We used to call this Sacrament ‘Extreme
Unction’. This was meant to be a
translation of the Latin term but it was an unfortunate effort. The word ‘extreme’ conveyed the idea that the
person receiving the Sacrament was extremely ill. A better translation of the Latin would have
been the ‘last anointing’. But the best
solution – and the one adopted – was to use a different name that more clearly
conveyed its true meaning.
We are anointed in a number of Sacraments. In Baptism we are anointed with the oil of
Catechumens and with the oil of Chrism.
In the Sacrament of Confirmation the oil of Chrism is again used as it
is in the Sacrament of Holy Orders when someone is anointed priest or
bishop. Strangely enough in the
ordination of a deacon there is no anointing.
Because the Sacrament of the Sick is often the last of the Sacraments
that we receive in which oil is used it came to be called the ‘last anointing’
or – even worse – Extreme Unction. The
Latin word ‘extremus’ means ‘last’.
Towards the end of the Letter of James in the New
Testament we read: ‘Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of
praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the Church
and have them pray over them; anointing them with oil in the name of the
Lord. The prayer of faith will save the
sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will
be forgiven.’ (James 5:13-15) For some
reason at some stage the Sacrament was administered only to those who were very
ill. In my young days when we heard that
someone ‘had been anointed’ it was assumed that they were on the point of
death. The result was that people
avoided receiving this Sacrament because not many wished to admit that they were
dying! Relatives did not want to alarm
their loved ones and so often the priest was not sent for until the person was
unconscious or even dead! So we had
departed a long way from what James had to say.
However, it takes a long time to correct bad practices and old habits
die hard.
All the Sacraments are the actions of the Risen
Christ. The saving actions of Christ and
his ministry did not come to an end when he died. Jesus is our eternal high priest – He is a
priest forever. He continues to exercise
his priesthood and because he is now Risen he is not limited by time and space
as he was in mortal life. One of the
great ways in which he exercises his priesthood now is through the Sacraments. That is why he has given them to us – so that
he can reach out to us as he reached out to those he met in his life on earth. In the gospels we see Jesus constantly
befriending and healing the frail and the sick.
We must allow him to continue to do this by cultivating a proper
attitude to the Sacraments and especially the Sacrament of the Sick. Names matter, so we should be careful to call
it by its proper name. It has suffered –
and the Church has suffered – far too long – from silly misunderstandings
There is another Sacrament that is proving very
difficult to undergo a name change. This
is also a Sacrament of healing –the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Ever since the conclusion of the Second
Vatican Council the Church has been trying to wean us away from calling it
‘Confession’ or the Sacrament of Penance’ and to embrace the idea that it is
now called the ‘Sacrament of Forgiveness’ or ‘Reconciliation’ – a much warmer
name. The Sacraments are Christ’s
actions and forgiveness is his speciality.
He was given the name ‘Jesus’, meaning ‘Saviour’, because that is why he
came. It is he who forgives us. The Sacraments are how Jesus continues his
ministry. We should not name the
Sacrament from the actions of someone other than Jesus.
Confession of our sins is something we do.
Being sorry is something we do with God’s help and we do penance to show we are sorry.
But the Sacrament of Forgiveness is not primarily about what we do. It is a celebration
of what Jesus does. And he
forgives. He came to unite us to one
another and to the Father. In his
Sacraments he continues to reach out to us.
It is he who baptises us through the words and actions of someone who
acts in his name. It is he who gives
himself to us in the Eucharist, the Supper of the Lord, as St Paul calls
it. The Sacrament of Reconciliation celebrates
the presence of Christ among us continuing to do what he came to do. It is his great work. Praised be Jesus Christ.
