Order of Malta to coordinate Archdiocesan Anointing Mass set for Feb. 13

January 24, 2016

HOUSTON — The Order of Malta is coordinating the eighth annual Mass for the Anointing of the Sick to be celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop George A Sheltz and concelebrated by Father Luke Millette, associate chaplain of the Order of Malta. The Mass will be held at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 1111 St. Joseph Pkwy. in downtown Houston on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 9:30 a.m.

All are invited to attend the Mass; however, the Sacrament of the Sick is reserved to those with seriously impaired health due to sickness or old age. Those wishing to receive the Sacrament of the Sick during the Mass are instructed to register online at www.orderofmalta-houston.org or by phoning the Order of Malta at 713-870-8304.

Appropriate reception of the Sacrament of the Sick includes those whose health are seriously impaired by sickness or old age, before surgery if the surgery is caused by serious illness, elderly people who have become notably weakened, seriously ill children who have reached the age of reason and those who were previously anointed if there is a relapse after recovery or if the condition has become more serious. 

To receive the Sacraments of the Church licitly, a Catholic is to be in a state of grace. Individual confession and absolution constitute the ordinary means by which a member of the faithful conscious of grave sin is reconciled with God and the Church. 

Those receiving the Sacrament are encouraged to receive in their local parish the Sacrament of Penance prior to receiving the Sacraments of the Anointing of the Sick and Holy Communion. The Sacrament of Penance will also be available before the Mass starting at 8:30 a.m. until 9:15 a.m.
The Order of Malta is one of the oldest Catholic religious orders, founded in the 11th century to administer hospice-infirmary aid to pilgrims to the Holy Land. 

Today, 13,000 Knights and Dames of Malta with 80,000 volunteers and 15,000 doctors, nurses and health care professionals, aid the sick and poor in more than 200 hospitals, medical centers, emergency relief and ambulance corps worldwide. Their most well-known projects include the Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem near the site of the Nativity, and the Order’s annual pilgrimage with the sick to Lourdes, France. 

In Houston, there are approximately 60 members of the Order. In addition to the annual Anointing Mass and its Lourdes pilgrimage, the Order locally serves the sick and the poor at Martha’s Kitchen, the Veterans’ Hospital and Catholic Charities.

For more information about the Anointing Mass and to make reservations to receive the Sacrament of the Sick, visit www.orderofmalta-houston.org or call 713-870-8304.