Lesson 30
What Sacrament Can Help Me Go Straight To Heaven?
Welcome back to the Lenten Lessons on the Sacraments. Today I will tell you a few more things about the Anointing of the Sick, and then tomorrow we will move on to the Sacraments at the Service of Communion, that is, Matrimony and Holy Orders.
The Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal, founded and inspired by St. Andre Bessette, is the largest Shrine in the world dedicated to St. Joseph, and it is a place of Miracles. On the ground floor you will find the Votive chapel with ten thousand candles in the area where St. Andre is buried, and along the walls are eight bas-reliefs of St. Joseph by sculptor Joseph Guardo which he created in 1948. Each bas relief portrays one of the titles of St. Joseph from the Litany of St. Joseph, and one of those is “Patron of the Dying.” It is good to pray to St. Joseph for a Holy Death. In that bas relief we see a dying old man lying on his bed, surrounded by his attentive wife standing by his side, his daughter kneeling and weeping next to his bed, and some grandchildren who are transfixed by the moment. In the background of the room we see Jesus, who is about to take this man to heaven. It is a beautiful scene and it is a scene of a holy death. And that’s what the Anointing of the Sick is all about: to help Christians die well.
There are many different circumstances for death, but for me, as a priest, the ideal situation is for an older person who is conscious and knows he is about to die and is surrounded by family and loved ones. The priest arrives, puts on his Purple Stole, greets the people in the name of the Lord, blesses himself and all present, and the room itself, with Holy Water as he tells everyone that the Holy Water should remind us of our baptism; then he asks the family to step out for a few minutes, and hears the dying man’s confession. He can also bestow the “Apostolic Pardon” upon the person, a special privilege that allows the priest to forgive any and all sins of the penitent, as well as any canonical penalties the person might have. With the Apostolic Pardon comes a Plenary Indulgence, and if the sick person were to die immediately afterwards he would go straight to heaven! It’s truly powerful and you want to make sure you ask for that when the time comes. All of that brings peace to the soul. Then the family is invited back in and the Priest continues the ceremony with a brief Liturgy of the Word, followed by the Litany of the Saints. If the circumstances allow it, he can use the full version of the Litany, which includes mention of Holy Patriarchs and Prophets of the Old Testament. The Litany of the Saints is prayed by the Church during the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders, as well as during the Easter Vigil, but it is only during the Anointing of the Sick – at least in my experience – that we specifically call out by name the Prophets and Patriarchs of the Old Testament. That single note, gives a great solemnity to the moment. You get the feeling all of the angels and saints who ever lived are in the room with you at that moment.
What follows is the silent prayer and laying on of hands, then the actual anointing of the forehead and palms of the hands with the prayer of anointing, and then the prayer after Anointing. Next we proceed to the Lord’s Prayer and Holy Communion, which is called Viaticum for those at the point of death. A final prayer and blessing is extended and a hymn to Our Blessed Mother can be sung. Everyone may then go in peace, and even if they are in sorrow, they are all at peace. It is truly a beautiful sacrament and you get the feeling that Jesus is in the room with all of you, just like in the bas relief in the Oratory of St. Joseph.
And the effects of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick? It can bring peace of mind and peace of soul to the sick or dying person; it has been known to restore the suffering to complete health or temporary improvement; and it confers sanctifying grace and actual grace to the suffering person.
And we all need as much grace as we can get!
So tune in every day of Lent to learn more about your Catholic faith, because if you Learn it, then you can Live it; and if you Live it, you will Love it; and if you Love it, you will never Leave it!
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