One of the seven sacraments is that of Anointing of the Sick. As we heard in today’s Gospel: “They anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” Elsewhere we hear in the Book of James the following instruction: “Is any one among you sick? Let him call for the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if has committed sins, he will be forgiven forgiven.”
This sacrament is simple and yet I believe that there is a lot of misunderstanding which surrounds it. For example the arrival of a priest at a hospital can be a sign of death to the uneducated soul. From movies we would receive the understanding that if the priest comes and anoints you that you will soon die. For this reason there are many who pass up the opportunity to receive this sacrament when they begin to become in danger due to sickness or old age.
Canon Law 1004 instructs on who can receive this sacrament: “It can be administered to a member of the faithful who, after having reached the use of reason, begins to be in danger due to sickness or old age.” As it goes onto say: “This sacrament can be repeated whenever the sick person again falls into serious sickness after convalescence or whenever a more serious crisis develops during the same sickness.”
With this in mind an individual can be anointed on multiple occasions. For example an individual receives the diagnoses of cancer and thus they can be anointed. As the cancer progresses they can be anointed again. Finally, as they lie upon their deathbed they can receive the sacrament again. What I desire to stress is the fact that this sacrament can be received on multiple occasions and thus one does not have to wait until they are about to draw their last breath in order to receive it.
To be anointed imparts many special graces upon the faithful. Anointing of the sick unites the person to the passion of our Lord, it prepares them to pass over to life eternal, gives strength in the midst of suffering, it forgives sins if the person could not obtain it through the usual means of confession, and if conducive to one’s salvation it can even bring about healing.
Keeping these graces in mind I hope that you see the importance of receiving this sacrament. It is not a sacrament that we need to be afraid of. To be anointed does not mean that you will die, but to be anointed does mean that you will be imparted with grace. For this reason you should let your family know of the importance of this sacrament for they may need to call on your behalf.
So often I run into family members who do not understand this sacrament. Some will only call the priest after death, but at that point you cannot be anointed. Some will wait until the very end of one’s life to make this call. The fruit of making this call earlier is the fact that you could make a confession and receive Holy Communion while receiving this sacrament.
