Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
James 5:14-15
The Church celebrates the Anointing of the Sick for four reasons:
- To offer the grace of the Holy Spirit which heals and saves the sick person in body and spirit.
- To pray that the sick person will have the special help of God's grace in the anxiety that sickness creates.
- To open the opportunity for forgiveness and Christian penance which may be offered through physical illness.
- To signify our solidarity as Church with the sick person who may be tempted to brokenness of spirit of lack of trust in God because they struggle with illness.
The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is celebrated communally in the Fall and individually through an arrangement with the pastor.
This sacrament is not reserved only for the dying, but for those who suffer with serious or chronic illness. Illness can be psychological, mental, physical, or any combination of the three.