The Holy Mystery of Annointing was celebrated today on Maundy Wednesday (the Council of the Holy Archangel Gabriel) in the Church of St. Nicholas in Kotor, with the clergy of the Parish of Kotor, by the Archbishop's Vicar of Kotor-Tivat, the parish priest of Kotor, Archpriest-Staurophorus Nemanja Krivokapić.
In his address to the faithful, who attended the service in large numbers, Fr. Nemanja reminded that this is one of the seven holy mysteries.
"The Lord Jesus Christ, God and Savior, came to earth to save us, people. On the one hand, to suffer and be resurrected, to give us eternal life, and on the other hand, to teach us how we should live, to gain the Kingdom of God, which is intended and prepared for us. Also, when He came to Earth, He founded the Church, the place where we encounter God, where we receive God's grace," said Fr. Nemanja, emphasizing that our efforts are extremely important, as is our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and what we will do on our part.
"That is extremely important. And yet, on the other hand, just as important is the grace of God, without which we cannot be saved. Grace is received through the holy mysteries, exclusively in the Church, the place where we encounter God," said Fr. Nemanja reminded us of the Blessing of Holy Water on the Epiphany, the Sacrament of Baptism and Chrismation by which we become members of the Church, the Sacrament of Communion where we unite with God….
He continued that the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is one of the sacraments that is usually celebrated over a sick person at home or in a church, and from time to time it is also celebrated for all other people “because we all have our own illnesses and weaknesses”.
He also said that this Sacrament is directly based on the Epistle of the Holy Apostle James, which mentions anointing with oil and prayer that will raise the sick, and whoever has committed any sins will be forgiven.
“There is a direct connection between our sinfulness and our suffering here on earth. Not directly, as a punishment, but because of our sinful state, when in general, illnesses and suffering come. So, when we pray that God will strengthen and defend us, we also pray that He will forgive us our sins. And, as we see in this Holy Mystery, it is connected: “and the Lord will raise him up and forgive him the sins he has committed.” So, from this Holy Mystery we learn that we humans are the ones who need to be aware of our sins and trust in God, and He will, when we pray to Him, repay His grace many times over, through the Holy Mysteries.
There is a certain, let me say, popular custom, a beautiful church custom, when the Holy Prayer is read, when the Holy Gospel is spread out, and look at what is revealed, what the message would be. It is opened today at the part that tells about the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ, when the soldiers brought Him to be judged and when they scourged Him. That is what we remember these days. This week is Holy Week, because we remember the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who suffered here, not because of any of His sins, nor because of any of His mistakes, but for the sake of our salvation. We also remember that after these sufferings comes the Holy Resurrection - the victory of life over death. He rose again, conquered death and granted us eternal life. He hears our prayers when we pray to Him until this day, because, Christ said to his apostles, and not only to them, but to all of us: "I am with you always, to the end of the age, amen." "Glory be to the Lord God who cares for us and who helps us, and may this Holy Mystery be for our salvation, both spiritually and physically, but above all for our strengthening and for us all to welcome the glorious Resurrection, amen," said Father Nemanja, among other things.