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!"
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!"
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.