April 9, 2022 - Pastor Message
04/25/2024THE YEAR OF HEALING: SPIRITUAL HEALING: THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK (cont.)
“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 rite of the Anointing of the Sick).
Last week, we reflected on the history of the Anointing of the Sick in our journey through the different ways that we as a Church continue Christ’s work of spiritual healing. This weekend, we will look at how we celebrate the sacrament today. We have different options, such as celebrating the sacrament within Mass, which we occasionally do here at St. Boniface, but, given the nature of serious illness, we generally celebrate an abbreviated form more appropriate to a person’s bedside, which I will discuss below.
After greeting the people and the sign of the cross, under which we as Christians do all things, though it stands out more clearly in the face of the suffering of serious illness, the priest reads a passage from the letter of James (5:14 15). This passage reminds us of the importance of the sacrament from the earliest days of the Church and of its effects: saving grace and the forgiveness of sins. The grace of the sacrament saves us by healing us spiritually, “raising us up” from despair, and by forgiving our sins, though this should not be considered a backdoor into heaven, avoiding sacramental confession. If the person is able to make confession, he or she should do so, either before or even during the Anointing of the Sick. However, it is often the case that a person is not able to do so, either physically such as being unconscious or morally such as being in a room that does not afford the necessary privacy and so the Anointing of the Sick also forgives sins.
After the reading from Scripture, the priest lays hands on the person, an ancient gesture calling on the Holy Spirit. The priest usually does this by placing his hand on the person’s head, though he could also simply extend his hand over the person without physically touching him or her. The priest then anoints the person’s head and hands with the Oil of the Infirm, olive oil that has been blessed by the bishop for this purpose at a special service each year during Holy Week called the Chrism Mass. The oil bears the double-symbolism of being medicine drawn from history and a symbol of the Holy Spirit, who makes God’s grace present and effective in the person’s life. If it is impossible to anoint the person’s head and hands (if he or she is trapped in a car that has crashed, for example), the priest can simply anoint whatever part/s of the person’s body the priest can reach. Regardless, the priest accompanies the anointing with the prayer written above.
After the anointing, the priest leads those gathered in the Lord’s Prayer, reminding them that we are all here to reach for God’s kingdom by doing his will, even in the midst of suffering, and then concludes the celebration of the sacrament with a closing prayer and blessing. The celebration of the sacrament is of necessity brief, but its meaning and grace are profound. Please do not hesitate to contact me to celebrate the sacrament if you or another Catholic you know are seriously ill, injured, or preparing for surgery. Care for the sick was a vital part of Christ’s work, bringing spiritual healing by reaching out to the physically and mentally ill, and it continues to be a vital part of the work of the Church through the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.
Fr. Marc Stockton
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