An Apologetical Explanation of the

Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick

What is the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick?

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; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you many be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.  (Jas 5:14-16)

The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, an outgrowth of Christ’s own healing ministry during his earthly life, provides grace to strengthen one who is in danger of death from serious illness, serious injury, or old age.

During his earthly ministry Jesus healed people both to demonstrate he is the Messiah and to show compassion for those who were suffering.  These healing acts demonstrated that the Kingdom of God had arrived.  Through the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, Christ brings about a radical healing of the soul amid the pain and suffering due to severe illness or old age and assists the individual to draw strength by uniting his or her suffering to the Cross.  (Cf. CCC 1514, 1526-1528)

The Anointing of the Sick is conferred by a bishop or a priest using the Oil of the Sick, which is blessed by a bishop, and imparts special graces on those who receive it.  The Sacrament…

  • Unites the recipient to the Passion of Christ for his or her own good and the good of the Church.  (Cf. CCC 1521)
  • Bestows strength, peace, and courage to the recipient to endure, in a Christian manner, the sufferings of illness or old age; resistance to temptation; forgiveness of sins, if the person is at least implicitly sorry for his or her sins and unable to receive the Sacrament of Penance; and the reduction or removal of all temporal punishment due to sin when the ill person is properly disposed.  (Cf. CCC 1520)
  • Confers an “ecclesial grace” to the recipient through the celebration of the Sacrament within the community, who intercedes for the suffering person just as he or she sanctifies the Church through the same suffering.  (Cf. CCC 1522)
  • Restores health if it is good for the salvation of the recipient’s soul.  (Cf. CCC 1532)
  • Prepares the recipient for passage into eternal life.  (Cf. CCC 1523)

Ideally, the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick should be celebrated along with the Sacrament of Penance and the reception of the Eucharist.  The first Sacrament to be received should be Penance, followed by the Anointing; finally, Holy Communion is received in the form of Viaticum as preparation for hte moment of passing over from this life to the next.  (Cf. CCC 1524-1525)

The Catechism addresses this question in paragraph 1527.

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