Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick
The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is administered during periods of illness - often near the time of death - in order to bring the person receiving it spiritual and physical strength.
As a sacrament (an outward sign of something internal), it is performed to give God鈥檚 grace, through the Holy SpiritThe third element of the 'Trinity' (God is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). The Holy Spirit is active as God's presence and power in the world..
The Catholic Catechism (Catholic teaching) states:
This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament. It is alluded to indeed by Mark, but is recommended to the faithful and promulgated (promoted or made widely known) by James the apostle and brother of the Lord.
It is designed to help the sick to be strengthened spiritually against temptation, discouragement and anxiety. These should be replaced by a sense of strength and peace.
The Catholic Church finds the basis for this sacrament in the New TestamentThe second part of the Christian Bible containing 27 books consisting of four types of literature: letters (epistles), gospels, history and prophecy. because Jesus sent out his followers to preach and heal the sick.
In the New Testament book of James it says:
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.
The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick does not promise healing. The Catholic Catechism says:
The special grace of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has as its effects: the uniting of the sick person to the passion of Christ ... 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 over to eternal life.
Catholics also look to the example of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament who, when writing to the Church in Galatia, says that he has been suffering from an illness which God has not taken away.
The Catholic Church does not believe that the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick replaces the need for medical care. Instead it recognises that, at times, suffering through sickness can have a purpose.
Through suffering from illness, Roman Catholics come to depend more fully on God and to feel closer to Him.