The Church cares for the sick

Read the Catechism in a Year

Catechism in a Year: Day 197

Part Two: How We Celebrate the Christian Mysteries
- Section Two: The Seven Sacraments of the Church
-- Chapter Two: The Sacraments of Healing -- Anointing of the Sick

Question 242: Why should the Church take special care of the sick? 

Jesus shows us: Heaven suffers with us when we suffer. God even wants to be rediscovered in “the least of these my brethren” (Mt 25:40). That is why Jesus designated care of the sick as a central task for his disciples. He commands them, “Heal the sick” (Mt 10:8), and he promises them divine authority: “In my name they will cast out demons; … they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mk 16:17–18).

One of the distinctive characteristics of Christianity has always been that the elderly, the sick, and the needy are central to it. Mother Teresa, who cared for those who were dying in the gutters of Calcutta, is only one in a long series of Christian women and men who have discovered Christ precisely in those who were marginalized and avoided by others. When Christians are really Christian, a healing influence goes out from them. Some even have the gift of healing others physically in the power of the Holy Spirit (the charism of healing).

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Question 243: For whom is the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick intended? 

The sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick can be received by any Catholic whose health is in a critical state.

One can receive the Anointing of the Sick several times in one’s life. Therefore it makes sense for young people to ask for this sacrament also, if, for example, they are about to undergo a serious operation. On such occasions many Catholics combine the Anointing of the Sick with a (general) confession; in case the operation fails, they want to go to meet God with a clear conscience.

Dig Deeper: Corresponding CCC section (1506-1515) and other references here.

Recommended Reading: What Catholics Really Believe by Karl Keating