“Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint [him] with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:14-15)
Suffering and illness are part of the human condition, the poignant prayer of the Psalmist, “Out of the depths I call to you Lord; Lord hear my cry! May your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy,” echoes through history.
For the Christian, suffering took on new meaning because of Jesus’ Passion: “By his wounds we are healed.” (Is. 53:5) Suffering and illness acquired redemptive value from Christ.
The passage from St. James quoted above bears witness to the presence of the healing sacrament in the early Church. Again, we are introduced to the need for a sensible symbol, in this case the oil of anointing. Like water, oil signifies more than one thing, strength, healing and being chosen or set aside. In the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, the symbol is strength and healing in that it provides a healing encounter with Jesus through the hands of the priest.
A richer original understanding of the sacrament was restored by the Second Vatican Council. Over time the primary purpose of the rite had come to be seen as a final anointing for the dying, hence the term Extreme Unction. In the words of the Council “Anointing of the Sick is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death.” The onset of serious illness or old age is a fitting time to receive the sacrament which may be repeated.
Of course the spiritual fruit of the sacrament is the forgiveness of sins, comforting and strengthening of the soul, and confidence in God’s mercy through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Physical healing may also occur from the sacramental encounter.
I cannot emphasize too strongly that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is indeed a sacrament for the living and not only for the dying.
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