Anointing of the Sick

It is the sacrament that Christ instituted to comfort, heal, and strengthen anyone experiencing serious illness or the fragility of advanced old age. The Apostle James already recommended it explicitly: «Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord» (sacraments).

The priest anoints the sick person's forehead and hands with blessed oil, praying: «Through this holy anointing and by His most loving mercy, may the Lord assist you with the grace of the Holy Spirit». It is fitting that it be preceded by sacramental Confession and accompanied by Holy Communion.

It is the exact same sacrament, yet that older title inadvertently caused much anxiety: it fostered the misconception that it was reserved strictly for one's dying breath, leading families to delay calling a priest until the patient was no longer conscious. That is a distortion: it is designed for anyone seriously ill, from the moment an illness becomes grave.

It imparts the special grace of the Holy Spirit to strengthen the whole person:

• interior consolation, supernatural peace, and courage to endure suffering.
• union with the Passion of Christ, transforming physical pain into redemptive merit.
• fortitude against discouragement and the fear of approaching death.
• the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was unable to confess sacramentally.
• the restoration of bodily health, if this is conducive to their spiritual salvation.

It can restore physical health «if such is God's will», yet it does not operate as an automatic magic remedy. What it invariably bestows is deeper health: that of the soul, along with the divine strength to live through illness with living faith and hope.

It is Holy Communion received when in danger of death. The word derives from the Latin: provisions for the journey. Christ becomes our food and companion for the «passage» into eternal life: no one undertakes the most decisive journey of existence without essential spiritual provisions (death).

Any baptized Catholic who has reached the age of reason and begins to be in danger of death due to serious sickness or advanced age. It may also be received before undergoing major high-risk surgery. Furthermore, it can be repeated if the person recovers and falls ill again, or if the same illness becomes markedly more severe. It is not the "sacrament of corpses": it is the sacrament of the living sick.

On the contrary: viewing it as an omen of doom is pure superstition. It is an efficacious help from God, not a death sentence; indeed, many patients visibly improve in morale—and frequently in physical health—after receiving it. Depriving a sick person of this celestial comfort out of a misguided fear of alarming them can be a terrible injustice. It is far better to request it serenely and in good time, while the patient can still participate consciously.

Modern society tends to conceal serious illness and death, as if speaking of them might somehow invite them. Christians—especially those working in hospitals, nursing facilities, or caring for elderly relatives—must ensure that the sick lack neither warm human accompaniment nor sacramental spiritual assistance, notifying a priest promptly (pain, charity).