Anointing of the Sick

The "Anointing of the Sick" is one of the seven sacraments.

The Scriptural evidence for the Sacrament is as follows:

In James 5:14-15 we read:

14: "Is any man sick among you?  Let him bring in the Priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."

15: "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man: and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him."

In James 6:13 we read:

13: "And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them."

Does the Catechism of the Church say anything about this Sacrament?

Yes, it explains the benefits.

“The anointing of the sick conveys several graces and imparts gifts of strengthening in the Holy Spirit against anxiety, discouragement, and temptation, and conveys peace and fortitude.” (1520)

It also tell us:

“The special grace of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has as its effects: the uniting of the sick person to the passion of Christ, for his own good and that of the whole Church; the strengthening, peace, and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age; the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to obtain it through the Sacrament of Penance; the restoration of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul; the preparation for passing over to eternal life.” (1532)

Is this Sacrament reserved only for the dying?  No, the Catechism answers the question in this way.

“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.” (1514)

Sometimes people have expectations that God is going to heal them from their sickness.  What happens in such a case if they are not healed?

There were times that Jesus required faith from the person who was ill before he healed them.  One must have faith and hope for such a healing.  It is a good thing to hope for, but God heals us in ways we would not chose.  He is more concerned about healing our souls more than our bodies, and sometimes He will not take away the physical illness because through suffering we come to know Him in a deeper way.

So, if a person is ill and they are not physically healed they should not think they did not have enough faith to be healed.  God is working with them in a more beneficial way than they can understand at the moment.  He will make His plan known to them and how He helped them in due time.  But, regardless of whether or not God heals us physically, there is always a spiritual benefit in suffering.

In Hebrews 12: 5-11 we read:

5: "And you have forgotten the consolation, which speaks to you, as unto children, saying: My son, neglect not the discipline of the Lord; neither be thou wearied whilst thou are rebuked by Him."

6: "For whom the Lord loves, He chastises; and he scourges every son whom he received."

7: "Persevere under discipline.  God deals with you as with His sons; for what son is there, whom the father doth not correct?"

8: "But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are made partakers, then are you bastards, and not sons."

9: "Moreover we have had fathers of our flesh, for instructors, and we reverenced them: shall we not much more obey the Father of spirits, and live?"

10: "And they indeed for a few days, according to their own pleasure, instructed us: but he, for our profit, that we might receive his sanctification."

11: "Now all chastisements for the present indeed seems not to bring with it joy, but sorrow, but afterwards it will yield, to them that are exercised by it, the most peaceable fruit of justice."

The faithful, including Bishops and Priest were not always healed.  We see they learned to deal with their maladies in a spiritual way that they understood their sufferings to be united to the suffering of Christ.  In short, they understood the value of "co-redemption."

In Galatians 4: 13-14 we read:

13: "And you know, how through infirmity of the flesh, I preached the gospel to you heretofore: and your temptation in my flesh."

14: "You despised not, nor rejected: but received me as an angel of God, even as Jesus Christ."

What about individual other than St. Paul?  Were they left in their infirm as well?  Yes.

In 1st Timothy 5:23 we read:

23: "Do not still drink water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake, and thy frequent infirmities."

In 2nd Timothy 4:20 we read:

20: "Erastus remained at Corinth.  And Trophimus I left sick at Miletus."

So now let's look closer at the Anointing of the Sick.

It's called "Viaticum." The Church actually associates it with "Passover."

In the Catechism we read:

“In addition to the Anointing of the Sick, the Church offers those who are about to leave this life the Eucharist as viaticum. Communion in the body and blood of Christ, received at this moment of "passing over" to the Father, has a particular significance and importance. The Sacrament of Christ once dead and now risen, the Eucharist is here the Sacrament of passing over from death to life, from this world to the Father.” (1524)

Let's look now at what the Early Church Fathers had to say about the Sacrament.

From Origen we read:

“Do not shrink from declaring your to a priest of the Lord and from seeking medicine of which the apostle James says: ‘If then there is anyone sick, let him call the presbyters of the Church, and let them impose hands upon him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him’.” (Homilies on Leviticus 2:4, A.D. 250)

From the 1^st Ecumenical Council of Nicaea held in 325 A.D. we read:

“Concerning the departing, the ancient canonical law is still to be maintained, to wit, that, if any man be at the point of death, he must not be deprived of the last and most indispensable Viaticum.” (Canon 13)

From Bishop Serapion we read:

“We beseech you, Savior of all men, you that have all virtue and power, Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and we pray that you send down from heaven the healing power of the only-begotten [Son] upon this oil, so that for those who are anointed it may be effected for the casting out of every disease and every bodily infirmity for good grace and remission of sins.” (The Sacramentary of Serapion 29:1, 350 A.D)

From John Chrysostom we read:

“The priests of Judaism had power to cleanse the body from leprosy—or rather, not to cleanse it at all, but to declare a person as having been cleansed, Our priests have received the power not of treating with the leprosy of the body, but with spiritual uncleanness; not of declaring cleansed, but of actually cleansing. Priests accomplish this not only by teaching and admonishing, but also by the help of prayer. Not only at the time of our regeneration [in Baptism], but even afterward, they have the authority to forgive sins: ‘Is there anyone among you sick? Let him call in 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 shall raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he shall be forgiven.’”(On the Priesthood 3:6:19, A.D. 387)

And from a Sermon of Caesar of Arles we read:

“As often as some infirmity overtakes a man, let him who is ill receive the body and blood of Christ; let him humbly and in faith ask the presbyters for blessed oil, to anoint his body, so that what was written may be fulfilled in him: ‘Is anyone among you sick? Let him bring in the presbyters, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he be in sins, they will be forgiven him. See to it, brethren, that whoever is ill, hasten to the church, both that he may receive health of body and will merit to obtain the forgiveness of his sins.” (Sermons 13, 325:3)

Roger L.