Saturday, May 9, 2009

Jas 5, 13-14 Anyone sick should summon the presbyters

(Jas 5, 13-14) Anyone sick should summon the presbyters
[13] Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. [14] Is anyone among you sick? 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,
(CCC 1514) The Anointing of the Sick "is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived" (SC 73; cf. CIC, Cann. 1004 § 1; 1005; 1007; CCEO, Can. 738). (CCC 1512) From ancient times in the liturgical traditions of both East and West, we have testimonies to the practice of anointings of the sick with blessed oil. Over the centuries the Anointing of the Sick was conferred more and more exclusively on those at the point of death. Because of this it received the name "Extreme Unction." Notwithstanding this evolution the liturgy has never failed to beg the Lord that the sick person may recover his health if it would be conducive to his salvation (Cf. Council of Trent (1551) DS 1696). (CCC 1513) The Apostolic Constitution Sacram unctionem infirmorum (Paul VI, November 30, 1972), following upon the Second Vatican Council (Cf. SC 73), established that henceforth, in the Roman Rite, the following be observed: The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given to those who are seriously ill by anointing them on the forehead and hands with duly blessed oil - pressed from olives or from other plants - saying, only once: "Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up" (Cf. CIC, Can. 847 § 1). (CCC 1515) If a sick person who received this anointing recovers his health, he can in the case of another grave illness receive this sacrament again. If during the same illness the person's condition becomes more serious, the sacrament may be repeated. It is fitting to receive the Anointing of the Sick just prior to a serious operation. The same holds for the elderly whose frailty becomes more pronounced.

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