Transcript Slide 1

Anointing of the Sick
Matthew Alvidrez
David Cruz
Christopher Mojica
Christian Ortega
Vincent Uy
What Does Anointing Celebrate?
► The
sacrament of Anointing offers a spiritual
antidote to the damaging effects of illness.
► Anointing by a priest or a bishop is a
statement by the whole Christian
community that God’s gracious concern
does not leave us in times of suffering,
illness, and even death.
What Does Anointing Celebrate?
► The
healing message of the Christian faith:
 God loves and cares for us even when we are sick or
suffering.
 God heals our spirit and gives us comfort through the
love of the Christian community.
 Jesus’ suffering and death were not his final fate, and
neither are they for us. Jesus’ resurrection gives us
hope.
Healing the Whole Person
► Physical
illness does not just affect the body.
 It often has a damaging effect on the state of mind and
spiritual well-being.
► Depression
can lead to lack of energy.
► Stress is linked to ailments such as ulcers and heart disease.
► Psychosomatic
 Illness that has both physical and emotional causes.
 Comes from the Greek words psyche (spirit) and soma
(body)
Healing the Whole Person
► Sacrament
of Anointing acknowledges and
celebrates the whole of the human person.
 Recognizes both physical and spiritual well-being.
► Primary
purpose is not physical healing.
 The meaning of the sacrament is that God is offering
the anointed person the grace to overcome anxiety and
despair, to find comfort in an uncomfortable situation, to
be healed and whole even if their body is diseased or
broken. (Martos, Doors to the Sacred)
The Healing Power of the Faith
Community
► When
the Christian community brings God’s
compassion and love to its members who are in
pain or near death, the community is acting as an
instrument of God’s healing grace.
► The role of the Christian community in carrying on
the healing ministry of Jesus is expressed through
the church’s Pastoral Care of the Sick.
 This includes visiting sick, bringing Holy Communion to
the sick, and praying for them during Mass and at other
times.
Personal and Social Sides of Sickness
► Personal
Side
 Only we as individual persons feel our pain, discomfort,
and anxiety.
 Illness causes us to spend time asking ourselves why
we are sick, what is truly important to us, what our life
means, and other soul-searching questions.
► Communal/Social
Side
 Illness is never completely personal.
 An individual’s illness can affect a community or society.
► Alcoholism
Personal and Social Sides of Healing
► People
who are ill rarely find healing in
isolation.
 Scientific research suggests that physical touch and
presence of others are critical to the recovery of sick
persons.
► Sharing
the burden of an illness is the first
step in helping to bring about a cure.
 The “cure” can involve actual physical healing or
healing of the person’s spirit.
The Christian Community as
“Wounded Healers”
►
►
In the Christian tradition, experiences of suffering and
healing are linked to service to others.
Experiences of sickness and suffering can be healing in a
sense if the lead to compassion for others.
 For example, the best counselors for drug-dependent people are
often formerly addicted people, who can find healing by helping
others.
►
Jesus challenges all Christians to transform their suffering
into healing for themselves and for those around them.
 The Christian community is meant to serve as “wounded healers” people affected pain, but still offer healing to others.
Different Rites for Different
Circumstances
► Different
forms of Anointing allow for varying
circumstances and situations that naturally occur.
 “Offered with the wider faith community present.”
► Celebrated
with a whole faith community (Mass)
 “Offered to nonterminally ill persons.”
► Can
be celebrated by people who are seriously, but not
terminally, ill.
 “Offered to dying persons.”
►Brings
a special comfort and peace to those persons who
suffer from a terminal illness or are close to death.
Common Elements in Anointing
► These
elements are common to all forms of
Anointing:

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►
Prayers
Penitential rite
Reading from Scripture
Laying on of hands by the priest
Anointing with oil on the forehead and hands by the priest.
Holy communion
Praying these words is essential to the sacrament:
 “Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy
help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. Amen. May the Lord who
frees you from sin save you and raise you up. Amen.”
History of Anointing
► The
Apostles and the first Christian communities
carried on Jesus’ healing mission.
 “So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out
many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them”
(Mark 6:12-13)
► During
the early period of the sacrament’s history,
evidence suggests that any Christian could pray
for sick people, anoint them with oil, or lay hands
on them, asking the holy spirit to heal them.
History of Anointing
► From
about the 8th to the 12th century, changes in
the sacrament occurred.
 People treated the oil as a magic potion.
►This resulted in Anointing becoming reserved for
priests.
 The sacrament of Anointing was seen as a preparation
for death rather than an act of healing.
►It became known as Extreme Unction, which means
“last anointing”.
►Anointing was associated with death until the Second
Vatican Council where the original purpose, healing,
was restored.