Tuesday, September 18, 2012
319. What are the effects of this sacrament?
(Comp
319) This sacrament confers a special grace which unites the sick person
more intimately to the Passion of Christ for his good and for the good of all
the Church. It gives comfort, peace, courage, and even the forgiveness of sins
if the sick person is not able to make a confession. Sometimes, if it is the
will of God, this sacrament even brings about the restoration of physical
health. In any case this Anointing prepares the sick person for the journey to
the Father’s House.
“In brief”
(CCC 1532) The special grace of the sacrament of the
Anointing of the Sick has as its effects: - the uniting of the sick person to
the passion of Christ, for his own good and that of the whole Church; - 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 restoration
of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul; - the preparation
for passing over to eternal life.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1520) A
particular gift of the Holy Spirit. The first grace of this sacrament is
one of strengthening, peace and courage to overcome the difficulties that go
with the condition of serious illness or the frailty of old age. This grace is
a gift of the Holy Spirit, who renews trust and faith in God and strengthens
against the temptations of the evil one, the temptation to discouragement and
anguish in the face of death (Cf. Heb 2:15). This assistance from the Lord by
the power of his Spirit is meant to lead the sick person to healing of the
soul, but also of the body if such is God's will (Cf. Council of Florence
(1439): DS 1325). Furthermore, "if he has committed sins, he will be
forgiven" (Jas 515; cf. Council of Trent (1551): DS 1717). (CCC 1521) Union with the passion of Christ. By the
grace of this sacrament the sick person receives the strength and the gift of
uniting himself more closely to Christ's Passion: in a certain way he is consecrated to bear fruit by
configuration to the Savior's redemptive Passion. Suffering, a consequence of
original sin, acquires a new meaning; it becomes a participation in the saving
work of Jesus.
Reflection
(CCC 1522) An
ecclesial grace. The sick who receive this sacrament, "by freely
uniting themselves to the passion and death of Christ," "contribute
to the good of the People of God" (LG 11 § 2). By celebrating this
sacrament the Church, in the communion of saints, intercedes for the benefit of
the sick person, and he, for his part, through the grace of this sacrament,
contributes to the sanctification of the Church and to the good of all men for
whom the Church suffers and offers herself through Christ to God the Father.
(CCC 1523) A preparation for the final
journey. If the sacrament of anointing of the sick is given to all who
suffer from serious illness and infirmity, even more rightly is it given to
those at the point of departing this life; so it is also called sacramentum exeuntium (the sacrament of
those departing) (Council of Trent (1551): DS 1698). The Anointing of the Sick
completes our conformity to the death and Resurrection of Christ, just as
Baptism began it. It completes the holy anointings that mark the whole
Christian life: that of Baptism which sealed the new life in us, and that of
Confirmation which strengthened us for the combat of this life. This last
anointing fortifies the end of our earthly life like a solid rampart for the
final struggles before entering the Father's house (Council of Trent (1551): DS
1694).
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