Page 11 - The Sacraments

Teaching about the Sacrament of the Sick | Jeanne Hunt St. James wrote:
Is anyone among you 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, and 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 5:14-15)
The early Church, when James wrote, was pat- terning their practice on the example of Jesus. And we can explore the healing works of Jesus with our students, too, as one of the best tools for catechesis is storytelling.
The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is the perfect showcase for stories of faith. While we may not always remember what we have read in the text- book, faith stories seem to stay with us. The Gospel is full of Jesus’ healing stories. The themes of recov- ery and restored health in Scripture are the perfect place to explore the power of
this sacrament. No matter the age of our students, we should always include Scripture in our lesson plan.
In the New Testament, we encounter Lazarus, the wom- an with the hemorrhage (see Luke 8:43-48), the son of the widow of Naim (see Luke 7:11- 17), Peter’s mother-in-law (see Luke 4:38-39), and many more.
For young children, use
story Bibles. When sharing
Scripture with older students
and adults, be sure to use a good
translation (such as the NABRE
or NRSVCE). As we incorpo-
rate Scripture in each lesson,
we serve two purposes: We bet-
ter familiarize the class with the
Bible, and present true images of the healing Christ.
Another Scripture-based tip that can reinforce the theology of this sacrament is to allow intermedi- ate grades and junior high students to create miracle plays. Younger students love to act out the Gospels. Find scripts online for short plays based on the heal- ing miracles of Jesus — or create some! It is fun to al- low small groups to plan their play and present them at the end of the teaching unit. Following each play, discuss it as if it were a Hollywood production:
■ What would you call this play?
■ WhatdidyoufeelwhenLazaruswalkedoutofthe
tomb?
■ With which character do you most closely identify?
St. Ignatius offers another way to engage our stu- dents with Scripture. He suggests a method of ap- plying our imagination to the careful reading of the text, while placing ourselves within the action of sto- ry. This can offer fruitful discussion:
■ Who was I in the story?
■ What did I see around me?
■ What did I experience?
■ Did any word or phrase in the story have a partic- ular meaning for me?
Older students can write their own version of the Scripture stories, as if they were a part of the scene. Invite the class to a quiet time and read the meditation as a new way to pray with Scripture. Additionally, for older students or adults, you can find a resource for a guid- ed meditation using a healing
story.
Psalms and saints
The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is an experience that enfolds the suffering person in the Lord’s compassionate love. Psalms can reinforce this fo- cus and help us to understand the grace of this sacrament. The Psalms are the place where God’s compassion is so very apparent.
Ask older students and adults to take a short phrase of compassion from the Psalms and reflect on it. (Try Psalm 51:1, 103:13, 116:5, 119:156, 145:9.) If you teach in a Catholic school, these reflections can become an inspiring writing assignment when inte- grated into language arts classes. At its best, this exer- cise helps us encounter the presence of a healing God.
Another great source of inspiration as we study this sacrament are the healing stories of the saints. Many saints are vehicles of God’s healing power via
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The Sacraments The FAITH ESSENTIALS Series
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