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Anointing and Last Rites

The Sacrament of Holy Unction
The following article is based on a sermon preached some years ago. The author is the former Canon Peter D. Wilkinson, rector of the first parish of the continuing church in Canada. Canon Wilkinson was recently consecrated as Suffragan Bishop of the West, Anglican Catholic Church of Canada.

During His life on earth, Our Lord went about preaching and teaching and enabling men to profit by the saving power of His body through contact with it. But once He was risen and glorified, His new heavenly existence did not conform with the life of this world and of the Church on earth. So, in order that men might hear Him and that He might act upon them in a way that was natural to them, He had to make use of earthly instruments to make them aware of His presence. Therefore He has certain organs whose function is to communicate His Resurrection life to men. The two means by which He does this are :
1) the Apostles, and the apostolic ministry which succeeds them; and
2) the sacraments, and the anointing of the sick is a sacrament.

Thus the anointing of the sick is one of the earthly instruments by which the Risen Lord gives Himself to His people for the healing of body and soul. Some time ago, a sick woman, whom I had anointed, suggested to a friend who had similar illness, that she too should be anointed. The friend (an elderly, life-long Anglican replied, "Never heard of such a thing!" When I next saw the woman that I had anointed, she said, "Father, what sort of teaching have these people been getting that they do not know about the anointing of the sick?"

What about you? I now that the anointing of the sick is taught and practised in many parishes. If I were to ask you to find the service of the anointing of the sick in the Book of Common Prayer, could you find it? If I asked you where it is mentioned in the New Testament, could you tell me? If I asked you when you should be anointed, could you tell me? If I asked you whether it is a sacrament, could you tell me its outward and visible sign, and the inward and spiritual grace given? If I asked you how you would prepare for anointing could you tell me?

First of all, where is it mentioned in Holy Scripture? One place is in St. Mark's Gospel (6:12-13): "So they (i.e, the twelve apostles) went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them."

We are nowhere given any words of our Lord expressly ordering that the sick should be anointed with oil. But we may reasonably suppose either that He did so, or that the apostles did what they knew to be His wish. When they returned from the mission upon which our Lord had sent them, they reported to Him about it, and in verse 30 we read, "and (they) told Him all that they had done and taught." Presumably, what they had done was to exorcise demons and anoint the sick with oil to heal them; and what they had taught was that men should repent.

A second place the anointing of the sick is mentioned in Sacred Scripture is in St. James' Epistle (5:14-15). St. James says : "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders (what we would now call bishops and priests) 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."

St. James, who wrote these words, is described in the New Testament as "one of the Lord's brethren," and head of the church in Jerusalem. We know from this description of him that he must have had a very close and intimate knowledge of our Lord. St. Paul says that the risen Lord appeared to St. James. He would therefore be likely to know, as well as anyone, what Jesus had taught and commanded, and what was in accord with His mind. Both these passages of Scripture are read when holy unction is administered. And when the Bishop consecrates the oil he begins the prayer in this way : "O Almighty God, who hast taught us in Thy holy Word to pray for the sick and anoint them with oil, that they may recover bodily health..." So it is the teaching of the Scripture, and is therefore to be used by Christians in accordance with the rites of the Church.

Now, how many of you remember your catechism definition of the two parts of a sacrament? "The two parts of a sacrament are the outward and visible sign, and the inward and spiritual grace." Let's apply this to the anointing of the sick:
1) What is the outward and visible sign of Holy Unction? It is oil applied to the forehead (usually) of the sick person in the form of the sign of the Cross, together with prayers for healing.
2) What is the inward and spiritual grace given by God? It is fortification against the power of evil over body, mind, and spirit.

The priest signs you with the sign of the Cross; the same sign and the same place as at Baptism. Then it was done with water, the sign washing (from sin) and new birth (to eternal life.) Only now it is done with holy oil, the sign of the healing power and peace. Prayer is offered for your recovery and healing; and God will not fail to bless you.

Preparation for Holy Unction. God will always do His part. But we must do ours. We must lay ourselves open to receive God's help. We must be in that condition which makes it possible for God to help us. The first step is faith. By "faith" I mean simply trusting your heavenly Father. Remember that in union with Christ you are his son or daughter, that He loves you and that He has blessings in His hand that He wants to give you. Dont try to tell Him what He ought to do. He knows best. If you have fears and find it difficult to trust Him, tell Him that too.

The second step is to confess your sins. You should be ready to confess anything that troubles your conscience. It is very desirable to make a particular confession in the presence of the priest who is going to anoint you. See page 581 of the Book of Common Prayer*. He will absolve you in God's name so that you may have no doubt about being forgiven.

The third step is to pray. To pray for the doctors and nurses who will care for you if you are going into hospital, or require medical attention. For the priest who ministers to you. And to ask Christian friends and relations to pray for you. Do these things to the best of your ability and then rest assured that you are going to receive Holy Communion and Holy Unction for the healing of your body, mind, and spirit.

Holy Communion and Holy Unction. I mention Holy Communion because you should receive Holy Communion as frequently as possible during your illness. It is the Bread of Life, by which a Christian is sustained in health and sickness alike. Remember the words of administration, "preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life." Think of the relation between Holy Communion and Holy Unction something like this. Holy Communion is a personal meeting and union between you and the Glorified Christ. He is as present to you in Holy Communion as He was to those whom He healed on earth. "I am with you always," He said. This is especially true at Holy Communion. But on this occasion, when you receive Holy Communion before Holy Unction, you have come with a request for a special favour. When you receive Him in Holy Communion it will be as if He says to you, "What do you wish me to do for you?" Your answer will be, "Lord, that I may be healed." He will then stretch out His hand to touch you by means of the Sacrament of Holy Unction in order that you may receive the special blessing you need in your illness.

When should one be anointed? Only when it is thought that death is near? No. You should receive the anointing of the sick early in an illness. There are two reasons for this answer.
1) Our Lord always taught illness as a manifestation of evil. He never taught that our heavenly Father sends sickness upon us. Christ is God Incarnate and the fact that He healed the sick declared God the Father's loving will toward them. The Apostles were sent to heal the sick. St. Mark says, "they anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them" (6:13). Anointing is primarily meant for healing, not just as a preparation for a holy death.
2) Oil is a symbol of consecration and healing. The Good Samaritan poured in oil and wine upon the wounds of the man who fell among the thieves. We speak of pouring oil on troubled waters. Oil has itself soothing properties. But oil is not used in Holy Unction for its natural healing value, but sacramentally - as an efficacious sign of God's healing power.

So Holy Unction is not just for the dying. It is for all those with any serious, or chronic, ailment.

Afterwards: We hope for miracles. We look for a healing that comes sooner than we should normally expect it to, or one that comes when it is was not expected at all. That often does happen. But not always. Sometimes the healing comes slowly. Sometimes God in His love and wisdom does not grant recovery and heals our infirmities by the deliverance into His nearer presence which we call death.
1) If you are restored to full health: Your response must be the rededication of your life to God so that you may serve Him better than you have ever done before.
2) If He allows your infirmity and suffering to remain: remember this, (a) He will give you grace to endure until He either heals your affliction or calls you to Himself; (b) He can and will use you to glorify Him and to help others if you will learn to bear your sufferings patiently. Even St. Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was not removed (whatever it was); but he was told, "My grace is sufficient for you," and it was.

When you go home look up the section in the Book of Common Prayer* entitled "The Ministry to the Sick" page 576. Read it! It is in six sections. And begins with the very significant rubric, "When any person is sick, notice thereof shall be given to the Pastor of the Parish, who shall minister to the sick person after the norm following...." That is an order to you as well as to us.

So what have we learned: The anointing of the sick is found in St. Mark's Gospel and in St. James' epistle. It is a sacramental rite. Its outward and visible sign is anointing with oil with prayers for healing. Its inward and spiritual grace is fortification against the power of evil over body, mind, and spirit. We prepare for it by trust in God, confession of sin, and prayer. The results that may be expected are; sometimes full or partial recovery of body or mind; sometimes a happy death; sometimes a gift of grace to share the Cross; always peace and tranquillity because the matter is passed to God and He has taken charge of it. To whom we ascribe all might, majesty, dominion, power, and glory, now and for ever.

* References are to the Book of Common Prayer 1962 Canada

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