Oil of listening
In his Angelus address last Sunday, Pope Francis said:
“The gospel passage we read today recounts that Jesus’s disciples “anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them” (Mk 6:13). This ‘oil’ also makes us think of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, which gives comfort to spirit and body. But this ‘oil’ is also the listening, closeness and tenderness of those who care for the sick person: it is like a caress that makes you feel better, soothes your pain and cheers you up. All of us, everyone, sooner or later, need this ‘anointing’ of closeness and tenderness, and we can all give it to someone else, with a visit, a phone call, a hand outstretched to someone who needs help.