A SACRAMENT OF HEALING

SACRAMENT OF THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK

Jesus clearly saw that sin and sickness are related. By healing people’s bodies as well as their souls, Jesus showed that the entire human being is touched by God’s salvation. The gospels are filled with stories of cures. He healed people’s spiritual lives by assuring them that God forgives them their sins and gives them the power to love and care for others. Jesus also healed people’s physical ailments as a sign of God’s power and as an example of caring that accounts for the entire person. But the important notion in the stories of healing is that Jesus never cured a body for its own sake. He was rather concerned with the whole man. The cures aregrounded in faith and are meant to lead to a higher truth and a final meaning which is Christ and the salvation he came to bring. Jesus’ healing ministry should be seen in the context of his forgiving sin and his proclamation of the kingdom of God and the need for repentance.

Sickness is an inescapable symptom of man’s need for deliverance. It is the ultimate evil that could bring everlasting death. The person who is sick is separated from the ordinary world and needs the reassurance that others value him, and that he can still contribute to the community. The difficulties of old age or grave illness can lead to anguish, self-absorption, despair, and revolt against God. That is why we must look at the Sacrament of the Sick in the perspective of the ultimate victory of Christ. The Sacrament of the Sick must basically be acall to conversionand faith and a fuller sharing in the Easter mystery in its dramatic fullness and ultimate implications. Healing should be incidental. Every anointing is a sign of the coming of the kingdom.

The Sacrament of the Sick confers a special grace, a particular gift of the Holy Spirit, which can lead to more maturity to discern what is important in life, a search for God, and a return to him provoked by the illness.

The ritual states that this sacrament is for those of the faithful whose health is seriously impaired by sickness or old age. Some examples follow:

  • Before serious surgery for illness or disability. (It is preferable to celebrate the Sacrament of the Sick before hospitalization. Person is better able to appreciate prayers and symbols in customary prayer situation with family or parish).
  • In case of worsening of an illness
  • In case of another grave illness
  • In case of the frailty of old age that brings fears and isolation
  • In a case where frailty becomes more pronounced
  • For serious mental illness
  • For alcoholism or other addiction
  • When approaching death with Eucharist as Viaticum (from the Latin meaning provision for a journey).

The person is encouraged to request sacrament himself. Relatives or others may request the sacrament for the dying or the severely ill. The priest cannot offer it. The sacrament must be requested.

Who can administer the Sacrament of the Sick?

Only priests and bishops are able to administer the sacrament because only they have been granted the power to forgive sins in Jesus’ name through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Celebration of the Sacrament of the Sick may take several forms:

  • It may be celebrated in the home, hospital, or in emergency situations.
  • It is most often celebrated in church.
  • It can be celebrated at Mass.
  • It can be individual or communal.
  • It can be preceded by Reconciliation and followed by Eucharist.

The community is urged to be quite involved. This means not only family and friends, but the parish. Communal anointing is encouraged at the parish church within Mass so that the community at large may be sensitized to the needs of the sick and their basic isolation. The community is there to provide both encouragement and meaning, to remind patients of their humanness. The laity can be involved, not only by sharing in the ceremonies and by engaging in the healing ministry, but also by bringing the Eucharist to the sick as well.

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Word and sacrament form an indivisible whole in the Sacrament of the Sick. An act of repentance and readings from Scripture open the celebration. The words of Christ and the witness of the apostles awaken the faith of both the sick person and the community to ask the Lord for the strength of his Spirit.

When the Sacrament of the Sick is celebrated at Mass, the parish community gathers to express concern for those who are ill and those who have special needs. The sick and the congregation may (though not always) be blessed with baptismal water as a reminder that the dying with Christ promised in Baptism is real dying experienced in the current suffering of those about to be anointed. In Baptism Christ, who suffered for us, transformed our suffering into victory. There are readings from the Scriptures. Since nearly every page of Scripture speaks of God's desire for our health and healing, sometimes readings particularly appropriate to this theme may be chosen.

Following the readings, the priest will speak of the Christian meaning of suffering and how suffering has been redeemed by the suffering of Christ. Suffering is indeed a mystery and can never be explained. But in Christ we can find meaning in our suffering. From Christ's works we know that sickness has meaning and value for our own salvation and the salvation of the world. We also know that Christ, who during his life often visited and healed the sick, loves us in illness.

After the homily the congregation joins in a litany of intercession for the sick, for the parish and for the needs of the world. Those to be anointed then come to the presiding minister.

One of the key symbolic actions of the Sacrament of Anointing is this imposition of hands. In silence the priest lays his hands on the head of each person. TheGospels contain a number of instances in which Jesus healed the sick by the laying on of hands or even by the simple gesture of touch. This gesture is rich in meaning. With it the priest indicates that this particular person is the object of the Church's prayer of faith. The laying on of hands is a sign of blessing as we pray that by the power of God's healing grace the sick person may be restored to health, or at least strengthened in time of illness. Above all, it is the biblical gesture of healing and, indeed, Jesus' own usual manner of healing. People brought their sick friends and relatives to him and "he laid hands on each of them and cured them" (see Luke 4:40). In both the Old and New Testaments, the laying on of hands symbolizes and confers the giving of the special grace of the Holy Spirit. Here the sick are signaled out for the Spirit’s special care.

Next, the leader will bless God for the gift of oil. The oil used is simply olive oil. (In place of olive oil, oil derived from other plants may be used.) What makes the oil special—sacramental—is the blessing said over it. This central prayer of the sacrament follows the same structure as the central prayer of the Mass, the Eucharistic Prayer: we invoke God; we gratefully remember all that God has done for us, and then we make our petition. At the Eucharist the petition is for unity; in this sacrament the petition is for healing.

The priest uses oil that has already been blessed by the bishop of the diocese which shows in a special way the concern of the bishop and of the whole diocese for the sick. Sometimes the oil will be blessed during the rite and the congregation will hear these words of praise and blessing:

God of all consolation you chose and sent your Son to heal the world. Graciously listen to our prayer of faith; send the power of your Holy Spirit, the Consoler,into this precious oil, this soothing ointment, this rich gift, this fruit of the earth. Bless this oil and sanctify it for our use. Make this oil a remedy for all who are anointed with it; heal them in body, in soul, and in spirit, and deliver them from every affliction. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Thoughtful meditation on this blessing is one of the best ways to prepare to celebrate the sacrament.

Following the blessing, the priest anoints the sick with the blessed oil. First, he makes the Sign of the Cross with the oil on their foreheads. The forehead is anointed because there the Sign of the Cross was first traced when the candidates for Christian initiation became catechumens, at baptism, and at confirmation. He says: "Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit." All respond: "Amen." Then the priest anoints the palms of their hands with the Sign of the Cross, saying: "May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up." All respond: "Amen." The hands express our living in the world. The rubbing of oil into the hands signifies the Holy Spirit meeting us in our personal situation, in our own particular sickness with its unique set of feelings. The oil will bring Christ the healer to us in our own special circumstances.

Oil, as a symbol of the penetrating presence of the Holy Spirit, is particularly apt for the anointing of the sick. As the oil is rubbed and absorbed into the skin, so does the Holy Spirit “enter’ the sick person, claiming, empowering, enlivening, rejuvenating in the name of Christ.

The various prayers after the anointing make it clear that the God-given grace of the sacrament is “tailor-made” to suit the sick person’s particular needs. God gives exactly what is needed at the moment to assure salvation and to fulfill the Christian vocation. Some of the sick need grace to sustain them at a psychological-emotional level. Such a grace may hasten well-being:

Through this holy anointing grant him courage when he is afraid, hope when he is dejected, patience when he is afflicted.

Some of the sick need the grace of an actual cure:

By the grace of your Holy Spirit restore your servant to health and enable him to

resume his former duties.

Others because of the extreme nature of their illness need the grace to enter yet more deeply into the passion of Christ:

Give him strength to fight against evil.

Effects of the Sacrament of the Sick

  • The first grace of this sacrament, a particular gift of the Holy Spirit, grantspeace, courage, and strength to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age.
  • Union with the passion of Christ—the sacrament unites the sick person to the passion of Christ for his own good and that of the whole Church.
  • Forgives sins if the person was unable to obtain forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
  • Occasionally health is restored if it is conducive to the salvation of the soul.
  • An ecclesial grace—the Church, in the communion of saints, intercedes for the benefit of the sick person; he or she, through the gift of this sacrament, contributes to the sanctification of the Church and to the good of all men.
  • A preparation for the final journey—given to those at the point of departing this life, the anointing of the sick completes our conformity to the death and resurrection of Christ, just as baptism began it. It completes the anointing that marks the whole Christian life:

-Baptism sealed the new life in us,

-Confirmation strengthened us for combat in this life,

-Anointing of the Sick fortifies the end of our earthly life for the final struggles before entering the Father’s house.

Summary

The principle elements of the rite of the Sacrament of the Sick include the following:

1.Imposition of handson the sick is administered in silence.

  • Indicates this person is the object of Church’s prayer and faith.
  • Is a sign of blessing as we pray for Gods healing grace or at least that the person be strengthened at this time.
  • Is a biblical gesture of healing often used by Jesus.
2. Anointing with blessed oil
  • The priest traces the Sign of the Cross on the forehead saying only once, “Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.” (“Amen”)
  • He continues by anointing the palms of the hands with the Sign of the Cross saying only once, “May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up.” (Amen”)

Even though the sacrament may restore a person to health, the primary benefit is sacramental grace which enables one to reflect on the reality of death.

A separate ritual provides appropriate prayers if one receives the sacrament while in danger of death. Eucharist received at this time is called Viaticum.

The Sacrament of the Anointing of the sick is a sign given by the Church to the sick person.

  • The care and concern of the community is a sign of the Lord’s own great concern for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the sick.
  • The ritual moment makes visible and present to the sick and to the whole community an image of who we are as a church—a community of mutual and healing support.

The sick person offers a sign to the community.

  • He or she gives witness to the promises of Baptism to die and be buried with Christ crucified.
  • His or her own sufferings are joined to Christ’s for the benefit of the community.
This exchange of signs between the sick and the healthy is at the heart of this sacrament.
  • The sick see that their suffering has value for their own salvation and the salvation of the world.
  • The Church asks the Lord to lighten their sufferings.
  • The community recognizes the sick as productive members contributing to the welfare of all by associating themselves with Christ’s passion and death.

The healing ministry of the Lord in the Sacramentof the Anointing of the Sick challenges us to be signs of reconciliation and healing to others.