Word to the Wise
Thursday, February 1, 2007 - Fourth Wednesday in Ordinary Time
[Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24 and Mark 6:7-13]So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointede with oil many who were sick and cured them.
One of the monthly events at the Sansbury Care Center (named after the first superior of the Kentucky Dominicans, Sr. Angela Sansbury, OP) is an anointing service. Many parishes with large populations of the elderly do the same. Sansbury Care Center is home to about 60 elderly Dominican sisters (most in their 80's or higher) and a few laywomen related in some fashion to the Dominican sisters. Back in my youth, such anointings were only individual events and were reserved for those in danger of death, hence the old name 'Extreme Unction." Now it may be given to anyone who is chronically ill physically or emotionally or has a particular suffering related to health. When I celebrate these ceremonies at parish missions, I am impressed with how parishioners understand the difference between the sacramental anointing of the sick and a symbolic anointing for mission. Some might be inclined to wonder if a monthly service can have the effect of "trivializing" the sacrament. My reply is that illness is illness and healing/anointing was a part of Jesus' ministry and that of the disciples from the outset. The passage from the gospel today refers to it and the Letter of James explicitly urges it (James 5:14-15). It's not some kind of spiritual insurance policy even if it can be a very reassuring event. It is, like all the sacraments, an action of the Lord himself. Therefore, when I lay hands on the recipient and then anoint them on the forehead and the palms of the hands, I try to at least make the experience an encounter with the Lord whom these sisters have served so faithfully and whose attention they crave so strongly. It doesn't have to be a flashy or dramatic moment - just a reassuring moment. AMEN
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