The WORD in other words by Fr Herman Suico SVD – Cebu City
Saturday 12th Week in Ordinary Time
One of the joys and consolations in the ministry is to be present and to witness the transforming power of God’s mercy and love specially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Anointing of the sick.
Working in the urban poor area of St. Arnold Janssen Parish in Cebu City, Fr. Art and I are often called to minister to a dying person. Hardly a week would pass by without us being summoned to minister to the dying.
On these occasions the Gospel of Mathew about the Roman centurion pleading with Jesus to heal his servant is proclaimed. It is a beautiful gospel about the inclusiveness of God’s mercy and love that even a pagan officer can ask for it. One only needs to believe.
I have seen many times the power of God’s mercy in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the sick, not in the miraculous sense but in the transformative power of the sacrament. It is poignantly beautiful to witness a dying person facing death no longer afraid, reconciled with himself, with others and with God.
You walk away from the scene humbled and grateful. We really have a God so merciful and loving.
