Communal Anointing of the Sick -- We are stardust made flesh
NOVEMBER 15TH, 2009 — 36TH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
DANIEL 12:1-3, HEALING (by Edwina Gateley), MARK 13:24-32
Dear Friends,
On this weekend, Spirit of Life Community celebrates a Communal Anointing of the Sick. The Sacramental Anointing of the Sick is meant to make visible God's faithfully walking with us in illness (as in all the other days of our lives.) Knowing God is with us may not take away the pain, but it may take away some of the suffering.
In the reading from the Prophet Daniel, we are told : "the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever." One commentator notes: "we are stardust made flesh." What a mission: to shine forever. God being with us makes that possible.
The poem from Edwina Gateley reminds us similarly that God accompanies us—we are friends of God, beloved of God :
Healing
The pain and the wounds
go too deep
for us to heal
alone.
Only God
only a
far Greater Power
can penetrate
such depth
of pain,
and gently, gently
soothe,
and kiss us into
wholeness.
It is too much
for us,
all of it has to be
given over
entirely
to God.
All of it.
go too deep
for us to heal
alone.
Only God
only a
far Greater Power
can penetrate
such depth
of pain,
and gently, gently
soothe,
and kiss us into
wholeness.
It is too much
for us,
all of it has to be
given over
entirely
to God.
All of it.
(by Edwina Gateley)
We invite you to come and pray with us at Spirit of Life and share in the experience of who each of us are which graces our time together. We are a Catholic community where every voice is heard, and women and men are unafraid to acknowledge the equality of women and men; and to embrace feminine as well as masculine... and beyond... images of God. As a community, we try wholeheartedly to "be Christ" to one another, to tend to the needs of one another, and to those in need in our world. Together, we celebrate our belief that we are being transformed by God's grace as we gather together in prayer. We warmly invite you to come and gather with us at our Table, and join in our experience of the "kin-dom" of God. We are an inclusive, open, affirming and interactive community, deeply committed to being a people of "justice and joy."
May your heart be an open space for others to find a home,
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