"Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters [priests] 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." (James 5:14-15)
During His earthly ministry, our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated a particular concern for the sick, and in His compassion for them He performed many healings. These miracles were signs that the Kingdom of God had already begun its reign in Him.
In the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, our Lord again visits His people through the ministry of the priest. This sacrament is especially intended to strengthen those who, because of illness, are suffering in body and/or spirit. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "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" (CCC, #1520).
Please contact our Pastor, Rev. Thomas Paul Lipnicki, at [email protected] or at 201-337-7596, ext. 311, if you know someone who needs the Anointing of the Sick.
“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.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1514)
“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.”(Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1515)