The Church: Her Books and Her Sacraments Part 16

It can do two things. It can (1) recover the body, and (2) restore the soul. Its primary {159} object seems to be to recover the body; but it also, according to the teaching of St. James, restores the soul.

First, he says, Anointing with the Prayer of Faith heals the body; and then, because of the inseparable union between body and soul, it cleanses the soul.

Thus, as the object of Penance is primarily to heal the soul, and indirectly to heal the body; so the object of Unction is primarily to heal the body, and indirectly to heal the soul.

The story of Unction may be summarized very shortly. It was inst.i.tuted in Apostolic days, when the Apostles "anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them" (St. Mark vi. 13). It was continued in the Early Church, and perpetuated during the Middle Ages, when its use (by a "_corrupt_[1] following of the Apostles") was practically limited to the preparation of the dying instead of (by a _correct_ "following of the Apostles") being used for the recovery of the living. In our 1549 Prayer Book an authorized Office was appointed for its use, but this, lest it should be misused, was omitted in 1552. And although, as Bishop Forbes says, "everything of that earlier Liturgy was praised by those who {160} removed it," it has not yet been restored. It is "one of the lost Pleiads" of our present Prayer Book. But, as Bishop Forbes adds, "there is nothing to hinder the revival of the Apostolic and Scriptural Custom of Anointing the Sick whenever any devout person desires it".[2]

_Extreme Unction._

An unhistoric use of the name partly explains the unhistoric use of the Sacrament. _Extreme_, or last (_extrema_) Unction has been taken to mean the anointing of the sick when _in extremis_. This, as we have seen, is a "corrupt," and not a correct, "following of the Apostles".

The phrase _Extreme_ Unction means the extreme, or last, of a series of ritual Unctions, or anointings, once used in the Church. The first Unction was in Holy Baptism, when the Baptized were anointed with Holy Oil: then came the anointing in Confirmation: then in Ordination; and, last of all, the anointing of the sick. Of this last anointing, it is written: "All Christian men should account, and repute the said manner of anointing among the other Sacraments, forasmuch as it is a visible sign of an invisible grace".[3]

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_Its Administration._

It must be administered under the Scriptural conditions laid down in St. James v. 14-16. The first condition refers to:--

(1) _The Minister_.--The Minister is _the Church_, in her corporate capacity. Scripture says to the sick: "Let him call for the Elders,"

or Presbyters, "of the Church". The word is in the plural; it is to be the united act of the whole Church. And, further, there must be nothing secret about it, as if it were either a charm, or something to be ashamed of, or apologized for. It may have to be done in a private house, but it is to be done by no private person.[4] "Let him call for the elders."

(2) _The Manner_.--The Elders are to administer Sacrament not in their own name (any more than the Priest gives Absolution in his own name), but "in the Name of the Lord".

(3) _The Method_.--The sick man is to be anointed (either on the afflicted part, or in other ways), _with prayer_: "Let them pray over him". Prayer is essential.

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(4) _The Matter_.--Oil--"anointing him with oil". As in Baptism, sanctified water is the ordained matter by which "Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin"; so in Unction, consecrated oil is the ordained matter used by the Holy Ghost to cleanse us from all sickness--bodily, and (adds St. James) spiritual. "And if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."

For this latter purpose, there are two Scriptural requirements: _Confession_ and _Intercession_. For it follows: "Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another that ye may be healed". Thus it is with Unction as with other Sacraments; with the "last" as with the first--special grace is attached to special means. The Bible says that, under certain conditions, oil and prayer together will effect more than either oil or prayer apart; that oil without prayer cannot, and prayer without oil will not, win the special grace of healing guaranteed to the use of oil and prayer together.

In our days, the use of anointing with prayer is (in alliance with, and in addition to, Medical Science) being more fully recognized. "The Prayer of Faith" is coming into its own, and is being placed once more in proper position in the {163} sphere of healing; _anointing_ is being more and more used "according to the Scriptures". Both are being used together in a simple belief in revealed truth. It often happens that "the elders of the Church" are sent for by the sick; a simple service is used; the sick man is anointed; the united "Prayer of Faith" (it _must_ be "of Faith") is offered; and, if it be good for his spiritual health, the sick man is "made whole of whatsoever disease he had".

G.o.d give us in this, as in every other Sacrament, a braver, quieter, more loving faith in His promises. The need still exists: the grace is still to be had.

_If our love were but more simple,_ _We should take Him at His word;_ _And our lives would be all sunshine_ _In the sweetness of our Lord._

[1] Article XXV.

[2] "Forbes on the Articles" (xxv.).

[3] "Inst.i.tution of a Christian Man."

[4] In the Greek Church, seven, or at least three, Priests must be present.