We are all subject to suffering, illness, and death, and at that moment when we take up our cross, we have a choice. It can either be experienced as an invitation to a deeper union with the suffering of Christ, which leads to greater spiritual maturity, or as a path to self-absorption and even to revolt against God. In any form of suffering, we may experience a feeling of powerlessness, become more keenly aware of our human limitations, and should lean on our union with God for strength and courage.

The Lord Jesus had great compassion for the sick, and His many healings are a resplendent sign that the Kingdom of God is among us. Christ even identified Himself with everyone who is sick: “I was sick and you visited me,” (Mt 25:36). But the Lord did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the Kingdom, and they announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through His Passover. On the Cross, the Lord Jesus took away the “sin of the world,” of which physical illness is only a consequence. By his passion and death on the Cross, Christ has given a new meaning to all human suffering: it can henceforth configure us to Him and unite us with His redemptive suffering.

And when we—or someone we hold dear—becomes ill, Christ made sure to provide us with a means of spiritual fortification:

“Is any among you sick? Let him call for priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” —James 5:14-15

This New Testament passage describes one of the seven sacraments: the Anointing of the Sick. This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is given to all those (after the age of 7) who are seriously ill by anointing them with oil blessed by the Bishop, and it is not reserved only for those who are at the point of death. This sacred anointing can be repeated for each serious illness or for a relapse of the same illness.

The grace of this sacrament unites the sick disciple more closely to the suffering of Christ, strengthens the disciple to endure his own suffering with peace and courage, and forgives any sins that were not previously forgiven in the Sacrament of Penance.

Please do not hesitate to call our Parish Office at 781.275.6318 if you or someone you love wishes to receive an Anointing.