By DON FIER
Having concluded its treatment of the Sacrament of Penance, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) now examines the teaching of the Church on the second of the two sacraments she designates as sacraments of healing: Anointing of the Sick.
To preface our consideration of this sacrament which was formerly called Extreme Unction, let us recall earlier words of the Catechism: “The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health (cf. Mark 2:1-12), has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation” (CCC, n. 1421).
The Sacrament of Penance, as has been demonstrated over the past few weeks, is the ordinary means ordained by God to spiritually heal those who have severed themselves from communion with Him through serious sins committed after Baptism. Indeed, the life of the soul for those who are spiritually dead is restored to life.
The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, on the other hand, provides powerful spiritual and physical assistance to those who are suffering as a result of serious illness or advanced age, most especially as they are nearing the moment of death.
To introduce this consoling sacrament, the Catechism evokes words from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Vatican Council II:
“By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of her priests the whole Church commends the sick to the suffering and glorified Lord, asking that He may lighten their suffering and save them; she exhorts them, moreover, to contribute to the welfare of the whole people of God by associating themselves freely with the passion and death of Christ” (Lumen Gentium, n. 11 § 2).
The Catechism’s exposition on the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick comprises 34 paragraphs and is divided into five major sections. The first section, entitled “Its Foundation in the Economy of Salvation,” immediately reminds us that “illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life” (CCC, n. 1500).
In The Sacramental Mystery (TSM), Fr. Paul Haffner elaborates: “Sickness is one of the negative consequences of the fallen human condition which came about in the wake of original sin. Despite great advances in medical science, human reason finds itself at present somewhat helpless in the face of the mystery of disease and death as well as of seemingly incurable diseases like cancer and AIDS. Sickness presents a great challenge and reminds man of his fragility” (p. 171).
Moreover, “every illness can make us glimpse death” (CCC, n. 1500), that inevitable reality which every man faces as part and parcel of his humanity.
As the Vatican II fathers so poignantly express, “It is in the face of death that the riddle of human existence grows most acute. Not only is man tormented by pain and by the advancing deterioration of his body, but even more so by a dread of perpetual extinction” (Gaudium et Spes [GS], n. 18 § 1).
Man’s response can be one of self-centeredness, even of despair or resentment toward God. However, “it can also make a person more mature, helping him discern in his life what is not essential so that he can turn toward that which is. Very often illness provokes a search for God and a return to him” (CCC, n. 1501).
As severe illness grips one’s body and death approaches, it is precisely the sacrament under consideration that can provide spiritual strength and consolation, for “it applies the power of Christ’s Redemption to the sick person” (TSM, p. 172).
Before proceeding to look at the origin and history of the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick in Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the magisterial teachings of the Church, it would be good to provide a precise definition. The Glossary of the Catechism defines the sacrament as follows:
“One of the seven sacraments, also known as the ‘sacrament of the dying,’ administered by a priest to a baptized person who begins to be in danger of death because of illness or old age, through prayer and the anointing of the body with the oil of the sick. The proper effects of the sacrament include a special grace of healing and comfort to the Christian who is suffering the infirmities of serious illness or old age, and the forgiving of the person’s sins.”
In his Modern Catholic Dictionary (MCD), Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, defines the sacrament in slightly different terms and takes care to note that, as is true for each of the seven sacraments, it was instituted by Christ Himself during His earthly ministry. “Anointing of the Sick,” states Fr. Hardon, is a “sacrament of the New Law, instituted by Christ to give spiritual aid and strength and to perfect spiritual health, including, if need be, the remission of sins. Conditionally, it also restores bodily health to Christians who are seriously ill” (p. 28).
Looking now at Scripture, both sickness and healing are present in the Old Testament. In fact, the origin of suffering, and thus sickness and death, is a direct consequence of original sin (see Gen. 3:16-19). Yet, “illness becomes a way to conversion,” teaches the Catechism. “God’s forgiveness initiates the healing . . . [and] faithfulness to God according to his law restores life” (CCC, n. 1502).
For example, consider the recovery of Hezekiah, king of Judah, who was healed by the prophet Isaiah and had 15 years added to his life (see Isaiah 38:1-8). However, as pointed out by Fr. Devin Roza in Fulfilled in Christ: The Sacraments [FCS], even though the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick has its foundation in the Old Testament, it is not presented in Scripture, the liturgy, or the Catechism as being prefigured by types (cf. p. 218).
The Angelic Doctor explains: “This sacrament prepares man for glory immediately, since it is given to those who are departing from this life. And as, under the Old Law, it was not yet time to enter into glory, because the Law brought nobody to perfection (Heb. 7:19), so this sacrament had not to be foreshadowed therein by some corresponding sacrament, as by a figure of the same kind. Nevertheless it was somewhat foreshadowed remotely by all the healings related in the Old Testament” (Summa Theologiae, Supplementum, Q. 29, art. 1, ad 2).
What about the New Testament? Throughout its pages, examples abound which clearly demonstrate that “Christ’s healing ministry signified the presence of God and His Kingdom” (FCS, p. 216).
The fact that Jesus “performs healings and illustrates his preaching with physical signs or symbolic gestures . . . gives new meaning to the deeds and signs of the Old Covenant . . . he himself is the meaning of all these signs” (CCC, n. 1151). Without question, “Christ’s compassion toward the sick and his many healings of every kind of infirmity are a resplendent sign that ‘God has visited his people’ (Luke 7:16; cf. Matt. 4:24) and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand” (CCC, n. 1503).
The Catechism here cites an illuminating passage from the Gospel of St. Mark: “Jesus said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners’” (Mark 2:17). This is to help us understand that Jesus “has come to heal the whole man, soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of” (CCC, n. 1503). Unlike the Pharisees “who looked down on and separated themselves from sinners, Christ actively sought them out” (The Didache Bible, p. 1318).
Jesus Saw Their Faith
This is reminiscent of the well-known account just a few verses earlier in St. Mark’s Gospel about the paralytic being lowered from the roof to the feet of Jesus by four friends who possessed great faith. Not only did our Lord forgive the sins of the paralytic, but also healed him physically (see Mark 2:5-12).
Faith is required if healing is to occur: “Often Jesus asks the sick to believe (cf. Mark 5:34, 36; 9:23)” (CCC, n. 1504). In the account of the paralytic, it was only “when Jesus saw their faith” (Mark 2:5) that the crippled man was spiritually healed and subsequently healed physically.
Moreover, “in these healing episodes, Christ frequently adopted external signs to manifest the action of bringing relief to the sick” (TSM, p. 173).
As the Catechism notes, these external signs include “spittle and the laying on of hands (cf. Mark. 7:32-36; 8:22-25), mud and washing (cf. John 9:6-7)” (CCC, n. 1504). One only need recall that a sacrament is “an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace” to recognize the significance of these external signs.
Profoundly moved by the suffering of the sick during His public ministry, Christ made their miseries His own. This, of course, was possible because of His Incarnation: “He has truly been made one of us, like us in all things except sin (cf. Heb. 4:15)” (GS, n. 22 § 2).
In fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases” (Matt. 8:17; cf. Isaiah 53:4). Through His redemptive sacrifice, “Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the ‘sin of the world,’ of which illness is only a consequence” (CCC, n. 1505).
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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is a consecrated Marian Catechist.)
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