Let us pray that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick grant the Lord’s strength to those who receive it and to their loved ones, and that it may become for everyone an ever more visible sign of compassion and hope.
TEXT OF THE POPE’s MESSAGE
This month, let us pray for the pastoral care of the sick.
The Anointing of the Sick is not a sacrament only for those who are at the point of death. No. It is important that this is clear.
When the priest draws near a person to perform the Anointing of the Sick, it is not necessarily to help them say goodbye to life. Thinking this way means giving up every hope.
It means taking for granted that after the priest the undertaker will arrive.
Let us remember that the Anointing of the Sick is one of the “sacraments of healing,” of “restoration,” that heals the spirit.
And when a person is very ill, it’s advisable to give them the Anointing of the Sick. And when someone is elderly, it’s good that they receive the Anointing of the Sick.
Let us pray that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick grant the Lord’s strength to those who receive it and to their loved ones, and that it may become for everyone an ever more visible sign of compassion and hope.
Pope Francis – JULY 2024