by Ayla Lunar
THOUGH PHYSICALLY weak and aging, about a hundred old and sick parishioners came to the parish church for the celebration of the World Day of the Sick last Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
The said parishioners attended the Holy Mass at 7:30 a.m. The parish priest, Msgr. Juan Buentiempo, presided-over the mass and administered the blessing for them. Then, they partook in a breakfast provided by respective barangays. Before this day, these old and aged parishioners and more than a hundred others received catechesis, confessions and sacrament of anointing of the sick in their respective barangays. The Confraternity of Lourdes, with Mrs. Teresita Tible as President, spearheaded this program.
This parish celebration is a response to the call of the Holy Father John Paul II in 1992 when he designated February 11 as World Day of the Sick. Magarao parish started observing this celebration in 2001 under the initiative of Msgr. Buentiempo and Fr. Benito Velasco, the parochial vicar then. With the Parish Pastoral Council, the two priests looked for the sick and aged parishioners, visited them, brought the holy viaticum at their beds, heard their confessions and invited them for Mass at the parish. Last year, around 150 aged persons came.
Msgr. Buentiempo says about the purpose of this celebration, “This primarily aims at helping the sick and the elderly face their situation in life for it may be hard for them to endure life with their difficult situation... Also, this is a fitting opportunity for children to express their love and service to the sick and the aged.”
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