Page 7 - The Sacraments

Souls Reaching for Christ | Fr. George “Chip” Hines
recall the pre-Vatican II years, they knew it then as Extreme Unction. “Last rites” is very common be- cause in the media a fictional priest will often call it that. The last rites, in truth, are actually more com- plicated. They not only include the Anointing of the Sick, but a final Confession and the administering of the Viaticum, a final Communion to prepare for the journey through death to the afterlife. Yet for the purpose of this article, I’ll stick to the Anointing of the Sick to keep this clear and simple.
The sacrament’s rite
The very Scripture and the prayer we use when cel- ebrating the sacrament is this:
Lord God, you have said to us through your apostle James: “Are there people sick among you? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick per- sons, and the Lord will raise them up. If they have committed any sins, their sins will be forgiven them.” Lord, we have gathered here in your name and we ask you to be among us, to watch over our brother/sister. We ask this with confidence, for you live and reign for ever and ever. (From Pastoral
Care of the Sick)
St. James lays it out clearly: The sick need this sacrament, and the sick might be dying or very ill. People in either situ- ation need prayers and grace. The priest or bishop is also needed to celebrate the sacra- ment. St. James spells that out, too. He does not say “send for the farmers”; he says, “Summon the presbyters of the church” (James 5:14).
All valid sacraments need
both form and matter. The form
contains the words (or prayers)
or actions associated with the sacrament. The mat- ter refers to the materials or prerequisites needed for the sacrament.
With Anointing of the Sick, the prayer, or es- sential form, comes from the Pastoral Care of the Sick, the ritual book we use when celebrating the sacrament:
Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
May the Lord who frees you from sin, save you, and raise you up.
The matter of the sacrament is the Oil of the Sick, along with the laying on of hands by the priest. Both the power of the prayers and the anointing bring
God’s strengthening to a person.
Those who are seriously ill need the special help of God’s grace in this time of anxiety, lest they be broken in spirit and, under the pressure of temptation, perhaps weakened in their faith. This is why, through the sacrament of anointing, Christ strengthens the faithful who are afflicted by illness, providing them with the strongest means of support. (Pastoral Care of the Sick)
The grace that is imparted may not cause a physical heal- ing, but a spiritual healing may be the very thing a sick person
needs. A physical healing is possible, of course, but that depends on God, not the priest.
Who can be anointed?
Recipients for this sacrament can certainly be any- body going in for surgery, or elderly people who might be frail but not dying. Sick children who have reached the age of reason may receive it, as well as the gravely ill and the dying.
Both the power of the prayers and the anointing bring God’s strengthening to a person.
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