Anointing of the Sick
Opening prayer:
In the name of the Father……
Heavenly Father, thank you for calling us to continue our walk through life with Your Son. Please surround our brothers and sisters in Christ who were anointed this evening with your grace to comfort them and strengthen them for their difficult times ahead. We ask you this by saying the perfect prayer given to us by your son. Our Father, who art in……Amen.
v Review
o Definition of a Sacrament
§ An outward sign
§ An efficacious sign of grace. (efficacious- having the power to produce a desired effect).
· This is Sanctifying Grace, which heals our human nature wounded by sin by giving us a share in the divine life of the Trinity. It is a habitual, supernatural gift, which continues the work of sanctifying us---of making us “perfect”, holy, and Christlike.
§ Instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church by which divine life is dispensed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit
v Anointing of the Sick
o Outward Sign
After witnessing the administering of the Sacrament, can anyone tell us what they believe is the outward sign of this sacrament?
Yes…..the laying on of hands and the anointing with oil.
No…… point out the laying on of hands, silent prayers of the priest, anointing with oil blessed by a bishop.
In either case, tie this outward sign with the “instituted by Christ” by quoting scriptures.
v Instituted by Christ
Jesus has the power to heal and forgive sins
Mark 2:5-12
5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, 'My child, your sins are forgiven.'
6 Now some scribes were sitting there, and they thought to themselves,
7 'How can this man talk like that? He is being blasphemous. Who but God can forgive sins?'
8 And at once, Jesus, inwardly aware that this is what they were thinking, said to them, 'Why do you have these thoughts in your hearts?
9 Which of these is easier: to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven" or to say, "Get up, pick up your stretcher and walk"?
10 But to prove to you that the Son of man has authority to forgive sins on earth' --
11 he said to the paralytic-'I order you: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go off home.'
12 And the man got up, and at once picked up his stretcher and walked out in front of everyone, so that they were all astonished and praised God saying, 'We have never seen anything like this.'
Jesus has come to heal the whole man, soul and body.
Mark 2:16-17
16 When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, 'Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?'
17 When Jesus heard this he said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I came to call not the upright, but sinners.'
Jesus often asks the sick to believe
Mark 5:26-34
25 There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
26 She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
27 She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.
28 She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."
29 Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
30 Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?"
31 But his disciples said to him, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"
32 And he looked around to see who had done it.
33 The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."
Jesus makes use of signs to heal
Mark 7:32-36
32 And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him.
33 He took him aside to be by themselves, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man's ears and touched his tongue with spittle.
34 Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, 'Ephphatha,' that is, 'Be opened.'
35 And his ears were opened, and at once the impediment of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly.
36 And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they proclaimed it.
Mark 8:22-25
22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought to him a blind man whom they begged him to touch.
23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Then, putting spittle on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked, 'Can you see anything?'
24 The man, who was beginning to see, replied, 'I can see people; they look like trees as they walk around.'
25 Then he laid his hands on the man's eyes again and he saw clearly; he was cured, and he could see everything plainly and distinctly.
Entrusted to the Church
Mathew 10:38
38 Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me.
Mark 6:12-13
12 So they set off to proclaim repentance;
13 and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
Mark 16:17-18
17 These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues;
18 they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.'
Mathew 10:7-9
7 As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
CCC1509 "Heal the sick!" The Church has received this charge from the Lord and strives to carry it out by taking care of the sick as well as by accompanying them with her prayer of intercession. She believes in the life-giving presence of Christ, the physician of souls and bodies. This presence is particularly active through the sacraments, and in an altogether special way through the Eucharist, the bread that gives eternal life and that St. Paul suggests is connected with bodily health.
v Effects of the Anointing of the Sick
o Counteracting undue fear
When faced with the danger of death, a person normally will experience a feeling of great anxiety.
This is to be expected. God has planted in human nature a strong attachment to life which we commonly call the instinct for self-preservation. He has done so precisely in order to assure that we take due care of our physical well-being and do not expose ourselves to unnecessary danger to our life.
We need not feel ashamed, therefore, nor convicted of lack of faith if we find ourselves apprehensive when the shadow of death looms over us.
To counteract this fear of death when it needs to be counteracted, and to remove all cause for fear, God has given us this sacrament.
o Sanctifying Grace (efficacious)
In common with all the sacraments, Anointing of the Sick confers sanctifying grace.
It is an increase in sanctifying grace that Anointing of the Sick gives, since it presupposes that the recipient already is free from mortal sin. Thus there is intensified in the soul that supernatural life, that oneness with God, which is the source of all spiritual strength as it is also the measure of our capacity for the happiness of heaven.
Besides this increase in sanctifying grace, Anointing of the Sick gives its own special sacramental grace.
The primary purpose of the special grace of Anointing of the Sick is to comfort and to strengthen the soul of the sick person.
· This is the grace that quiets anxiety and dissipates fear.
· It is the grace, which enables the sick person to embrace God's will and to face the possibility of death without apprehension.
· It is the grace, which gives the soul the strength to face and conquer whatever temptations to doubt, despondency, or even despair may mark Satan's last effort to seize this soul for himself.
· CC1520 A particular gift of the Holy Spirit. The first grace of this sacrament is one of strengthening, peace and courage to overcome the difficulties that go with the condition of serious illness or the frailty of old age. This grace is the gift of the Holy Spirit who renews trust and faith in God and strengthens against the temptations of the evil one, the temptation to discouragement and anguish in the face of death. The assistance from the Lord by the power of His Spirit is meant to lead the sick person to healing of the soul, but also the body if such is God’s will. Furthermore, if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
v CC1521 Union with the Passion of Christ. Suffering, a consequence of original sin, acquires a new meaning; it becomes a participation in the saving work of Jesus.
v CC1522 An ecclesial grace. by freely uniting themselves to the passion and death the contribute to the good of the people of God.
1512 From ancient times in the liturgical traditions of both East and West, we have testimonies to the practice of anointings of the sick with blessed oil. Over the centuries the Anointing of the Sick was conferred more and more exclusively on those at the point of death. Because of this it received the name "Extreme Unction." Notwithstanding this evolution the liturgy has never failed to beg the Lord that the sick person may recover his health if it would be conducive to his salvation.125
1513 The Apostolic Constitution Sacram unctionem infirmorum,126 following upon the Second Vatican Council,127 established that henceforth, in the Roman Rite, the following be observed:
The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given to those who are seriously ill by anointing them on the forehead and hands with duly blessed oil - pressed from olives or from other plants - saying, only once: "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."128
II. Who Receives and Who Administers This Sacrament?
In case of grave illness . . .
1514 The Anointing of the Sick "is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived."129
1515 If a sick person who received this anointing recovers his health, he can in the case of another grave illness receive this sacrament again. If during the same illness the person's condition becomes more serious, the sacrament may be repeated. It is fitting to receive the Anointing of the Sick just prior to a serious operation. the same holds for the elderly whose frailty becomes more pronounced.
" . . . let him call for the presbyters of the Church"
1516 Only priests (bishops and presbyters) 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 should encourage the sick to call for a priest to receive this sacrament. The sick should prepare themselves to receive it with good dispositions, assisted by their pastor and the whole ecclesial community, which is invited to surround the sick in a special way through their prayers and fraternal attention.
III. How is This Sacrament Celebrated?
1517 Like all the sacraments the Anointing of the Sick is a liturgical and communal celebration, whether it takes place in the family home, a hospital or church, for a single sick person or a whole group of sick persons. It is very fitting to celebrate it within the Eucharist, the memorial of the Lord's Passover. If circumstances suggest it, the celebration of the sacrament can be preceded by the sacrament of Penance and followed by the sacrament of the Eucharist. As the sacrament of Christ's Passover the Eucharist should always be the last sacrament of the earthly journey, the "viaticum" for "passing over" to eternal life.
1518 Word and sacrament form an indivisible whole. The Liturgy of the Word, preceded by an act of repentance, opens the celebration. The words of Christ, the witness of the apostles, awaken the faith of the sick person and of the community to ask the Lord for the strength of his Spirit.
1519 The celebration of the sacrament includes the following principal elements: the "priests of the Church" - in silence - lay hands on the sick; they pray over them in the faith of the Church - this is the epiclesis proper to this sacrament; they then anoint them with oil blessed, if possible, by the bishop.
These liturgical actions indicate what grace this sacrament confers upon the sick.
v Preparation for the final journey
The word viaticum is a Latin word meaning "provisions for a journey," from via, or "way." The Eucharist is seen as the ideal food to strengthen a dying person for the journey from this world to life after death.
Via -- way Ti -- you Cum -- with