We were blessed with a beautiful and prayerful Service of Holy Unction at St. Steven’s Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Alhambra. His Grace Bishop Maxim presided, together with the concelebrating clergy: Fr. Nickolas Ceko, Fr. Blasko Paraklis, Fr. Predrag Bojovic, and Fr. Basil Gavrilovic. In a church filled with the faithful, all prayed fervently for the healing of soul and body.

In his homily, Bishop Maxim reflected on the deep connection between faith, healing, and our encounter with Christ. Drawing on the Gospel account of the woman with the issue of blood, he reminded us that healing comes not only through inner faith, but also through the holy things of the Church—through touch, matter, and sacrament—by which we enter into personal communion with the Lord. In the Gospel reading about the  healing of the women, he noted, did not end with the touch alone; it continued when she openly confessed the truth before Christ. This reveals that true healing includes both God’s grace and our willingness to stand before Him with honesty.

Bishop Maxim emphasized that suffering and illness are part of the human condition, just as Christ did not avoid the Cross. Yet, in the Church we learn to move from our weakness to the strength of the Lord, from isolation to communion, where His grace works most powerfully. Healing, he said, comes not from the personal worthiness of the priests, but from the Gospel, the prayer of the Church, and the grace of God acting through them.

He concluded by greeting everyone warmly and wishing the faithful a blessed continuation of Holy Week as we draw near to the radiant Feast of Pascha.