Anointing of the Sick

Be Healed from Sin

“In the Church’s Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, through the ministry of the priest, it is Jesus who touches the sick to heal them from sin – and sometimes even from physical ailment. His cures were signs of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. The core message of his healing tells us of his plan to conquer sin and death by his dying and rising.

The Rite of Anointing tells us there is no need to wait until a person is at the point of death to receive the Sacrament. A careful judgment about the serious nature of the illness is sufficient.

When the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given, the hoped-for effect is that, if it be God’s will, the person be physically healed of illness. But even if there is no physical healing, the primary effect of the Sacrament is a spiritual healing by which the sick person receives the Holy Spirit’s gift of peace and courage to deal with the difficulties that accompany serious illness or the frailty of old age.”
-from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

The Anointing of the Sick used to be known as the Last Rites, because it involved the dying person and the priest in a rite of departure from this life into the next life with God. Today this Sacrament can be given to anyone who is ill. This anointing remains the sign of a God who has sustained us through life and will be with us in our eventual journey to Him in heaven.

If you are a parishioner at Saint Ambrose and desire to receive the Sacrament of Anointing, please contact the Parish Life Center at 330.460.7300. A priest will be called to administer this Sacrament wherever is needed.