During His public ministry, Jesus healed people– the blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf and mute, the hemorrhaging, and the dying. His healing touched both body and soul. In most of the accounts of the healing miracles, the ill person comes to a deeper conviction of faith, and the witnesses know that “God has visited His people” (Luke 7:16). These healings, however, foreshadowed the triumphant victory of our Lord over sin and death through His own passion, death, and resurrection.
The healing ministry of our Lord continues through His Church. Jesus instructed the apostles and sent them out on mission: “With that, they went off, preaching the need of repentance. They expelled many demons, anointed the sick with oil, and worked many cures” (Mark 6:12-13). At the Ascension scene, Jesus echoed this instruction to the apostles and declared that “the sick upon whom they lay their hands will recover” (Mark 16:18). At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit conferred great gifts upon the Church, including healing: St. Paul recognized, “Through the Spirit one receives faith; by the same Spirit another is given the gift of healing, and still another miraculous powers” (I Corinthians 12:9-10). The Apostle St. James provided a clear teaching regarding the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick: “Is there anyone sick among you? He should ask for the priests of the Church. They in turn are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. This prayer uttered in faith will reclaim the one who is ill, and the Lord will restore him to health. If he has committed any sins, forgiveness will be his” (James 5:14-15). In all, the Church has been continually mindful of our Lord’s command, “Heal the sick” (Matthew 10:8).
Various Church Fathers attest to the use of this sacrament in the early Church. St. Augustine (d. 430) wrote that he “was accustomed to visit the sick who desired it in order to lay his hands on them and pray at their bedside,” and from his writings it is probable that he anointed them with blessed oil. Pope Innocent I (d. 417), in his letter of instruction to Decentius, affirmed that the Letter of St. James clearly refers to the sacrament and that the bishop must bless the oil, a bishop or priest must administer the sacrament, and the sacrament complements the sacrament of Penance, conveying the forgiveness of sin.
About the twelfth century, this sacrament became commonly known as “Extreme Unction,” perhaps for two reasons: First, this anointing concluded the series of sacramental anointings during a person’s spiritual life– beginning at Baptism and followed by Confirmation and perhaps Holy Orders, and concluding with Extreme Unction. Second, this anointing more and more was used for those in extremis or at the point of death.
Responding to the Protestant’s denial of this sacrament, the Council of Trent decreed in its Doctrine on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction (1551), “This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament. It is alluded to indeed by Mark, but is recommended to the faithful and promulgated by James, the apostle and brother of the Lord.”
The Second Vatican Council addressed the usage of the sacrament in its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (1963): “‘Extreme Unction,’ which may also and more fittingly be called ‘anointing of the sick,’ is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as one 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” (#73). Moreover, the Council highlighted the healing ministry of the Church and the salvific healing of our Lord: “Through the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of her priests, the entire Church commends the sick to the suffering and glorified Lord, imploring for them relief and salvation. She exhorts them, moreover, to associate themselves freely with the passion and death of Christ” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, #11). The Council recommended that a continuous rite be prepared which would include confession, anointing, and viaticum.
In 1972, Pope Paul VI released his Apostolic Constitution Sacram Unctionem infirmorum which prescribed that a priest first lay his hands on the head of the sick person in silence, and then anoint his forehead and hands with the blessed Oil of the Infirm: While anointing the forehead, he prays, “Through this holy anointing, may the Lord in His love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit,” and then while anointing the hands, “May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up.” (The ritual provides that in accord with local custom or culture as well as the condition of the sick person, a priest may anoint other parts of the body, for example the area of pain or injury.) If circumstances warrant it, the Sacrament of Penance precedes the anointing, which is then followed by the reception of Holy Communion which serves as the “viaticum” for passing over to eternal life. (Please note that only a priest can administer this sacrament.)
The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick confers the particular healing gift of the Holy Spirit: Through this grace, the whole person is healed. He is strengthened to face the condition of infirmity or old age with courage and peace of heart, to trust in the will of the Lord, to resist the temptations of the Devil, and to overcome anxiety over death. Sins are forgiven and any penance is completed. A person receives the strength to unite himself more closely to the passion of our Lord, atoning for his own sins as well as for those of all of the faithful. This sacrament also prepares us to depart from this life with courage and in the hope of seeing our Lord face to face. Finally, the sacrament may also convey a physical healing in accord with God’s will. (Confer Catechism, #1520-23.)
We must remember that the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is not simply a “Last Rites” sacrament. Anyone who is prudently judged seriously ill should be anointed. A person may be anointed before serious surgery. The elderly may be anointed to help alleviate the burden and anxiety of old age. Those who have lost consciousness or the use of reason should also be anointed if they would have asked for the sacrament if they had been able to do so. Usually, a person only receives the sacrament once during an illness, but may receive it again if his condition deteriorates.
While the sacrament should not be restricted to “point of death” cases alone, we should not trivialize it either. For instance, I remember once a parishioner asked if I would anoint her. Since she looked very well, I asked her if she was going to have surgery. She replied, “No, I am flying on an airplane tomorrow.” After some catechesis on my part, she made a good confession rather than being anointed. (However, given some airlines today, maybe anointing would be appropriate.)
Also, one should not wait to the last minute to have a loved one anointed. Once I was called in the middle of the night to anoint a dying person. Afterwards I was talking with the family, and I discovered the person had been in the hospital over a week. By delaying, the person could have died without the benefit of the sacrament. If a person dies, the priest cannot anoint the dead body from which the soul has already departed; rather, he would offer the prayers for the dead.
In all, Christ has given the Church a beautiful sacrament for the healing of body and soul. We must be mindful of our duty to insure that our loved ones have the benefit of this sacrament, especially as they prepare to leave this life to be joined to our Lord.