Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on Holy Family Sunday.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are seven (7) “In Brief” articles in the Catechism of the Catholic Church which can help us to appreciate the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. The following is a reflection on CCC 1526.
“Is there any one among you who is sick? Then call the presbyters of the Church and they will pray over him, after having anointed him with oil in the Name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the patient, and the Lord will raise Him. If he has committed any sins, they will be remitted” (Saint James 5:14–15).
This passage from the New Testament is included as a part of the Rite of the Sacrament of Penance. At the Council of Trent (AD 1551) Mother Church recognized explicitly this passage as an admonition to the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick administered by priests to those who are in danger of death due to advanced age or illness. The sacrament is administered fruitfully also to those not yet at death’s door. Sacred Scripture reminds us that the medicinal properties of oil were recognized in antiquity (cf. Isaiah 1:6; Mark 6:13; Luke 10:34). The Greek words aleipho and chrio refer to a the general practice in the ancient of rubbing the body with oil or grease seeking relief from the sun burn. The healing which goes on in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is always spiritual and sometimes physical. Physicality is always involved through the imposition of hands and the anointing with the Oil of the Sick. Jesus Christ is the Divine Physician who heals us of our spiritual ills. He did work miracles during His life on this Earth and works them still through the intercession of His Saints and His bride Mother Church. The Holy Name of Jesus is invoked by Mother Church in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick because He is the prime agent in all of His sacraments, which apply the graces He won on Calvary’s Cross.
The use by Saint James of the term “presbyters”, which means “elder” or “elderly man” (from the Greek presbyteros) is key in identifying the minister of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. The English word “priest” is derived from the Greek term presbyteros. The priest imposes hands and anoints but the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick imparts the grace of God (the Holy Spirit especially) who is the prime actor in all of the sacraments (cf. Luke 4:18; Acts 4:27; 10:38; 2 Corinthians 1:21; Hebrews 19). While the Sacrament of Holy Orders is treated elsewhere by the Catechism this passage is not insignificant nor unrelated to other key passages (cf. Acts 14:23; 15:2; 20:17; 21:18).
That the sick person will be saved through the imposition of hands and the anointing by the priest is asserted here reminds us of the role of the sacraments in our eternal salvation.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr