Comfort in Our Weakness
Drawing others to Christ’s healing love through the anointing of the sick
Father Michael Witczak Comments Off on Comfort in Our Weakness
Jesus spent his public life preaching the Good News, confronting evil, driving it out and healing the sick. That ministry to the sick continues in the Church today. Finding a place for ministry to the sick in the busy reality of parish life is an ongoing pastoral challenge. As the World Day of the Sick approaches on Feb. 11, pastors and those entrusted with the care of the sick should reflect on how the parish ministers to the sick in their midst, and how to draw them into the grace of Christ’s healing love.
Healing Ministry of Jesus
One of the hallmarks of Jesus’ ministry is his healing of the sick. In Mark’s Gospel, at the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus is part of a whirlwind of activity: He calls the disciples (cf. Mk 1:16-20); he cures the demoniac in the synagogue of Capernaum (vv. 21-28); he heals Simon’s mother-in-law (vv. 29-31). Then we read: “When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him” (vv. 32-34).
The chapter continues with his departure from Capernaum to continue his ministry (cf. vv.:35-39); and the healing of a leper (vv. 40-45).
This breakneck pace continues throughout Mark’s Gospel and has parallels (though not nearly so frenetic) in the other Gospels. Jesus’ healing is a sign of the coming of the messianic age (cf. Lk 4:18-19 [citing Is 61]). Mark shows it is an integral part of his ministry and parallels it with driving out demons: Those who are sick are out of control of their bodies. Jesus gives the disciples the task of sharing this ministry of healing: “They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them” (Mk 6:13). Paul lists healing as a charism in the Christian community (cf. 1 Cor 12:9).
And most clearly, the ministry to the sick is laid out in the Letter of James: “Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters 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 [sozein] the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up [egerein]. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven” (5:13-15).
Context: Visiting and Communion
In the increasingly technological world of health care in much of the world, especially in the United States, it sometimes seems like pastoral care has to fit into the cracks of the modern hospital and care facility. The way modern health care sees the sick person and the way that the Church sees them can be at odds. The movie “Wit” (released in 2001 and available on various streaming sites) offers a sense of the disconnect. Modern health care sees illness as a problem to be solved. Diagnose the illness and then apply the method to eradicate it or at least control it: medication, surgery, radiation. In “Wit,” Emma Thompson plays a world-famous professor of literature diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. She is convinced to enter an experimental program and becomes the focus of the lead doctor of the new treatment protocol. The team working with him is interested in what the treatment does, but not so much in her.
Pastoral care focuses on the person who is feeling unwell. Care for Emma Thompson’s character in the movie comes from a nurse and a visit from her own mentor from her school days. They treat her as a person in pain who needs to be seen and valued.

Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum (1983), the ritual book for anointing the sick, surrounds the sick person with attentive care of the community of the faithful. The introduction offers a theology of pastoral care of the sick: The alienation of sin and possibility of death felt by a sick person is mitigated by the grace-filled ministry of the members of the Church, lay and ordained alike.
Some parishes organize teams of people who regularly visit the homebound and bring them Communion. In addition, they keep the pastor apprised when someone’s condition changes and they may need the Sacrament of Penance or the Anointing of the Sick. Other parishes rely on priests to provide the lion’s share of the ministry because of distances or other reasons. The pastoral goal is that at a time in life when someone feels out of control, lonely and abandoned because of physical limitations the Body of Christ marshals its resources on his or her behalf.
The rite also includes suggestions for visiting sick children and recognizing their special needs. Prayer texts adapt to their circumstances.
Grace and Pastoral Care
The rites offer a number of possibilities for celebrating the sacrament depending on context. Anointing can occur at Mass, either in the parish church or at the sick person’s home. The sacrament can be celebrated outside Mass in church or at home, too. Finally, there is a ritual for use in a hospital or nursing home, when a simpler and perhaps shorter form is needed.
Some parishes schedule anointing for an occasional Sunday Mass, especially when the Gospel provides a context for such a celebration ― for instance, an account of Jesus healing someone. The communal celebration can provide an opportunity for catechesis about the sacrament, the degree of sickness presupposed and the need for the community to rally around the sick.
Some pastors offer the sacrament once a week, often on a Saturday, for those scheduled for surgery or other serious procedures on a Monday. This works in larger parishes. In other places, parishioners feel comfortable approaching their pastor before or after a Sunday Mass with a request for the sacrament because of some impending procedure or a recent diagnosis.
Government privacy regulations have changed the dynamic of visiting hospitals, and pastors now rely on family members to let them know when someone is in the hospital or facing a medical crisis. This can be a difficult process, especially when family members live far away or are estranged from the Church. Many pastors are at a loss, at times, to keep tabs on parishioners, especially the elderly, who can move to a care facility far from the parish where they are known and have been cared for.

Who can be and who should be anointed are important questions. The person should be genuinely sick, and the illness should be serious. But the person need not be actively dying. There is an ongoing discussion about the value and appropriateness of the sacrament for those with psychological illness and those struggling with addiction. From the New Testament, we know that Christ wanted to heal people, and the Church today wants us to offer the sacrament to those who need it. In my experience, those who present themselves for the sacrament generally are in need of it. The ritual calls for a prudent judgment on the part of the pastor.
Whether the sacrament is celebrated during a Sunday Mass, during a weekday Mass, at the church at the request of a parishioner, at the sick person’s home or in a care facility, the three key moments mentioned in the Letter of James need to be attended to: the prayer of faith, the laying on of hands, and the anointing with the oil of the sick. These elements constitute the heart of the celebration, with the other elements leading up to and flowing from them. The theology of the ritual can be found in these gestures and the prayers associated with them.
The prayer of blessing the oil of the sick, the formula for administering the oil of the sick and the prayer after anointing all offer a rich theology of the sacrament. The blessing of the oil can take place if no blessed oil of the sick is available. If the oil is blessed, the likewise theologically rich Prayer over the Oil is offered, where we pray: “God of mercy, ease the sufferings and comfort the weakness of your servants whom the Church anoints with this holy oil” (No. 140). The formula for the anointing, approved by Pope St. Paul VI in 1972, puts into prayer the words of the Letter of James: “Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. Amen. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up. Amen” (No. 124). The first option of the Prayer after Anointing also names the dominant theological motif of the action: “When [they] are afraid, give [them] courage, when afflicted, give [them] patience, when dejected, afford [them] hope, and when alone, assure [them] of the support of your holy people” (No. 125A).
The parish celebration of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick continues the ministry of Jesus for those alienated and bowed down by illness, offers them the accompaniment and support of the Christian community, and offers them God’s healing of body, mind and spirit. May this ministry continue to flourish in our parishes!
FATHER MICHAEL WITCZAK is an expert in liturgical history and the sacraments. A pastor and scholar, he is associate professor of Liturgical Studies and Sacramental Theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.