Word to the Wise
Saturday, May 25, 2024 - Saturday in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jas 5:13-20 and Mark 10:13-16]Is there anyone among you who is sick? He should summon the presbyters of the Church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. [James]
I have read aloud this passage from the Letter of James numberless times in my priestly career. It is the introduction to the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Before the Second Vatican Council, this sacrament was known as "extreme unction," and was administered only to someone on their deathbed!! Devout Catholic families could purchase a "kit" of items that included a cross, candles and cotton to keep handy when caring for an elderly or terminally ill loved one. The priest was summoned only when there was some certainty that the sick person was near death. The priest could bring the Blessed Sacrament if the person was conscious and could receive communion. This was called "Holy Viaticum," a term derived from Latin meaning "food for a journey."
The fathers of the Second Vatican Council determined that this sacrament should be more widely available, and can be administered to anyone with a serious or chronic illness, or even "advanced age." The illness can be physical or psychological. It should be more than a simple scrape or disappointment. If the person receiving the sacrament has been baptized but never confirmed, the priest may administer the sacrament of confirmation. Nowadays, anyone who will be undergoing serious surgery may request to be anointed. When I was chaplain to a "motherhouse" of Dominican sisters up in Kentucky (2005-2009), there was a monthly anointing service for the many elderly sisters in the infirmary.
An important effect of this sacramental encounter with God's healing mercy is the forgiveness of sins. Often the recipient may be unconscious and unable to make a deathbed confession. At least the spiritual illness can be healed even if the physical/mental illness could not be. There is an assumption that the person would have wanted this sacrament, and the family/friends should not impose it on someone who would have no faith and would have rejected the sacrament. In matters of doubt (e.g. is the person still alive? Or just been away from the Church a long time, etc.), the sacrament should be administered.
The whole idea is to make the sacrament more widely available so that an encounter with Christ's healing ministry is possible to people. Waiting till the last moment is not a good idea. If hospice care is needed, so is the Sacrament of Anointing, and it may be repeated in appropriate circumstances - old age, long illness, etc.. Some parishes hold monthly Masses in which this sacrament is administered. I urge all my Beloved Congregation to take a positive attitude about this wonderful sacrament and not treat it as "the end." AMEN