Anointing of the Sick
When To Ask For The Sacrament Of The Sick
If you are seriously ill, or if you know you are about to go into hospital for an operation and have the time to do so, you can ask for this Sacrament to be given to you at Mass, so that the priest and the parishioners can pray for you, the doctors and the nurses.
Otherwise, if this is not possible and if you are able to do so, make an appointment with the Priest to come and see him outside Mass time. If you are not able or well enough to do this, call the Parish Priest or the Parish Admin staff and ask for the Priest to come to your home to give you this Sacrament.
The Sacrament is also part of the Last Rites
The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is also part of the Last Rites and that is why the older generation knew it as Extreme Unction.
It is still part of the Last Rites. The Last Rites has a distinct order which begins with the sick person making their Confession and receiving Absolution; receiving the Apostolic Pardon for all temporal sins; receiving the Anointing of the Sick and then finally receiving Viaticum [the Eucharist].
Normally, a priest is called to the sickbed by a member of the family well before a person dies and while they are still conscious, as the Sacraments are for the living and not for the dead as they are Sacraments of Faith.
Arranging To Receive The Sacrament Of The Sick
Please contact the Parish Priest - bernard.barrett@diginet2.co.uk - to arrange the Sacrament of the Sick before going into hospital.
If you are in MK Hospital and wish to receive Holy Communion on Sundays or to receive the Sacrament of the Sick, please call the Chaplaincy on 01908 996061 and ask them to contact the Catholic Chaplain. Further information on the Chaplaincy can be found here
The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is for Healing
The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is a Sacrament of Healing. In other words, through this Sacrament, Our Lord comes to us, unites us with Himself, and unites our suffering to His and thereby He helps us to bear this cross but He also brings about spiritual and sometimes even physical healing.
It can be given in Mass or outside Mass; be it in a home, in a hospital, or at the scene of an accident. It is for this reason that in Hospitals we have Catholic chaplains. These days, you need to request a Nurse to call the chaplain.
“Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven”
(Jas. 5:14–15).