resolved to go forward in such a way that you may be saved. Realize that you cannot safely clear a six-foot chasm by only taking three-foot hops. Half-measures are not enough.

In his suffering, in his sacraments, in his dying and his rising, Jesus shows us how far he goes in love to reach and save us. So in your daily prayers and weekly worship, in virtue and noble service, in Christian faith and fellowship, by your gratitude and love, walk with our Lord Jesus Christ with your full measure of devotion.

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Consolations In The Passion

April 12, 2025

Palm Sunday
By Fr. Victor Feltes

We rightly recall Christ’s sufferings during his Passion but have you ever meditated upon his consolations?

When Jesus went out to pray and await his betrayal at the Mount of Olives, his disciples followed him. Their flesh was weak but their spirits were willing, and in that dark hour he was glad not to be alone. Jesus also had constant recourse to his Father. Though not all of his prayers were immediately granted, he knew his Father always heard him.

When Pilate condemned Jesus, they led him away but made Simon of Cyrene help carry his Cross. That was a welcome relief in his weakened condition. A large crowd followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and cried for him. Those women felt powerless, but their expressions of devotion strengthened him.

Once they had crucified Jesus, one of the condemned men mocked him but the other honored Christ, expressing saving faith in him. Jesus could behold his sacrifice already bearing fruit. Standing by his Cross were his mother and his beloved disciple, and “all his acquaintances stood at a distance, including the women who had followed him from Galilee” witnessing these events. And he saw them there for love of him, and it consoled him.

Therefore, if Jesus during his greatest suffering received some consolations, then in our trials we should not be ashamed to ask for help and comforts too. Jesus’ disciples were not perfect and they sometimes let him down, but the presence and support of his friends helped him to press on. So pray to God for consolation, invest in your personal relationships, and stay close to your Christian community. If you are going to pick up your cross daily and follow Christ in his sufferings you must also share in his consolations.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Jesus Christ, Passion, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

The Gift of Confirmation

February 2, 2025

Feast of the Presentation
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Forty days after Jesus’ birth, Joseph and Mary took him up to Jerusalem to offer the sacrifice required for a firstborn son. Jesus had been conceived through the Holy Spirit, but that was not the Spirit’s only activity in the world. The Holy Spirit revealed to a devout and righteous man named Simeon that he would encounter the Christ during his lifetime. On the day of the Presentation, the Spirit moved Simeon to come into the temple and enabled him to recognize the Christ when he saw him. Then Simeon took Baby Jesus into his arms and spoke words of prophecy which the Spirit inspired in him. There was also a prophetess there, an 84-year-old widow named Anna who never left the temple but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. The Spirit enlightened her too, to draw near and meet the Christ, and she spoke about the child to all. Through the Holy Spirit these servants of God, St. Simeon and St. Anna, were witnesses to Christ and filled with knowledge, courage, and joy. The plan of God was not to keep this gift of the Spirit limited to a few, but to grant him to many.

When the Spirit came down on Pentecost Sunday, St. Peter recalled the Old Testament prophesy of Joel: “‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my Spirit upon all flesh. … Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids I will pour out a portion of my Spirit in those days…” The Holy Spirit is poured out in the Sacrament of Confirmation which, together with Baptism and Eucharist, is necessary for the completion of our baptismal grace.

At Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove, and “drove” and “led” him out into the desert for forty days before commencing his public ministry. The Old Testament had foretold that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon the Christ or Messiah, titles which both mean “Anointed One.” Jesus was quoting the Prophet Isaiah when he declared in the synagogue at Nazareth, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me.” Old Covenant priests, prophets, and kings were inaugurated through anointing with oil. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit as our New Covenant Priest, Prophet, and King. And Christians are anointed with that same Spirit through Baptism and Confirmation to participate in Christ’s identity and mission.

In our Latin rite, a person celebrates Confirmation typically sometime after the age of reason, but in danger of death it is even given to newborns. The ordinary minister of Confirmation is the bishop, our successor to the apostles, though Catholic priests can be granted the authority to validly confirm when needed. A person is confirmed when the minister laying his hand on his or her head and anoints the forehead with a blessed oil called chrism while saying, “Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.” Chrism is made of olive oil plus a fragrant sap called balsam. This gives chrism its perfumed scent, such that the anointed Christian — to use the words of St. Paul — bears “the aroma of Christ.”

One of my memories from the evening following my Confirmation by Bishop Burke in Eau Claire’s Zorn Arena was feeling great joy. When I wondered at its source I thought, “Oh yeah, the Holy Spirit.” Joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity are among the Spirit’s fruits. And wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord are numbered among his gifts.

In the ancient world, oil was a sign of abundance and joy, as at harvest time. It was used for cleansing both before and after baths. The injured used oil to heal wounds and soothe bruises Track and field athletes and wrestlers used it to limber their limbs. And it gave radiant beauty to both men and women’s skin. The Holy Spirit, in addition to the generous gifts he gives and fruits he brings, purifies us from sin and vice toward perfection, heals our past wounds and soothes our daily bruises empowers us to prevail over temptation and opponents, and gives us the beautiful glory of a more than natural goodness.

By the sacrament of Confirmation, you are more perfectly bound to the Church and enriched with a special strength. This sacrament is not an ending but a new beginning. After Confirmation you are, as true witnesses of Christ, more obliged to bravely spread and defend our Faith by word and deed in the world. If you were never confirmed within the Catholic Church, do not neglect this sacrament. Ask me about how you can receive this gift. And if you have already received the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, sincerely and lovingly ask him for his greater gifts and fruits. Like the fire passing atop candles, one to the next, God the Holy Spirit is not diminished by being more widely shared and spread. The child Jesus grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him. By the Holy Spirit, God desires to do greater things with you.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Feast Day Homilies, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Homily, Presentation, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

The Great Gift of Baptism

January 11, 2025

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
By Fr. Victor Feltes

As with the Jewish boys who received the rite of circumcision on their eighth day to enter the Old Covenant, the early Church gave the rite of baptism as a free gift for even newborns to enter the New Covenant. Unlike those of us who were baptized as babies, my friend Elena remembers her baptism from when she was nineteen years old.

She says, “Right up to the night (of that Easter Vigil in 2007), I was still partially afraid that God would strike me down when the baptismal waters touched me. I wanted so much to belong to him but half-thought that maybe he didn’t want me. I thought, ‘If he wanted me in the Church, why didn’t he have me born in a Catholic family?’” Full Christian initiation is accomplished through three sacraments: first, Baptism which is the beginning of new life; Confirmation which is its strengthening; and Holy Eucharist which nourishes the disciple with Jesus’ Body and Blood for transformation in Christ. Elena received all three sacraments that night, “and then after,” she says, “I could hear him in a whole new way (not like a voice but like thoughts that you know come from him). And I knew I was his and that he wanted me.”

Through baptism, by being buried and rising again from the waters, we mystically enter the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are united with him as a member of his Church, members of his Body, members of his Bride. Through water and the Holy Spirit, we are “born from above” and “born again.” We become adopted children of God the Father and new temples of the Holy Spirit. Baptism forgives all our sins, indelibly changes our souls, bestows us graces enabling close relationship with God, and makes us sharers in the mission of his Church as priests, prophets, and kings in Christ. Jesus commands us to “go… and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that [he has] commanded [us].” Baptism opens the door to the other sacraments. It is the gateway into God’s Kingdom for salvation.

Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the opportunity to ask for this sacrament. God has bound salvation to his sacraments, yet he himself is not limited by his sacraments. His Church teaches that unbaptized martyrs, catechumens seeking baptism, and those who are ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and his Church but who seek the truth and do the will of God in accordance with their understanding of it can be saved through a baptism by blood or desire instead of water. How many are saved through these baptisms of desire? We don’t know. We do know that our clear salvific mission is the Great Commission Jesus gives us.

As St. Peter preached at Pentecost: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!” Ordinarily, only deacons, priests, or bishops should baptize people by pouring, sprinkling, or immersion while invoking the Holy Trinity. However, in an emergency situation, anyone can baptize; simply intend to do what the Church does when it baptizes and pour water on the recipient’s head while saying “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

This Sunday, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. Though sinless, he voluntarily submits himself to John’s baptism intended for sinners in order “to fulfill all righteousness.” By his own baptism, Christ connects himself with the baptized so the baptized can be united to Christ. Once Jesus was baptized, while he was praying, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in visible form like a dove. And the voice of God the Father came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

My friend Elena recalls that after her baptism, “I had this almost euphoric joy for almost a whole year that nothing could touch. I remember some religious sisters I’d met just after my baptism warning me that would fade. I didn’t believe them, but they were right. Hard times came and it got more difficult to hold onto that joy. But I think that joy is what we’ll experience in heaven and I hold onto that hope now.” Our own baptisms may have been many years ago and perhaps we have no memories of that day at all. But the effects of baptism do not depend on our feelings. Remember who you are in Christ. The voice of the Father calls out from heaven for you to hear him: “You are my beloved one, my beloved child, and in you I delight.”

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The Gift of Anointing

January 4, 2025

Feast of the Epiphany
By Fr. Victor Feltes

With Father Aro away in India for his annual vacation and spiritual retreat until February 12th I plan to celebrate all of our Masses for several weeks to come. This gives me a rare opportunity to preach with an ongoing theme. So over the next month and a half I will preach about the seven sensible signs instituted by Christ to give us his grace. These effective rituals entrusted to his Catholic Church through which we receive divine life are called the Sacraments. It is important for us to learn about these holy gifts of God so that we may benefit from them to the fullest. This Sunday, we begin with the final sacrament that many Catholics receive.

The Magi, upon entering the house of the Holy Family in Bethlehem, “saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” These gifts pointed ahead to Christ’s Passion. Gold, for Christ is King. Frankincense, for he would offer God a pleasing sacrifice of himself. And myrrh, for his body would be anointed with this substance for his burial. The Holy Family was being hunted by King Herod, but God provided these gifts for his holy ones so they could escape the dangers of death and be saved. (That gold and those tradable goods were assets for the Holy Family in Egypt.) Through the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, God provides for his holy ones as they face the threat of death. You are more precious to God than gold. Your sufferings can be united to Christ’s and offered up to heaven as a redemptive sacrifice. And the anointing of your body can better prepare you for either your recovery or your passing.

St. Mark records in his Gospel how the apostles “anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” And St. James instructs the 1st century Church in the New Testament letter which bears his name: “Are there any who are sick among you? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.” James writes that “the prayer of faith will save the sick persons, and the Lord will raise them up. And if they have committed any sins, their sins will be forgiven them.” Whenever you begin to be in danger of death from illness, or from the frailty of old age, or because of an upcoming major surgery, the time for Holy Anointing has certainly already arrived. Call your priest, because he is unlikely to learn of your need unless you tell him. The hospital will not automatically contact us and only a priest can anoint you.

The priest will come and pray for you, silently laying his hands on your head. Then he will take some blessed oil and apply it in the shape of a cross on your forehead, saying “Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.” Then he will anoint the palms of your hands in the same way, saying “May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up.” You can receive this anointing again either if your condition greatly worsens or if you recover and become seriously ill again later. When a priest believes it is likely to be the last time you’ll be anointed he will also give The Apostolic Pardon, Viaticum (or Holy Communion), The Litany of the Saints, and the Final Commendation as additional “Last Rites.”

This sacrament gives strength, courage, and peace. It forgives your sins, if you were unable to obtain it through the Sacrament of Confession. And it unites you to Christ’s Passion to participate in his saving work, helping you offer redemptive sufferings like St. Paul describes to the Colossians: “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the Church.” Sometimes this sacrament helps restore you to health, otherwise it prepares your soul to pass over to the next life.

Do not refuse or put off this sacrament. God is not an enemy like King Herod whom you should flee and hide from. Do not deprive yourself or loved ones by waiting too long to request holy anointing. Like gold given to an important person, like frankincense for offering holy sacrifice to God, or like myrrh to prepare us for the end of life, the Anointing of the Sick is a precious holy gift.

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