“By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends
those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them.
And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting
themselves to the Passion and death of Christ.”

The Anointing of the Sick “is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death.
Hence, as soon as any one 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.” 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 before a serious operation. The same holds for the elderly whose frailty becomes more
pronounced.

In addition to the Anointing of the Sick, the Church offers those who are about to leave this
life the Eucharist as viaticum. Communion in the body and blood of Christ received at this
moment of “passing over” to the Father, has a particular significance and importance. It is the
seed of eternal life and the power of resurrection, according to the words of the Lord: “He
who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
The sacrament of Christ once dead and now risen, the Eucharist is here the sacrament of
passing over from death to life, from the world to the Father.

Thus, just as the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist form a unity called
“the sacraments of Christian initiation,” so too it can be said that Penance, the Anointing of
the Sick and the Eucharist as viaticum constitute at the end of Christian life “the sacraments
that prepare for our heavenly homeland” or the sacraments that complete the earthly
pilgrimage.

Please call the Parish Office at 860-623-2524 if you have someone in need of this sacrament.