First reading: OIL
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.” ... The LORD said, “There—anoint him, for this is the one!” (1 Samuel 16: 11-12)
The youngest were considered the most unworthy, and God chooses the youngest as the King.
Second Reading: LIGHT
You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Ephesians 5, 8
During illness we can make experience shame, self-centeredness, guilt, anger, and even so, we are not in darkness.
Gospel: SALIVA
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes,
and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see. (John 9: 5-7)
Body fluids, when outside of the body were considered shameful and impure. The sick were considered shameful because people thought they were the result of sin. Jesus uses what is shameful to heal from shame. Since he is Light, anything he touches is not in darkness.
Other Passages about Anointing of the Sick
“Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? 6 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. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful” (James 5: 14-16).
"If one member suffers in the Body of Christ, which is the Church, all members suffer with that member" (1 Cor 12: 16).
What is the sacrament of anointing about?
Remember that sacraments speak to us through their symbols. With Water of baptism tells us we enter into the new life of Christ by becoming members of His body by dying to sin and rising to new life in His Spirit. In eating the Body of Christ we express and deepen our unity with Christ, and His Church as the Body. In the anointing of the sick, the anointing with oil expresses that not even severe illness separates you from the Church as community, as Body of Christ. Whereas illness can be a source of shame, in anointing the sick we express that you are still loved by God and the church, especially during this time. You are anointed just like kings and prophets were. If illness can be a source of shame, in the sacrament of anointing sickness becomes an opportunity for reconnection with the community, for remembering that you are made holy by Jesus Christ. The priest, as a representative of the community, embraces the sick sister or brother, and in this way protects the person from separation from the Church because of illness. In the letter of James, the apostle says that the presbyters (today we call them priests) are to pray over the sick, not just for the sick (James 5,14). In praying over the sick, the sick person is commended to the prayer of the whole Church. As the catechism says, "By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. (Catechism Para 1499).
When can someone receive the sacrament of anointing of the sick?
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. (Catechism, Para. 1529)
What are the spiritual benefits (special graces) that can be received through the sacrament of anointing?
• the uniting of the sick person to Christ is a special way;
• the knowledge that Jesus also suffered, and is with the person.
• the strengthening, peace, and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age;
• the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to obtain it through the sacrament of Penance;
• the possibility of healing,
• the preparation for passing over to eternal life. (Para. 1532)
Why receive the sacrament? Why not just pray for my health, or ask anybody to pray for me?
It is not either, or. It is always good to pray for others and ourselves, so the sacrament of anointing does not mean that we do not pray for each other or for ourselves. As written above, the sacrament is more than the priest praying for you – he’s representing your Church, and expressing that you are still a beloved member of the community, and anoints you as a sign of who you are in Christ.
Carlos Medina, OSA
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