Sacrament of the Sick no Longer 'last' nor 'extreme'

Holy Continuum
“We try to move away from the whole notion of ‘see the priest, then see the funeral director,’” explained Rev. Kenneth Greg-ory, chaplain at Albany Medical Center and sacramental minister at Our Lady of the Snow parish in Grafton and Berlin.

Father Gregory noted that notion of the sacrament of the sick as last rites — also referred to as “extreme unction” — lingers with those who have been away from the Church for many years. They may not have experienced the development of the sacrament as a parish celebration, in which parishioners in need of healing are anointed before they enter a hospital for treatment.

As chaplain at AMC for 15 years, Father Gregory noted that the sacrament of the sick has lost much of its “Lone Ranger” aspect, in which a solitary priest ministers to a desperately ill patient, one-on-one. Nowadays, the sick person is likely to be anointed in the company of family and loved ones as they pray together.

“It’s important not just for the patient, but for the family. It gives them a sense of peace,” he said.

Bob Reynolds of Albany discovered a sense of peace and spiritual support when he was anointed. Mr. Reynolds, a member of Mater Christi parish in Albany, suffers from an assortment of ills. “Anything to do with bad lungs, I got it,” he said.

Healing words
While being treated at St. Peter’s Hospital, he was anointed by Rev. John Tallman at least three times in three years. “I felt closer to God,” said Mr. Rey-nolds, who received comfort from the prayers.

“It consoled me quite a bit,” he explained. “It’s a blessing for the sick and not the last rite of the Church. It didn’t scare me. I felt the power of God going into surgery.”
As a regular minister of the sacrament, Father Gregory noted that for those near death, hearing is often the last sense remaining. So he carefully explains what he is doing as he anoints a patient, explaining, “I will pray for the Lord to heal you in a special way.”
He then lays on hands and offers prayers. He will often end with a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer by the gathered family.

The healing of the sacrament is not just physical, although the rite does implore God for that kind of healing. But healing is more than overcoming disease, said Mrs. Conklin.

Entire person
Healing can be not only just physical; it can be spiritual. People do get a certain kind of peace out of it,” she said.

The sacrament is a sign of the Church’s commitment to what has become a medical buzzword: holistic healing, a “caring for the whole person, mind, body and spirit. Holistic healing is the mission of the Church,” she said.

Administering the sacrament of the sick is a vital part of his priesthood, said Father Gregory. Each anointing is a spiritual awakening during a crisis moment and while it can take an emotional toll — on the day before he was interviewed, the priest said he had anointed two patients right before their deaths — “the sacramental life of the Church is what my life is all about.”

“It never becomes easy,” he said of administering the sacrament. “It never becomes rote.”

(10/29/09)[[In-content Ad]]