"Heal the sick!" Mt 10:8. The Church has received this task from the Lord and tries to carry it out through the medical care and assistance she provides to the sick. As well as by the intercessory prayer with which she accompanies them.
The mercy of Jesus Christ towards the sick and his numerous healings of sufferers of all kinds are a wonderful sign of his compassion towards all those who suffer in body and soul.
By his passion and death on the Cross, Jesus gave a new meaning to suffering. Since then, this reality configures us to him and unites us to his redemptive passion. For Christians, sickness and death can and must be a means of sanctification and redemption with Christ. To help us with this mission, there is the Anointing of the Sick.
The presence of Christ in sickness is a great consolation. He takes us by the hand and reminds us that we belong to Him, and that nothing can separate us from Him.
The parable of the Good Samaritan expresses the mystery that is celebrated in this sacrament:
Jesus Christ approaches the one who suffers and comforts him with the oil of consolation and the wine of hope. He then takes him to the inn, which represents the Church, to which Christ entrusts him. Christ taught his disciples to have the same predilection for the sick and needy, and entrusted to them the task of caring for them in his name through the sacrament of the anointing of the sick.
The Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ.The Gospel of St. Mark hinted at as such in the Gospel of St. Mark. Recommended to the faithful and promulgated by the St. James the ApostleIs any of you sick? Call the priests of the church, let them pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." James 5:14-15.
The Church believes and confesses that, among the seven sacraments, there is a sacrament specially designed to comfort those afflicted by illness, the Anointing of the Sick. This sacrament helps to live these painful realities of human life with a Christian sense: "In the Anointing of the Sick, we witness a loving preparation for the journey, which will end in the Father's house". Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer
Throughout the centuries, the Anointing of the Sick was conferred on those who were about to die, hence the name "Extreme Unction". Likewise, the liturgy has never ceased to praying for the sick.
Today we know that the sacrament of the anointing of the sick is a sacrament of healing. It is a gift from God that helps to heal and the spirit of the one who receives it.. Through it, we ask the Lord for the health of the body, soul and spirit of the Christian who is suffering from a serious illness or advanced old age.
"The first grace of this sacrament is a grace of consolation, peace and encouragement to overcome the difficulties proper to the state of serious illness or the frailty of old age. [...] This assistance of the Lord, by the power of his Spirit, is intended to lead the sick person to the healing of the soul, but also to the healing of the body, if such is the will of God." CEC 1520.
It should not be thought that this sacrament is only for those who are in danger of death, but also for those who are in danger of death. can be received by those who are aware and consider it necessary.
Thus any Christian who is suffering from a serious illness, will receive a delicate operation or is very old can request that the sacrament of the anointing of the sick be administered to him or her. In the course of the same illness, the sacrament may be repeated if the illness worsens.
There is no limit to the number of times you can receive it and it is not convenient to wait until the last moment.
The Church establishes that, if the sick person is unconscious, the sacrament of the sacrament of reconciliation may be administered to him/her. confession. Then the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. If a seriously ill person dies without receiving this sacrament, the Church recommends administering it during the first hours after death.
Only priests (bishops and priests) are ministers of the Anointing of the Sick. It is the duty of pastors to instruct the faithful on the benefits of this sacrament. The faithful in particular, family members and friends, should encourage the sick to call the priest to receive the Anointing of the Sick. Catechism, 1516.
We all have to keep in mind that nowadays the seriously ill die alone in spite of being in modern hospitals. For this reason, the Christian work of those who have access to this reality is important. So that the hospitalized sick do not lack the means that give comfort and relief to the suffering body and soul, and among these means, in addition to the sacrament of Reconciliation and Viaticum, is the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.
Thus, as the sacraments of the Baptismof the Confirmation and the Eucharist form a unity called "the sacraments of Christian initiation", it can be said that Confession, Holy Unction and the Eucharist, as viaticum, constitute, when the Christian life comes to an end, the sacraments that close the earthly pilgrimage.
"It helps us to broaden our vision in the face of illness and to know that we are not alone, that the priest and the Christian community support the sick and the suffering,
Pope Francis.
Like all sacraments, the Anointing of the Sick is celebrated in a liturgical and communal way and takes place in the family, in the hospital or in the church, for a single sick person or for a group of sick people.
It is most appropriate that it be celebrated within the Eucharist, the memorial of the Lord's Passover. If circumstances permit, the celebration of the sacrament of Holy Unction may be preceded by the sacrament of Reconciliation and followed by the sacrament of Communion.
As for the sacrament of the Eucharist, it should always be the last sacrament of the earthly pilgrimage, the "viaticum" for the "passage" to eternal life. It is the seed of eternal life and the power of resurrection, according to the words of the Lord. "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." Jn 6:54. The Eucharist is here the sacrament of the passage from death to life, from this world to the Father.
The Liturgy of the Word, preceded by an act of penance, opens the celebration. The words of Christ and the testimony of the Apostles arouse the faith of the sick person and the community to ask the Lord for the power of the Holy Spirit.
The priest is the one who anoints the sick person with oil consecrated by the bishop on Holy Thursday. He anoints it on the forehead and palms of the sick person's hands, pronouncing in turn the words. "By this holy anointing, and by his kind mercy, may the Lord help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that, freed from your sins, he may grant you salvation and comfort you in your sickness." Sacram Unctionem Infirmorum.
The primary grace of this sacrament is a grace of consolation, peace and encouragement to overcome the difficulties inherent in the state of illness. serious illness or the frailty of old age. This grace is a gift of the Holy Spirit that renews trust and faith in God and strengthens against the temptations of the evil one, especially against the temptation to discouragement and anguish in the face of death. This assistance of the Lord by the power of his Spirit wants to lead the sick person to the healing of the soul, but also to the healing of the body, if such is the will of God. Moreover, "if he had committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." St 5.15.
Through the grace of this sacrament, the sick person receives the strength and the gift of uniting himself more intimately to the Passion of Christ. Suffering, the consequence of original sin, receives a new meaning, it becomes a participation in the work of Jesus. To sum up:
Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Arocena, Anointing of the Sick, Dictionary of Theology.
Ritual of the Anointing of the Sick, Praenotanda, 1-2.
Second Vatican Council, Const. Sacrosanctum Concilium.
Opusdei.org.
Vaticannews.va. Text of the Pope's Audience.
