We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.
~Francis of Assisi
FAQ…. What is the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick?
You may well wonder. Most Catholics are unfamiliar with this Sacrament, though its old (wrong) name, Last Rites, tends to ring a bell. It’s a pity, because it’s a Sacrament available to us all well before this life comes to a close. Here is some information about the history of the sacrament and what is involved in its celebration.
Initiation in to the Christian life is initiation into a life-long journey of conversion, as we strive to conform ourselves to Christ, to live the gospel, and to ‘be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.’ We are human beings, created in the image and likeness of God, but also prone to sin, sickness and death and thus in need of healing and encouragement throughout our lives.
The two sacraments of healing confront the reality and reveal God’s power to heal and to save. Reconciliation provides the opportunity to be healed when our relationship with God, neighbor, self and Church have been damaged by sin. Anointing of the Sick is an opportunity to be healed when our relationship with God, our community, our bodies, and our Church have been weakened by illness, infirmity, or impending death.
Sickness and death are violations of how things should be, and are mysteries that beg for explanations, that lead to questions of meaning. When we can give meaning and sense to suffering and loss we can find the strength to endure and live with mystery. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the material world and the spiritual world are not separate; we have a holistic worldview. Sickness in body therefore affects the spirit, and healing of the two are linked. Healing is not just about trying to cure the body, but also reintegration into normal life.
The gospels are full of stories of Jesus curing, casting out demons, and raising the dead. Jesus embodied God’s compassion for the suffering, and his healing was interior or spiritual, as well as outward or bodily. The disciples shared his healing ministry, and it was continued in the early church (see James 5:14-15), as Christians used blessed oil in their prayers over the sick. There is evidence that by the year 200 people were taking blessed oil home to use in healing family members, a practice found all over Europe in the centuries after as Christians were encouraged to turn to oil and Christian prayers for physical healing, rather than resorting to pagan magical practices.
When people were near death, they would request Reconciliation and Eucharist, and were usually anointed as well. Anointing, especially when done by priests, came to be more and more associated with the deathbed, and so people began avoiding priestly anointing when they were sick.
Anointing had been a sacrament for physical healing with prayers reflecting that, but it became more penitential as it was associated with dying, and the prayers for healing were dropped entirely by the 12th century as it became anointing in preparation for death. (Anointing at home by lay people had also died out by this point.) The “last rites” then were Reconciliation, Eucharist (called Viaticum), and “extreme unction,” literally, the last anointing.
There was virtually no change in the sacrament until the 20th century. The sacrament was meant to bring to the dying the experience of God’s mercy and forgiveness, and to the family the consolation of the surety of salvation and eternal life. It was meant to be an affirmation that death is not the final meaning of life, that God has mercy on us even in our dying moments. It may not have given sacred meaning to sickness, but it gave sacred meaning to death. Unfortunately, people dreaded it; they perceived it as a sacrament of despair rather than one of hope of the resurrection, since it wasn’t received until there was no hope of recovery from illness, and the focus was heavily on mourning and pleading for God’s mercy on sinners.
By the mid-1950s, as Catholic theological, scriptural, and liturgical advanced, there was a growing dissatisfaction with the sacrament as it was being practiced, and so when Vatican II called for a renewal of the sacraments, it was revised. The sacrament can still be administered to the dying, for the good of the soul and the comfort of the dying and their family. But now it can again be given to the sick, the aged, the chronically ill, the infirm. The focus has reverted to the originally meaning of healing more than forgiveness of sins, and it is more holistic and flexible: it can happen anywhere, as often as needed, and includes pastoral counseling, prayer, Eucharist and community participation.
The sacrament of Anointing reminds us that Christ’s healing power, manifested among the people he met and the early Christian community, is still at work in our world. It also reminds us that God never abandons us, even and especially in our times of weakness and death. The sacrament brings spiritual healing and strength, and sometimes physical healing and strength as well. It reminds us that we are loved and forgiven by God, and that God cares about us, body mind and spirit. The sacrament brings grace to overcome anxiety and despair, to find comfort, to be healed and whole even if body is not.
Those who suffer can bring their suffering into union with passion of Christ. The oil with which they are anointed is a kind of consecration to bear witness to passion, to participate in saving work of Jesus’ passion and death. Anointing is also a reminder that disease and death are not the end of the story. They can’t be escaped but must be lived through, and it gives us the strength to endure and to be reconciled with own limits, infirmity, death. For those who are about to die, the sacrament also serves as preparation for final journey, and affirms our belief in the resurrection.
The rite for the sick includes various elements. There is a Welcome and Explanation of the Rite which helps create a sense of community and context. Then follows a Penitential Rite and a reading from Scripture. The rite of Anointing has three parts. There is a Prayer of Faith, a litany for God’s help prayed by the gathered community. The priest Lays Hands on the sick person (as Jesus laid hands on the sick), embodying the Church’s healing ministry, and invoking the Holy Spirit. Finally, there is the Anointing with Oil, a traditional sign of healing, strengthening, and the presence of the Spirit. Communion can follow, and then a final Blessing.
The rite for the dying is slightly different. Reconciliation is encouraged, and Eucharist is emphasized; if there’s not enough time to do all three sacraments, Eucharist takes priority. In fact, Anointing is best done at the beginning of the illness, so that Eucharist can truly be the last rite received. Eucharist in this context is called Viaticum. Viaticum means “on the way”; it is food for the passage through death to eternal life. It is the “completion and crown of the Christian life on this earth, signifying that the Christian follows the Lord to eternal glory and the banquet of the heavenly kingdom” (Rite, 175). Communion is given under both forms when possible, to better represent the Banquet of the Lamb. After giving communion, the priest adds these special words: “May the Lord Jesus Christ protect you and lead you to eternal life.”
A distinctive feature of this anointing is a renewal of the dying person’s baptismal promises, using the language of faith that was used at their baptism, when they entered the Christian life, as they prepare to pass on to eternal life. A sign of peace can also be part of the rite, a joyful and hope-filled leave-taking as the dying person prepares to go ahead of us. The sacrament is meant to be celebrated with family and any others (ie, nurses, nursing home workers) to better represent that it is a sacrament of the Church, and to surround the person with a community of care.
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Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423
