The reality of sickness or old age constantly reminds us that we are fragile and mortal beings; and that, no matter how advanced technology is, the frailty of human beings and their mortality is something that will never leave us.
Last March, as you know, I presented a booklet published by Basilica Press on what the church teaches about the imminence of death and what is truly a “death with dignity.”
I agreed to write this text moved not only by the confusion that exists these days about illness and the imminence of death, but also in memory of my mother, who suffered an incurable disease for almost 10 years before going to the Father’s House.
For those who wish to understand the beautiful and clear teaching of the Church on this subject, I encourage you to read my booklet A Will to Live: Clear Answers on End of Life Issues.
In this column, however, I want to highlight the value of one of the least remembered sacraments, but a sacrament that in a special way reflects the infinite compassion of the Lord Jesus for the sick, the elderly and the dying. A compassion that he has transmitted to the church, and which is expressed in what we know as the Anointing of the Sick.
The Gospels are full of moving passages in which we see Jesus spending endless hours curing and caring for the sick and suffering in each town, in each public meeting; even at dramatic moments such as the one that followed the death of his cousin, John the Baptist, which led him to seek a place to retreat and pray… but he was approached by hundreds of sick people, to whom he devoted his attention until evening.
The church not only makes that example her own, but has received from Jesus the command to heal the sick; and that is why she strives to care for the suffering, seeking their physical improvement and praying insistently for their spiritual wellbeing; because pain and sickness are consequences of original sin, and they are not the reality that God wants for man.
That is why the church has a specific sacrament for the sick, instituted by the same Lord Jesus, of which the Apostle James gives testimony in his letter when he gives these instructions to the first Christian community: “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.” (James 5:14)
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, the Anointing of the Sick “is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death.” And it goes on to explain: “as soon as any 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.” (Catechism 1514) This sacrament can be received by any Catholic in such situations, and could be received again if there were a worsening of the illness or in another serious illness.
If circumstances suggest it, the anointing can be accompanied by individual confession and sacramental Communion, which at the moment of the passing from this world to the Father’s house, is the true seed of eternal life. This helps the faithful to be better prepared to receive more fully the grace offered by the sacrament for his or her physical and spiritual wellbeing.
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the great gifts that come with this sacrament: “This sacrament confers a special grace which unites the sick person more intimately to the Passion of Christ for his good and for the good of all the church. It gives comfort, peace, courage and even the forgiveness of sins if the sick person is not able to make a confession. Sometimes, if it is the will of God, this sacrament even brings about the restoration of physical health. In any case this
Anointing prepares the sick person for the journey to the Father’s House.” (Compendium 319)
Let us never fail to give thanks to God for this sacrament that perpetuates Jesus’ immeasurable love for the suffering in the church. And in these days prior to the month of Mary, who is a powerful intercessor before her son, let us entrust our sick and elderly to God, and let us turn, when necessary, to the infinite mercy shed by this sacrament.