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Anointing
of the Sick
We get hurt. We
wear out. The lungs, the eyes, the memory, and any of the
many limbs and organs that compose us break or ache. Gloom
comes over us then: pity for ourselves, sorrow, depression,
anger. But hope can come, too, and courage, and sometimes
peace.
All of this is
marked and celebrated in the rites of our tradition. With
a word and a deed, with touch and breath and spit and mud,
Jesus heals those who ail. In every place and time, we who
are the church remember and tell stories of healing, anoint
the sick with oil and share the one bread even with those
who cannot assemble for Mass.
Anyone who is seriously
ill can be anointed, including the elderly who become weaker,
even if no illness is present; those waiting for surgery when
a serious condition is the reason for the operation; sick
children who have sufficient use of reason to be helped by
the celebration; and those who are unconscious or who have
lost the use of reason, provided that they probably would
have asked for the sacrament had they the use of their faculties.
Furthermore, many
forms of mental illness are now known to be serious. So the
mentally ill may be anointed, provided that they will be helped
and not harmed by the rite. If you have questions, consult
Fr. Ken Simpson or Mary Deeley.
In song and in
silence, with scriptures and prayers, we strengthen the bonds
of love and faith that are stronger than the most lethal disease
and more powerful even than death. The sacrament of the anointing
of the sick is a celebration in which those who are seriously
ill or infirm are surrounded and supported by other members
of the Christian community.
A few times each
year, we celebrate Anointing of the Sick during Mass, following
the homily. The gathered church surrounds all who are sick
with the prayer of faith. The priest does the laying on of
hands, an ancient sign of the moving of the Holy Spirit to
heal and save. This is done in silence. Then a prayer is said
over the oil of the sick. Finally, the priest anoints the
head and the hands of the one who is sick. While anointing
the sick person's head, the priest says "Through this
holy anointing, may the Lord in his love and mercy help you
with the grace of the Holy Spirit." And all answer "Amen!"
While anointing the hands, the priest says, "May the
Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up."
And again, all answer "Amen!"
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