Anointing of the Sick
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Presently, The Sacrament of Anointing is celebrated by arrangement.
For more information please call any of our parish offices.
Friends, the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is inherently bound to the mystery of suffering. Though not exclusively meant for the hour of death, it cannot help but remind us of life’s fragility. People sometimes avoid this sacrament, preferring not to be reminded of the hard facts of human mortality. But it is precisely when we experience the limits of the human condition and feel the vulnerability of our flesh that the omnipotent, immortal God draws closest to us. In this sacrament, Christ the good physician bestows spiritual healing on those who receive it in faith. God in Christ did not distance himself from the harsh reality of suffering and death but entered into these facts of human existence directly, seeking out those who suffer and offering healing, consolation, and hope.
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Anointing of the Sick
Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. (James 5: 14-15)
One of the Church’s Sacraments of Healing, the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick has had a long and confusing history. Some, unfortunately, still think of it as something the Church does just moments prior to physical death as a sort of “last rites”. This is far from the truth. Each time a Christian falls seriously ill, he may receive the Anointing of the Sick, and also when, after he has received it, the illness worsens the Sacrament maybe received again.
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