Dear Father,
I asked my newly ordained parish priest for the sacrament of the sick. I thought he was a bit intrusive by asking what my sickness was, but I told him anyway. When I said that I was going for a colonoscopy, he answered that he couldn’t anoint me for that. He offered to pray with me and gave me a blessing. I don’t understand because when I had this test 10 years ago, my former pastor anointed me. Should I call the bishop about this young priest?
-Dewayne
Dear Dewayne,
No, don’t call your bishop about this priest because the young man seems to have been quite correct and exercised very good pastoral concern by praying with you and blessing you.
The sacrament of anointing of the sick (and not simply the “sacrament of the sick”) is, as its name implies, the special sacrament for those who are seriously sick or dying. Checking to see what’s inside one’s colon, via a colonoscopy, is not a sickness. It’s a medical test. Unless someone is experiencing serious sickness in this regard, anointing of the sick is not celebrated.
The same is true of any medical test, say a cardio stress test or chest x-ray or an eye exam. The list is endless. The sacrament is not given merely for medical tests. However, if a test is ordered because the doctor already knows that a serious illness exists and needs further information, one should be anointed for the illness, not the medical test.
Moreover, if your doctor tells you that the colonoscopy results show that you have cancer, you should ask the priest for the sacrament of confession and then anointing. Perhaps not everyone will need the sacrament of confession prior to anointing of the sick, but it’s a good practice, especially if it has been awhile since your last confession or if there are serious sins to confess. Then your soul will be healed and disposed to receive the graces of anointing in full measure.
We must be clear that the sacrament of anointing of the sick is for the seriously ill. At times, it can be difficult to judge the difference between an illness that is serious and one that is not. When in doubt, it’s a good idea to ask a physician whether a particular illness is life-threatening.
Notice the difference between “life-threatening” and “health-threatening.” There are untold threats to our health every day, such as being in the sun too long or catching a cold or throwing my back out. Just because something threatens my health does not mean that I should call the priest immediately.
Some medical procedures may be, in themselves, life-threatening. But they are not performed unless there is already some underlying medical affliction, such as a brain tumor.
Some illnesses are not life-threatening for most people but may become so for a certain population. Someone whose health is already compromised by a serious disease or someone enfeebled by old age may need to be anointed when hit with the flu, for instance, because some infections can further compromise one’s health seriously.
Also, not everything that is life-threatening warrants the sacrament of anointing of the sick. For instance, soldiers going into battle or people on a sinking ship or firefighters and police officers facing life-threatening situations are not anointed with this sacrament. Even if death seems inescapable, anointing is not the proper sacrament because we are not dealing with illnesses here. The most important sacrament for soldiers, people on failed transportation, firefighters, police and even the person on death row is the sacrament of confession or penance.
There has been a great deal of confusion about the sacrament of anointing in recent decades. Out of fear, it used to be the case that no one called the priest unless death was imminent. Then the pendulum swung in the opposite direction such that, even today, some priests anoint healthy people.
A priest should be called as soon as serious illness inflicts itself on a Catholic who has reached the age of reason. Family members have an obligation of justice toward their loved ones when it comes to serious illness. It is a grave injustice to be an obstacle to the graces of the sacraments by failing to call a priest.
I have experienced too many times to be counted arriving at the deathbed of someone who should have received anointing long before the illness reached that point. The reason for anointing is for the sick person to be able to conform oneself to the suffering Christ for one’s own salvation and for the salvation of the world.
The effects of anointing of the sick include: a gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and give peace and courage in the midst of grave illness or old age; to unite oneself to the passion of Christ; to contribute to the building up of the Body of Christ, the Church; to prepare, as the case may be, for the final journey home to heaven.
Pray for that young priest who blessed you. He did the right thing for you. And pray for all priests who get up in the middle of the night to go to hospitals and homes to anoint the seriously ill and dying.