Anointing of the Sick: thirteen questions

By the holy anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests, the whole Church commends the sick to the suffering and glorified Lord, asking him to raise them up and save them. The Church believes that Christ instituted it as a true sacrament of the New Covenant, especially meant to strengthen those tried by illness.

In illness we feel our weakness and limits, and every serious illness lets us glimpse death. It can lead to anguish, turning in on oneself, even despair or revolt against God. It can also make a person more mature, helping to see what really matters, and very often it leads to a search for God.

His compassion and many healings were a sign that God had visited his people. He had power to heal and also to forgive sins: he came to heal the whole person, soul and body. He did not heal every sick person; his healings pointed to a deeper healing, his victory over sin and death by his Passion, in which he took our sufferings on himself.

Jesus sent the Twelve, who "anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them" (Mk 6:13). The apostolic Church had its own rite for the sick, described by St James: the sick are to call the elders of the Church, who pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick (Jas 5:14-15).

No. Over the centuries it came to be given almost only at the point of death, and so was called "Extreme Unction". The Church now teaches that it is not only for those about to die. As soon as anyone begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the right time for it has certainly come.

Yes. If a sick person recovers and later falls seriously ill again, he can receive it again. If the illness grows worse, it may be repeated. It is fitting before a serious operation, and also for the elderly whose frailty becomes more marked.

Only priests, that is, bishops and presbyters. The Eastern Code says the same: all priests, and only priests, validly give it. Pastors should teach its value, and families should encourage the sick to call for a priest in good time.

The faithful who are seriously ill, or weak with old age. The Eastern Code asks pastors and those close to the sick to see that they receive it at the right time. It also presumes that the gravely ill who have lost consciousness or the use of reason would want it, so they may be anointed.

It is a liturgy of the Church, at home, in hospital or in church, for one person or many, and very fittingly within the Eucharist. After the word of God and an act of repentance, the priests lay hands on the sick in silence, pray over them in the faith of the Church, and anoint them with oil blessed, if possible, by the bishop. In the Roman Rite the forehead and hands are anointed. Some Eastern Churches have the custom that several priests give it together, and the Eastern Code asks that this custom be kept where possible.

Its first grace is strength, peace and courage in serious illness or the frailty of old age, a gift of the Holy Spirit against discouragement and the fear of death. It forgives sins, if the sick person could not go to Confession. It can restore bodily health, if this helps the soul's salvation.

Yes. Through this sacrament the sick person is united more closely to Christ's Passion, and suffering takes on a new meaning: it becomes a share in Jesus' saving work. The sick who offer their suffering in this way contribute to the good of the whole People of God, while the Church, in the communion of saints, prays for them.

For those near the end of life it is also called the sacrament of those departing. It completes our conforming to the death and resurrection of Christ, begun in Baptism. It fortifies the end of our earthly life like a solid rampart for the final struggles before entering the Father's house.

Holy Communion given to one who is about to leave this life. Received at this moment of passing over to the Father, it is the seed of eternal life and the power of resurrection, for Jesus said that whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood has eternal life (Jn 6:54). Penance, Anointing and the Eucharist as Viaticum together are the sacraments that prepare for our heavenly home.