This sacrament is given to the sick and frail, to those who seek healing of mind, heart, body and soul. It offers them strength and courage. The family or friends of a person who is sick, may feel free to approach the priest well in time, to administer this sacrament of healing upon those who are in need. Read more…
In principle, the parish priests are responsible for the sick within their own parish boundaries. In addition, priests of the churches closest to the main hospitals are usually available for any hospitalized Catholic who needs a priest’s help. They visit the hospitals on a regular basis to bring communion to the sick and if informed, they will visit you.
In cases of emergency, when a patient is in need of the Anointing of the Sick and a priest from the nearby church is unavailable, any priest who receives a call will go to the hospital or look for a replacement if he is unable to do so. In such a situation, the priests of St. Anne’s can be contacted.
The Anointing of the Sick can be administered to any Catholic who is seriously ill or is infirm because of their age. It is advisable that caregivers should not wait until the patient is critically ill or when death is imminent to notify a priest.
Priests are also available for home visits and prayers when the sick person is confined to bed at home.
Christ the Physician
Christ’s compassion toward the sick and his healing of every kind of infirmity are magnificent signs that “God has visited his people” and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins; he has come to heal the whole man, soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of. His compassion toward all who suffer goes so far that he identifies himself with them: “I was sick and you visited me.” His preferential love for the sick has not ceased through the centuries to draw the very special attention of Christians toward all those who suffer in body and soul. It is the source of tireless efforts to comfort them.
WHO RECEIVES THIS SACRAMENT?
“In case of grave illness let him call for the presbyters of the Church”
“The Anointing of the Sick “is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone 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.”
If a sick person who received this anointing recovers his health, he can in the case of another grave illness receive this sacrament again. If during the same illness the person’s condition becomes more serious, the sacrament may be repeated. It is fitting to receive the Anointing of the Sick just prior to a serious operation. The same holds for the elderly whose frailty becomes more pronounced.
The Effects of Grace in this Sacrament
– the uniting of the sick person to the passion of Christ, for his own good and that of the whole Church;
– the strengthening, peace, and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age;
– the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to obtain it through the sacrament of Penance;
– the restoration of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul;
– the preparation for passing on to eternal life.