A man was at the horse races and, as he watched, he began to notice a priest would come out and bless one horse then leave. As he continued watching, he noticed the horse the priest blessed would always win. He started using that as a way of betting and, as the day went on, he was winning a lot of money. At the final race of the day, he noticed the priest pay particular attention to this one horse. The priest got out oil and blessed the horse’s head, his eyes, his nose, his ears, his chest and each hoof and he anointed his tail. The man quickly ran to the betting office and placed everything on the horse the priest had anointed. Much to the man’s surprise, that horse came in dead last. The man, in bewilderment, caught up to the priest and said, “Father, what happened? All day long I see you bless a horse and it wins without fail. Yet this horse you give a special blessing to and it comes in last.” The priest said, “Son, I see you are not Catholic because you don’t know the difference between a blessing and the Last Rites.”
Last week I told you I would start a series of seven homilies on the different Sacraments. Last Sunday we focused on Baptism. If you weren’t able to make it and you want find out what was said, you can go to the parish website and read what was talked about.
It is important for us to remember that we need grace to be saved. Our protestant brethren say faith alone saves you. Catholics believe that grace saves you, since without grace you wouldn’t have faith. Each sacrament gives us grace to become what we are created to be – a saint and disciple of Jesus, someone who lives and transforms the world around them and can be saved.
Why do we need grace? Why can’t we do it on our own? Why can’t we save ourselves? Here is a way to understand it. Imagine you are in the movie The Incredibles, or some other super hero movie, and imagine you had to face one of the evil characters and you didn’t have super powers. You would be tossed lifelessly in a pile with the others who didn’t have super powers, at the mercy of the evil person. Well this is exactly true. In our life, the bad guy, who is everyone’s villain, is trying to take over the world and doom everyone to slavery here and hell afterwards. He has a divine intellect and has powers that surpass any human power. To him a nuclear bomb of whatever megaton has the mere power of a heating pad. So, without grace, which is a super power (super meaning above our nature), we are like the non-super power people in the movies who are at the mercy of evil. However, if we use the super power, grace, we can defeat the villain, cast off slavery and go to heaven. The sacraments bring the super power to us. The power of evil is often subtle and so is the power of good. Many people have power and they use it for evil. When you are not doing good, you are doing evil. There is no grey, middle zone of neutral niceness. If you have the power to influence people and you teach them how to waste time and be self-indulgent, you are doing evil. Think of a game maker; if what they do isn’t making a people better then they are depriving them of being a source of good in the world, they have stolen their lamp. You are doing evil. Wasting time is destructive to the soul because it shows we have no purpose, no duty, are not called to be a shining light in the world. The sacraments give us the super power to see evil and fight it so we are not mediocre, so we are not a slave to sin. Sacraments are very important if we want to go to heaven and be the best version of ourselves. With grace, we can be superheroes, too.
This Sunday, I will focus on the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. It used to be called Extreme Unction and is sometimes is called Viaticum or the Last Rites. The Church, after Vatican II, changed it back to the Anointing of the Sick in order to return it to its original meaning that it was for the sick and that you won’t necessarily die if a priest gives it to you. I have had people refuse because they tell me they are not ready to die. This mistake is sad because people miss out on one of the great blessings of the Church, which can bring physical healing, but it definitely brings spiritual healing and prepares us for what our Lord is calling us to, life or death. I remember the family of Bernadette Watteyne was pretty impressed when we gave her the Anointing of the Sick. I had also thought she was not long for the world when I visited her, but after her anointing, she made a drastic come back that surprised us all. So, it is not a death sentence, but rather it is a blessing for healing.
The Anointing of the Sick acknowledges that suffering is a part of life. Suffering can lead to rebellion against God and self-absorption, but with grace you can do great and amazing things. Most saints suffered and converted many and healed many through their suffering. Most of us don’t look to suffer but when it comes, grace gives us the power to do great things. Jesus came and had compassion on the sick. He healed many though not all the sick. We know one for sure He did not heal was the blind man at the temple gate because Peter and John healed him. We suspect that He did not heal everyone that was there because there probably would have been an outrage recorded that all physicians were suddenly out of work. It is worthwhile to pray for healing. It is true that not everyone who is prayed over becomes miraculously healed, but if we don’t pray no one will become miraculously healed. We trust, however, that everyone we pray for and anoint will experience healing because God always keeps His promises.
When does one receive the Sacrament of Anointing? You can receive it when you are in danger of death from old age or sickness. You can receive the sacrament whenever you are in danger of death such as when you go under anesthetic because there is a chance you won’t wake up. Sometimes I wonder if I should get it before driving with certain people.
The Anointing of the Sick helps us overcome the difficulties that come with illness. It heals the soul and even the body at times. It prepares us for the final struggle of our judgement and gives us persevering grace.
Viaticum is done when it is pretty certain that a person is dying. The word Viaticum means, ‘with the way,’ meaning to let Christ accompany you on your final journey. It starts with the profession of your baptismal promises, an apostolic pardon, the reception of Holy Communion and some prayers to help you on the way. It is a wonderful gift in your final battle so that you can be victorious against the evil one. There is another amazing blessing that the Church offers if you cultivate a devotion to the Sacred Heart and attend nine first Friday Masses. For those who do, Jesus promises you won’t die without the sacraments. People have been known to come back from the dead to receive the sacraments.
So, if you know someone who is sick in a serious way, call the priest. If you are going for surgery, receive this sacrament. If you are older, such as seventy-five or more, or in poor health, you can receive it once a month in order to get your grace current and your final victory assured. God is always trying to bless us. Will you accept His blessing?