The Rite of the Sacraments of Healing and of the Sick Essay

Oral Exam:  Sacrament of Healing

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The biblical basis for the sacrament of penance is: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained (John 20:22-23).

The theological basis for the sacrament of penance is that it is a means of regaining grace and justice for those who had defiled their souls through mortal sin. Prior to the coming of Christ the Lord, penance was not a sacrament, nor is it a sacrament for the unbaptized. However, after rising from the dead, Christ breathed on the Apostles and sent them the Holy Ghost and gave them the power to forgive sins in the name of Jesus with the direct purpose of reconciling those among the faithful who had fallen into a state of sin since their Baptism. Such has been the teaching of the Church since the Council of Trent in 1551.

The liturgical development of Penance has not evolved greatly over the history of the Church: public penance has always been recommended, particularly during Lent, but the sacrament of Penance has always been restricted to private confession—except for certain persons like St. Augustine who wish to publicly confess their sins out of a sense of repentance for having lived as a public sinner.

Only since the Second Vatican Council has it become more common for the idea of penance to be approached as something done in common with others, but this is a rather novel departure from Church tradition and forgiveness of the laity unless in times of extreme emergency is forbidden and individuals must make use of the sacrament of penance through confession to a priest in order to return to grace if in a state of mortal sin.

The biblical basis for the Anointing of the Sick is James 5:14-15: "Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the 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 shall save the sick man. And the Lord shall raise him up: and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him." However, there are numerous other verses that serve as justification for the sacrament’s institution, including Matthew 10:8 and Luke 10:8-9.

The theological basis for the sacrament of the Sick is the same as that of penance—it is an opportunity for grace to renew the person’s soul. In the tradition of the Church, the purpose of the sacrament is to give spiritual assistance to the seriously sick or dying individual. The primary aim is for the remission of sins and the restoration of spiritual health and grace to the soul if it has been absent through mortal sin; and the conditional benefit can be the restoration of bodily health. The rite includes using oil blessed by the bishop of the diocese, which is touched to the eyes, ears, lips, hands, and nose of the sick person. The priest says, “Through this holy unction and His own most tender mercy may the Lord pardon thee whatever sins or faults thou hast committed by sight, by hearing, smell,…

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…part of America to have schools, run by the Jesuits, meant for the catechesis and conversion of the native Americans. The Church has loved this part of the country and has sent so many missionaries here, and they have left the mark of Christ all over the Southwest, from San Antonio to San Diego—the lives of the saints are everywhere calling to us in the present day to remind us not to forget them and what they have done to bring the faith to this part of the world.

To catechize in the Southwest it is in important to understand the role that culture plays here, the importance of the Spanish Catholic influence, and the foundation of the community, which is the family rooted in Christ, where children flourish and are raised in the faith. What is more important? A child’s birthday or his baptismal day? Every Catholic should answer his baptismal day because that is the day Christ comes to his soul. This is the type of understanding and faith that is needed now more than ever and we must take special care to teach, plan and celebrate the rites in a clear, correct and spiritually substantial way—and that starts with preaching on the importance of penance and of our value to God, of teaching the faithful that if they have a brand new car they will take care of it and keep it clean and if it gets dirty they will clean it immediately—but they take no such care with their soul. The people need to hear these words so that their faith can be strengthened and…