As the sun slowly descended beyond the western horizon, bathing the hills of San Francisco in its final light, the sacred doors of Holy Archangel Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church stood open - not just to the cool evening air, but to the Divine Mercy of God, poured out in abundance through the Mystery of Holy Unction.

It was the final hours of Great and Holy Lent, a spiritual season marked by prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and deep repentance. As the Church universal prepared to enter the profound mysteries of Holy Week, the faithful of this small but vibrant parish gathered in quiet reverence, offering up their hearts, their weaknesses, their hopes, and their wounds to the Lord.

Presiding over the solemn service was His Eminence Archbishop Daniel, spiritual father of the Western Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, who came to the community as both shepherd and intercessor. Together with the pastor of the parish family – Very Rev. Fr. Heorhiy Tyapko and faithful parishioners, the Archbishop stood in the presence of the Holy Icons, chanting the sacred psalms and Gospels, invoking the healing presence of Christ, the Divine Physician.

The Holy Unction service, steeped in the tradition of the ancient Church, is a sacrament of both physical and spiritual healing. It is a moment when the Church gathers around her children and intercedes with tears and hope, imploring God to touch every affliction of the body and every wound of the soul.

The seven Epistle and Gospel readings proclaimed during the service reflect the fullness of God’s mercy - from the healing of the blind and lame, to the forgiveness of sins, to the anointing of the sick with oil in the name of the Lord. As the sacred words echoed through the temple, they were not heard merely as scripture, but as living testimony - God’s promises still alive and active in His Church today.

One by one, the faithful approached to be anointed with the holy oil, crossing themselves, bowing their heads in humility, and offering their hearts to the One who "bore our infirmities and carried our diseases." (Isaiah 53:4) The sign of the Cross, made with fragrant oil upon the forehead, cheeks, hands, and senses, became for each person a personal Pascha - a crossing over from illness to wholeness, from fear to faith, from sorrow to peace.

In his reflection during the service, Archbishop Daniel reminded the faithful that Christ Himself is invisibly present in this sacrament, walking among His people as He once did in Galilee - touching, healing, forgiving. “This oil is not magic,” he said. “It is the visible sign of the invisible grace of God… the grace of the One who conquered death, the One who knows your pain, and the One who alone can heal you.”

The holy silence of the temple was broken only by the chanting of the choir, the gentle rustle of movement as people approached to be anointed, and the soft weeping of those whose souls had touched the hem of Christ’s garment.

The service of Holy Unction, offered on the final days of Lent, is not an ending, but a threshold - the sacred entryway into the final steps of the Lenten journey: the raising of Lazarus, the triumphal entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem, and the ascent to Golgotha.

It is here, on the cusp of Palm Sunday, that the Church anoints her children in preparation for the coming battle of Holy Week, where sin, suffering, betrayal, and death will be transformed by the Cross and Resurrection. The oil that now glistens upon their foreheads is not only for healing - it is for strength, for courage, for hope.

As the service concluded, and the faithful stood in the dim glow of candlelight, a deep peace settled upon the community. They had not simply fulfilled a Lenten obligation - they had encountered the Living Christ, who meets His people in their frailty and raises them up with love.

May the Lord, in His great and abundant mercy, receive the prayers and tears of His people offered on this sacred night. May every wound - visible and invisible - be soothed by the touch of the Holy Spirit. And may all who were anointed with the oil of healing be made ready to greet the Risen Christ, whose tomb shall burst forth with light, and whose love shall conquer death.

In these final sacred hours before the Resurrection, may our hearts be renewed. May our souls be healed. And may we, with unwavering faith, cry out: "Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!"