Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick


Once a young lady approached the parish priest and requested him to visit her home to give the last rites to the mother-in-law. When the priest reached home he noticed that the person was not very sick and she did not require to be given the sacrament.

So he said to the young lady that he would pray for her. But the young lady insisted, “Father please do the last rites.”
The priest was surprised and asked her the reason.
Then she said, “We had tried all other methods but failed. After this she will have nothing more to expect.”
Anointing of the sick has been misunderstood as the last rites and many people are afraid to receive this sacrament as they do not want to die. Anointing of the Sick has been thought to be exclusively for the dying and so has been called Extreme Unction or last rites.
The Church has been seeking to make it clear that it is not just for those near death. The Church states that this sacrament can be repeatedly used during the long course of an ongoing illness and that it should be used before serious surgery when a dangerous illness is the reason for the surgery.
Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament  that is administered to a Catholic "who, having reached the age of reason, begins to be in danger due to sickness or old age". It is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.
Biblical basis for the sacrament rests in the following passage:
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. (Mark 6:13)
St James in his letter wrote to the Christian communities to practice it. “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:13-16)
According to Catholic doctrine, the Anointing of the Sick affects the sick person in the following ways:
First of all it provides courage, strength, and peace in the face of illness. The priest anoints the sick person's forehead and hands with oil (usually in the form of a cross), saying: "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."
The psalmist expresses that God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Ps 46:1-3) St Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:6).
There are many examples in history and around us for people who face their illness with great courage. Helen Keller was stricken by a severe illness when she was a child, Keller grew up unable to hear or see to become a celebrated author, speaker and activist for the deaf and blind. She graduated in 1904, campaigned for women’s suffrage and founded Helen Keller International, a nonprofit dedicated to saving the sight and lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in Africa and Asia.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio, a disease that dramatically limited his ability to use his legs when he was nearly 40. Already an accomplished politician and government servant, Roosevelt went on to become governor of New York and, in November 1932, was elected President of the United States. He remained in office until his death in 1945, becoming the longest-serving president in U.S. history.
There are many heroes around us. They find peace and courage in the face of illness. In the sacrament of anointing of the sick the priest implores for divine intervention to give strength and courage to face the challenges in your life.
Secondly, it helps the sick person to trust in God no matter what happens. A priest was preparing a man for his last journey and administering the Sacrament.
Whispering firmly, the priest said, "Denounce the devil! Let him know how little you think of his evil!"
The dying man said nothing.
The priest repeated his order.   Still the dying man said nothing.
The priest asked, "Why do you refuse to denounce the devil and his evil?"
The dying man said, "Until I know where I'm heading, I don't think I ought to aggravate anybody!"
Joshua advised the people to put their trust in the Lord. He said, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 2:9). The psalmist expresses his great trust in the Lord “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” The author of Proverb was very confident that God would lead him in the right path. ”Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov.3:5-6). Isaiah assured people, “But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Is 43:1). Daniel put his trust in the Lord so even in the den God preserved him. “And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.”(Dan.6:23). Jesus asked us to trust in God and believe in Him, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.”(Jn 14:1). Today when the priest comes to anoint the sick Jesus is repeating the same words and reassuring them through the priest. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. God is always with you.”
Thirdly, it gives the sick person grace to unite his or her suffering to the passion of Christ. “The special grace of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has as its effects: the uniting of the sick person to the passion of Christ, for his own good and that of the whole Church; the strengthening, peace, and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age; the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to obtain it through the sacrament of penance; the restoration of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul; the preparation for passing over to eternal life” (CCC 1532). Paul understands that the suffering he endures serves as a way to be like Christ, as well as it being for Christ’s sake. Paul says: “Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God depends on faith; that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his suffering, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:8-11)
In the passion we see how Mary witnessed the terrible ordeals of her own son being humiliated before the church elders, dragged before Pilate for judgement, scourged nearly unto death, and finally nailed to the cross. During the times when our suffering is most intense, we can remember this scene of Mary. The sacrament of anointing of the sick reminds the sick person and the dear ones who witness his suffering that it will help him to get united with Jesus and our mother Mary.
Fourthly, it provides physical and/or spiritual healing according to God's will. He says:  "Through this holy anointing and by His most tender mercy, may the Lord pardon you what sins you have committed by sight (hearing, speech, and so on)."
“And a woman, who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well." (Mt 9:20-21). Jesus immediately said, "Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me." (Lk 8:46). When she touched Jesus with faith it healed her.
People knew that touching Jesus had tremendous healing power. “And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all. (LK 6:19).  All the sick gathered around Jesus as they believed a touch of Jesus would cure them. “Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.”(Mk 6:56)
The Bible gives the account of Jesus healing the blind men through his touch. “When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” And their eyes were opened. ."(Mt 9:29).
When Jesus was betrayed one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.  But Jesus touched his ear and healed him. (LK 22:51)
In the sacrament of anointing Jesus is using the hands of the priest to touch us. He extends the same healing he had given to the people who gathered around him. Believe in the words of Jesus and receive the sacrament with the same faith. Jesus will cure us.
Fifthly, it offers necessary graces so that the sick person may prepare for death. Death is a reality in human life, and we need not try to deny that fact when it becomes obvious or inevitable. In such cases, the Sacrament of Anointing prepares a person for death, which includes spiritual healing and the forgiveness of sins. If death is imminent, the Eucharist is offered as Viaticum (food for the journey).
Death is the only certainty that we experience on the earth. All the life that exist on the Earth has an end. All the trees have to perish. All the fish in the sea have a life span. All the birds and animals die. And all the human beings have to leave the Earth one day. Our ancestors have been on the face of the Earth for about six million years and the modern form of humans evolved about 200,000 years ago. And Humanity first set foot on another world on July 20, 1969, when Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon. But everybody was destined to leave the body behind and leave the world. The Bible reminds everyone, “you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”(Gen 3:19).
It is a fact that we are afraid of the unknown. But now we find great adventures undertaken by human beings to explore the unknown. Human settlement of Mars is the next dream of man. And many are willing to take up this leap into the unknown knowing that they will not come back. There is no precedence for it. But when it comes to death every one is frightened to leave the earth though we are quite certain that we have to depart one day. For death we have precedence. All our ancestors died, went to their eternal abode. Jesus told us “My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (Jn. 14:2). The disciples saw Jesus ascending. Mary had been taken up into heaven. Still we are afraid to leave this pilgrim place and go to our eternal abode. St Paul wrote to the Philippians “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; (Phil 3:20)
A funeral service was being held in a church for a woman who has just passed away. At the end of the service, the pallbearers carrying the casket accidentally bump into a wall jarring the casket. They hear a faint moan. They open the casket and find that the woman is actually alive. She lives for 10 more years and then dies. A ceremony is again held at the same church and at the end the pallbearers are again carrying the casket out. As they are walking, the husband calls out, “Watch out for the wall!”
Sixthly, it pours out consolation and hope. The psalmist had great hope in the Lord. Psalm 23 expresses it, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”(Ps 23:4). In author of Lamentation has great hope in the Lord. “For no one is cast off by the Lord forever.  Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.”(Lamentations 3:31). In the sacrament of anointing of the sick God reminds us of it through the priest.
Lastly, it provides an opportunity for the forgiveness of sins even when the sick person is too ill to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation. The early Church Fathers recognized this sacrament’s role in the life of the Church. Around A.D. 250, Origen wrote that the penitent Christian “does not shrink from declaring his sin to a priest of the Lord and from seeking medicine . . . [of] which the apostle James says: ‘If then there is anyone sick, let him call the presbyters of the Church, and let them impose hands upon him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him’” (Homilies on Leviticus 2:4).
In the year 350, Bishop Serapion wrote, “We beseech you, Savior of all men, you that have all virtue and power, Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and we pray that you send down from heaven the healing power of the only-begotten [Son] upon this oil, so that for those who are anointed . . . it may be effected for the casting out of every disease and every bodily infirmity . . . for good grace and remission of sins” (The Sacramentary of Serapion 29:1).
The penitent thief on the cross spoke to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”(Lk 23:43)
The Anointing of the Sick uses human objects and actions as symbols to point to something beyond themselves, God's grace.
  • Oil has been recognized from ancient times for its properties of healing and cleansing. A person who has been anointed with oil is set apart for a special purpose. In terms of the sacrament, oil symbolizes healing from illness, cleansing from sin, and consecration (i.e., setting apart as holy) to God.
  • The priest or bishop often anoints the sick person's forehead and palms with the sign of the cross, which reminds Catholics that their salvation comes through the cross of Jesus Christ, and that they are called to unite their sufferings to those of Jesus.
  • The forehead is one of the most visible places on the human body. Catholics believe that their faith in Christ should be visible through their actions. An anointing on the forehead also symbolizes the need to know Christ and follow Him.
  • Human hands are often associated with human activity. When sick people are anointed on the hands, they are reminded that they must turn all their activity over to Christ. They must place themselves under His will, even if He wills their earthly activity to cease.
  • The laying on of hands by the priest or bishop comforts the sick person but also symbolizes the power of God entering the sick person through the mediation of the priest or bishop.
Satish