Hope and Healing

 In my life as a priest of nearly 24 years, I have anointed numerous people with the oil of the sick.  It is an amazingly powerful Sacrament of the Catholic Church.  Some people may not think of how important it is, but let me give a little bit about just how powerful it is.

First, it is an anointing for both body and soul.  Oil has been a symbol of strength and healing for a long, long time.  Even in ancient days, oil was used before and after battles, as a provider of strength to prepare the body for battle, AND then, a healing remedy for those who maybe were wounded or just tired after the battle itself.  In terms of healing physically, oil still helps muscles.  When someone receives a massage, the masseuse uses oil normally not only for the purpose of making skin pliable enough to knead, but the oil is massaged INTO the skin for it's healing  properties.

Fast-forward to anointing of the sick, we have the belief that there is a physical healing property that we pray for no matter the injury or disease.  We also seek healing for the soul.  In terms of our souls, why should that matter?  In cases where people have been diagnosed with a serious or critical illness or disease, recipients often will have anxiety about the state of their soul.  "I don't want to take any chances with my soul, Father.  I need silence and let God speak to me with a healing touch."  It's a very familiar statement.

The prayers we say when we anoint also correspond to the purpose of anointing.  "Through this holy anointing, may the Lord and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.  And may the Lord who frees you from sin, save you and raise you up."  We use the first sentence when we anoint a person's forehead (body) and when we use the second sentence when we anoint the person's hands (soul).

I have had some very interesting anointings over my almost 24 years.  When I was a newer priest, almost every anointing I did ended in the recipient dying soon after.  My dad (God rest his wonderful soul) would jokingly call me "Fr. Kevorkian" (a reference to a doctor who would essentially assist patients with terminal diagnoses to die -- it was a big issue around the time of my ordination).  Dad would sometimes tell me that if he ever got sick to call a priest as long as it wasn't me.  It was all in our true sense of humor and love.

Still, it was kind of disturbing for me because I would have thought that I would hear about one or two people who actually survived being anointed by me.  It RARELY happened.  However, there were ways that I could feel glimmers of the power of the oil -- when people would be alert enough to want to make a confession in the middle of a ritual.  There was a visible sign of healing in their sighs of relief or their tears of joy.  Hence it was not only powerful for the recipient of the sacrament but also for me as a priest, being able to SEE God's work in action.

I had one such anointing experience about a year ago.  A parishioner at my current assignment called to ask me to go to see his father at a hospital about 30 minutes from the parish.  It seemed like it was going to be a similar experience to my past.  The man seemed very out of it.  I most certainly didn't expect what happened at the end of our prayers with the man's brother and daughter-in-law (the son had to go home, so I missed him).  Practically at the sound of "Amen" after the blessing, the nursing staff had him sitting up in his hospital bed, he was eating, and his sense of humor of delightful.  I was stunned.  

I heard of another time when I had anointed someone and, a day later, the person was actually out of bed and walking for a short time, something he had not done in weeks prior to then.

Both of those men eventually did, in fact, pass away.  However, the hope that was left with me and their families was visible indeed.  Jesus is REALLY good at making it happen for those who have faith.