The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick

(In case any of you are wondering what inspired me to write this post, I have been sick over the past few days with a cold.  Say a prayer I get better soon.)

Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.  The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.”  James 5:14-15

In this passage from the letter of James, the Church has found recognition of one of the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church, the Anointing of the Sick.   This Sacrament tends to be one of the more forgotten ones, so it is good to review it from time to time.

First off, what is a Sacrament?   Here is the definition according to paragraph 1131 of the Catechism:  The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions  So a Sacrament is a visible, outward sign of grace (which itself is invisible) being poured into our souls.  

Each Sacrament gives distinctive type of graces.  What are the graces associated with the Anointing of the Sick?   The Catechism lists four in Part Two, Article 5, Section 4:

1)      Through a renewal of trust and faith in God, the Sacrament gives strength, peace, and courage to overcome the difficulties that go with serious illness and/or old age.

2)      The Sacrament unites the soul with the passion of Christ so that his or her suffering will bear some fruit.

3)      The Sacrament unites the suffering soul with the Church, so that the soul receives the intercession of the Saints, and the soul contributes to the sanctification of the Church.

4)      If the Sacrament is received just prior to death, it serves as preparation for our final journey.  Baptism began our conformity to the death and Resurrection of Christ, and Anointing completes it.

What makes this a Sacrament, distinct from just a grace in general, is that there is a visible sign associated with it.   The Eucharist has the bread and wine, Baptism has water, what does this Sacrament have?   The sign for this Sacrament is blessed oil.  We read in paragraph 1513 in the Catechism:

The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given to those who are seriously ill by anointing them on the forehead and hands with duly blessed oil - pressed from olives or from other plants - saying, only once: "Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up."

We should not wait until we are on death’s door to receive this Sacrament.   The Sacrament is more efficacious if we are conscious and alert when we receive it.   In fact, we should seek to receive this Sacrament anytime we are seriously sick, even if death is not imminent.   For example, one undergoing surgery should make use of this Sacrament.

This Sacrament is not geared toward the forgiveness of mortal sins.  Therefore, one who is aware of mortal sin must receive the Sacrament of Penance first before receiving this Sacrament.  Just as is the case with Holy Communion and the other sacraments, one must be in a state of grace to be able to receive their graces.  That is not possible when one is in a state of mortal sin.   However, just as confessing venial sins (while not strictly necessary)  is strongly recommended for the Sacrament of Penance, so too here, to get the most out of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, it is recommended that venial sins be confessed in the Sacrament of Penance first, even though strictly speaking, venial sins are forgiven in this Sacrament, as well, as they are in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Sometimes, a person who receives this Sacrament is healed from their malady.   Often, they are not, but they do receive, as stated earlier, the spiritual strength to endure, and to have their suffering bear fruit.  Whatever is better for the eternal salvation of the recipient God will provide, either a spiritual healing, or both a spiritual and a physical healing together.   Jesus himself healed some people, but not others, but he showed a tremendous love for all the sick, just as he did for the poor.

  Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.  She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.”  Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.  Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”  And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” He looked all around to see who had done it. ³But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.  He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”  Mark 5:25-34

^“So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them.  Matthew 4:24

“Cure the sick!”  Matthew 10:8

“I was sick and you took care of me.”  Matthew 25:36

For Jesus, the sick were a visible sign to all of us of our need for healing.    His physical healings brought to illumination the deeper reality of the spiritual healing that his life, death and resurrection brought us.   As I stated, he did not heal everyone, and in fact, everyone he did heal did die eventually, and I would imagine that in least some of those cases, some intense suffering came throughout the dying process.  However, I imagine their earlier healing provided them strength to endure their suffering and death, just like the present Sacrament does for those who receive it with the correct dispositions.

The disciples and the early Church took up the Lord’s call to cure and take care of the sick, and it continues to this day.   Catholic doctors and nurses do this, yes, parents do this, too, yes when they take care of their sick children.  However, on another level all together, through her Priests and Bishops, Our Lord confers a special unique spiritual grace to the experience of illness through this Sacrament of Anointing.   Let us remember this sometimes neglected, but very special Sacrament.  Let us utilize it fully for the benefit of the suffering Church and the suffering world.

Joseph, hope of the sick, pray for us.