Treatise on the sacrament of Extreme Unction

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REV. P. J. HANLEY

FR. PUSTET & CO

PUBLISHERS AND BOOKSELLERS

RATISBON ROME

NEW YORK AND CINCINNATI

1907

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BY

REV. P. J. HANLEY

FR. PUSTET & CO

PUBLISHERS AND BOOKSELLERS.

RATISBON ROME

NEW YORK AND CINCINNATI

1907

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REMIGIUS LAFORT, S.T.L.,

Censor.

Imprimatur,

fcJOHN M. FARLEY,

Archbishop of New York.

MAY 15, 1907

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COPYRIGHT, 1907,
BY REV. PATRICK J. HANLEY

INTRODUCTION

THE following treatise is published with the hope that it
will afford profitable reading to young and old, and in view
of the fact that there is no treatise in English on the subject
worthy of the name. The clergy and the laity will find in it
information not found outside of large theological works.

I have consulted the most eminent and orthodox of ancient
and modern theologians, and I have tried to follow their
teachings and their spirit.

I have read the most approved and the most conservative
of medical works treating directly or indirectly with the subject
in hand, and I give the decisions which appear to me to be in
consonance with the spirit of Catholic theology.

The doctrine given in this treatise and the opinions expressed
herein I have taken from standard Catholic theological works.
I have, at times, used the very phraseology of the great masters
of the sacred science of theology; and I shall here merely
express the hope that I have not misinterpreted their meaning,
nor weakened their arguments, nor diminished in any way
the lucid manner in which they treat the subject.

I have done my best to catch the spirit of the Church, and
thus avoid using language calculated to offend pious ears. I
have ever kept before my mind the words attributed to St.
Augustine, and well worthy of that extraordinary genius, viz.,
" In these things that are necessary, let there be unity; in doubt,

iii

iv INTRODUCTION

liberty; and in all things, charity." But if any word or phrase
has crept into the treatise which can be construed as opposed
to the teaching of the Church, or her theologians, I hereby
condemn and repudiate such a word, or such a .phrase. A
Catholic ought not to be satisfied to listen, and obey the voice
of the Church; he ought to think and feel with the Church,
the spouse of Christ, in purity, a virgin; in love, a mother;
for she has the adoption of sons, and the glory, and the cove
nants, and the revealed law, and the service of God, and the
promises, and she is the pillar and the ground of truth. Cath
olics ought to put their all at her disposal, that she may carry
out her divine mission on earth, and ever join one another in
the divine hope that we all shall meet in Mount Zion and the
heavenly Jerusalem, in the company of many thousands of
angels, the church of the first born who are written in heaven,
with God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made
perfect, and Jesus the mediator of the New Testament, with
Mary, the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the honor of
her people.

P. J. H.

EXTREME UNCTION

Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the
Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name
of the Lord — James v. 14.

BAPTISM gives us a new life, a spiritual life, which is strength
ened by confirmation and nourished by the Eucharist. And
when this spiritual life is lost by mortal sin it can be regained
by the Sacrament of Penance. Those four sacraments give
man all the assistance necessary to live a pious and holy life.
But since he only is crowned who perseveres unto the end, it
is necessary that when death comes he receive such help that
he may not lose the crown which he had won during life.
The surest aid is the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, which
is the completion of the Sacrament of Penance, and which is,
according to St. Thomas, Contra Gent. IV. 7:3, the consum
mation of the whole spiritual life by which man is prepared to
participate in eternal glory. As confirmation is called by the
Fathers the perfection and completion of baptism, so is Extreme
Unction to be regarded the completion of penance, or the
whole Christian life; for the true Christian's life is, as the
Council of Trent declares (Sess. XIV., Doctr. Unct.), a per
petual penance.

It is the province of penance to wipe out sin, and that of
Extreme Unction to take away the relics of sin.

2 EXTREME UNCTION

ITS NAMES

Extreme Unction is known by various names; from the
matter of which it consists it is called the Holy Oil, agion
elaion by the Greeks, the Oil of Benediction, the Sacrament of
the Sacred Unction; from its matter and form it is called by
the Greeks euchelaion, or prayer with oil, and to agion elaion;
from the subject by whom it is received it is called Unction
of the Infirm and Extreme Unction — the latter since the
twelfth century — because, as the Catechism of Trent says, it
is the last unction administered to members of the Church —
the other unctions are used in baptism, confirmation, ordina
tion and other consecrations — and because it is administered
when man reaches the extreme term of life. Hence the
Catechism of Trent calls it, after our predecessors in the faith,
the Unction of the Infirm and the Sacrament of the Departing.
The Orientals called it Kendil, viz., a lamp; and from its
effect we call it the medicine of the soul and body, and the
liquor by which health is given us, and sins forgiven. It was
called also in the early ages the Blessed Unction, the Anointing
of the Sick, the Oil of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of the
Pilgrim, and the Unction of the Wanderer. The name by
which the Sacrament is called to-day was used by the holy
Virgin Maura when she asked Prudentius, bishop of Troyes,
to administer to her the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. She
lived in the ninth century.

ITS DEFINITION

Extreme Unction is a sacrament instituted by Christ and
promulgated by St. James for the salvation of the soul and
body of the sick whose life is in danger, and is conferred by

EXTREME UNCTION 3

the anointing of blessed oil and the prayer of the priest. In
this definition we see that the immediate author is Christ;
the effect, the health of the soul and body; the subject, the
sick whose life is in danger; the remote matter, blessed oil;
the proximate matter, the anointing; the form, the prayer;
and the person of the minister, the priest.

WHEN INSTITUTED

It is not known with certainty when this sacrament was
instituted. Many authorities say that Christ instituted it
before His death — probably when He sent His apostles to
Galilee to preach — and the apostles dispensed it while our
blessed Lord was still living. They base their belief on the
words of St. Mark vi. 13, "And the apostles anointed with
oil the sick, and healed them." Yen. Bede, Franciscus Lucas,
and Maldonatus teach this.

But the commonly received opinion is that Extreme Unction
was instituted after the Resurrection, or at least after the Last
Supper, because the minister of this sacrament is the priest.
And it is evident from the Council of Trent (Sess. XXII.,
Cap. i and Can. 2), the apostles were not ordained priests
till the Last Supper; and hence the apostles could not confer
Extreme Unction till they had been ordained. The anointing
spoken of by St. Mark produced only bodily cures. It was
not confined to the baptized, for it was conferred on "Many
that were sick" and hence most likely on those who were not
baptized. Therefore it was not the Sacrament of Extreme
Unction, for it can be conferred only on the baptized. But
the anointing referred to by St. Mark obscurely signified and
prefigured the sacrament. Hence the Council of Trent (Sess.

4 EXTREME UNCTION

XIV., Cap. i) says that this " Sacrament was insinuated by
St. Mark, but promulgated and commended to the faithful by
James the Apostle."

ERRORS

The Albigenses denied the existence of this sacrament.
The Waldenses, Wicleffites, and Hussites showed more or less
contempt for it, but it is not certain that they entirely rejected
it. Luther said it was a rite like a sacramental; he, however,
absolutely denied to it the dignity of a sacrament. Calvin
called it a fictitious sacrament, and a histrionic hypocrisy
(Inst., L. LV. C. 19, Sec. 18), and entirely rejected it. Me-
lancthon called it a superstitious ceremony. Protestants to-day,
if we except the Ritualists, unanimously reject it, and they
say that the words of St. James refer to the corporal healing
of the sick.

IT IS A SACRAMENT

Extreme Unction is, truly and properly speaking, a sacra
ment of the New Law. This is an article of faith, as is evident
from the words of the Council of Trent, XIV., Can. i: "If
anyone says that Extreme Unction is not truly and properly a
sacrament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, and promul
gated by St. James, but that it is merely a rite accepted by
the Fathers or a human figment, let him be anathema."

It is equally clear from Scripture, James v. 14, 15: "Is any
man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the
Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil
in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save
the sick man; and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he is
in sins, they shall be forgiven him."

EXTREME UNCTION 5

Hence we argue that sacred rite is, truly and properly
speaking, a sacrament of the New Law which was instituted
by Christ by the mode of a sensible sign to produce grace.
Now, such a rite is Extreme Unction. It is a sensible sign,
viz., the anointing with oil coupled with the prayer of the
priest. There is promise of grace, because "if he is in sins
they shall be forgiven him"; and this takes place only by the
infusion of sanctifying grace. Christ instituted it, for we may
infer from the words "in the name of the Lord," that priests,
as the ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries
of God, confer the sacrament, and it is evident that God
alone can give grace by some sensible sign. The Greek and
Latin, Oriental and Schismatic, churches admit it as a sacra
ment.

Origen, St. Ephraem, St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, St.
Innocent, St. Caesarius, Victor of Antioch, and St. Cyril
of Alexandra teach that this is a sacrament. The Council of
Trent declares (Sess. XIV.), "As regards the institution
of Extreme Unction the Synod declares and teaches that our
most merciful Redeemer, who willed that His servants should,
at all times, be provided with salutary remedies against all
the weapons of all the enemies; as in the other sacraments He
prepared the greatest aids whereby, during life, Christians
might preserve themselves whole from every most grievous
evil, so did He guard the close of life by the sacrament of
Extreme Unction as with a most firm defense."

Hence the Catechism of Trent declares that the apostle
ascribes to Extreme Unction at once the nature and efficacy of
the sacrament. That such has been at all times the doctrine
of the Catholic Church many councils testify, and the Council
of Trent denounces anathema against those who presume to

6 EXTREME UNCTION

teach or think otherwise. Innocent III. also recommends the
sacrament with great earnestness to the attention of the faithful.
Hence Extreme Unction is a true sacrament, and although
administered with many unctions, performed each with a
peculiar prayer, and under a peculiar form, it constitutes but
one sacrament — one, not by the inseparable continuity of its
parts, but like everything composed of parts, by the perfection
of the whole. As an edifice which consists of a great variety
of parts derives its perfection from one form, so is this sacra
ment, although composed of many and different things, but
one sign, and its efficacy is that of one thing of which it is the
sign.

LEIBNITZ ON THE SACRAMENT

Leibnitz in his System of Theology pays a tribute of his
admiration to the holy sacrament of Extreme Unction. The
Sacrament of Extreme Unction, writes the great philosopher,
has unquestionably in its favor the support of the Sacred
Scriptures. For the soul rightly prepared for its reception, it
possesses the lasting virtue and unfailing power of sanctification
attributed to its administration by the Apostle St. James.
According to his teaching, it relieves the soul from sin, and
confirms it in faith and Christian justice. These requisites
are never more urgent than when life is in danger, and when
man stands in view of the terrors of death.

GOD'S GOODNESS

And it is natural to expect that Christ instituted this sacra
ment. He instituted sacraments which help man in all the
difficulties of his spiritual life. Now there is no greater

EXTREME UNCTION 7

difficulty than that which one encounters in the supreme
conflict with death. For then his body is weakened, his soul
is afflicted with all kinds of temptations, and very often with
suggestions of the devil. Therefore it is reasonable to say
that Christ would fortify him with a strong guard by which
he could resist the demon in his last moments, and be a solace
and a comfort to him when his body is racked with pain and
his mind disturbed by suggestions of the evil one, and when
the fear of judgment and the uncertainty of his future state
stare him in the face. Plato (Republic, 54, i) describes with
a master's hand the agonies of the last hours. As life comes
to a close, he writes, we begin to be troubled about things
which never disturbed our mind before. All the negligences
of the past, the imprudent acts which have left their traces
upon the lives of those who remain behind us, all come up
with a strange vividness. The truths about retribution and
the life after death, which we treat as fables in our conversa
tions, inspire us now with the fear that, after all, they may
be realities which we have to face. Amid the reflections upon
the past, we become frightened, as children who are suddenly
roused in the night.

GOETHE ON EXTREME UNCTION

Finally, writes Goethe in his autobiography, to sanctify the
entire man his feet are anointed and blessed. Even if the
sick man should be restored to health, his feet are to be sen
sible, as it were, of a repugnance to touch the hard soil of
earthly pursuits. They are to be quickened with a wondrous
swiftness which repels the ground which hitherto has attracted
them. Thus, by a splendid circle of equally dignified and

g EXTREME UNCTION

sacred actions, the beauty of which we have barely indicated,
the cradle and the grave, however far apart, are bound together.

ITS MATTER AND FORM

Extreme Unction, like all the other sacraments, consists of
matter and form. The remote matter is the oil of olives.
This is an article of faith; for the Council of Florence, in the
Decree for the Armenians, declares that "the fifth sacrament
is Extreme Unction, the matter of which is the oil of olives."

St. James says that the sick are to be anointed with oil.
This must mean oil of olives, which alone is, properly speaking,
oil.

From the practice of the Church, the testimony of the
Fathers, and Councils, from the Roman rituals and the Greek
euchologies, it is abundantly clear that no other oil than that
of olive was used in the administration of the sacraments.

Hence, that there be no danger of the sacrament being
invalid, the remote matter ought to be oil of olives.

The Roman Catechism teaches that the matter is oil blessed
by the Bishop; namely, liquor obtained not from unclean
material, but from the berries of olives. Most suitable does
this matter signify what is effected in the soul by the power
of the sacrament, for as oil diminishes the pain of the body,
so does the virtue of the sacrament mitigate the sorrows of
the soul. Oil restores health, gives joy, and supplies food for
light. It is very well adapted to refresh the fatigued body.
All these this sacrament does in the soul of the sick person
by divine power. (Conf. St. Thomas Suppl. q. 29, a 4.)

As oil lessens the pains of the body, restores health, gives
joy and supplies food for light, so Extreme Unction lessens

EXTREME UNCTION g

the sadness and sorrows of the soul, restores spiritual health,
gives spiritual joy, and nourishes our hope. Just as oil is
soothing and penetrating, so does Extreme Unction assuage
the sorrows of the soul and penetrate to the very depths of our
heart to cure its anguish and its sickness.

OIL BLESSED

The oil must be blessed by a Bishop, otherwise a priest
could not validly confer a sacrament with it. The Councils
of Florence and Trent declare that the oil must be blessed
by a Bishop. The Holy Office in 1842 declared that oil
blessed by a priest is not valid matter for the sacrament of
Extreme Unction. The Pope, however, can delegate a priest
to bless the oil, as is evident from the fact that priests in the
Greek Church, with permission of the Pope, confer Extreme
Unction with oil blessed by themselves, and Clement VIII.
and Benedict XIV. conceded this faculty to the Greek-Italian
priests. The blessing of the oil is a special one, so that we
may not use the oil blessed for other purposes. Hence the
oil must be blessed by a Bishop, or by a priest delegated by
the Pope, and the special benediction of the oil for the infirm
must be used. But if there is no oil blessed for Extreme
Unction the other oils may be used conditionally, and if the
sick person survives, the regular oil ought to be procured and
the person anointed with it conditionally. It must be renewed
annually under pain of grievous sin. Unblessed oil may be
added to the blessed, but the quantity must be less than that
to which it is added, although the sum total of all the unblessed
oil thus added may exceed the quantity of the oil first blessed.
It ought to be kept in a silver or tin vase in the church or

io EXTREME UNCTION

sacristy. Some Rubricists recommend that it be placed on
the wall of the Gospel side of the large altar, or of the altar
where the Blessed Sacrament is kept. A small box could be
made for it, with a cross on top of it, lined inside with purple
silk, with the Latin inscription, "S. Oleum Infirmorum"
holy oil for the sick — on the outside. The box ought to be
locked. It has been suggested that provision should be made
for the oils in churches to be erected. If the priest is a con
siderable distance from the church, he may keep them in a
clean place becomingly fitted up for the Holy Oils. A chaplain
or a priest who is frequently called upon to attend "accidents"
may keep the oils in a drawer or suitable receptacle in his
room. The Rubric recommends that a small silver vessel
legibly marked should be used to hold the oil, which may be
absorbed in cotton. A small case made of leather and lined
with purple silk would be very suitable for the silver vessel.

OTHER OILS

The Oil of the Infirm is used to anoint the sick and to
anoint bells on the outside; the Oil of Catechumens to anoint
Catechumens before they receive baptism, the hands' of priests
when they are being ordained, or other consecrations, such as
kings; the Oil of Chrism is used in confirmation, in the cere
monies of baptism, after the sacrament is conferred and various
consecrations, as those of the chalice, interior of a bell, etc.

PROXIMATE MATTER

The proximate matter is the anointing of the sick person.
St. James distinctly says that he is anointed with oil. The
Council of Trent declares that " the matter is oil, for anointing

EXTREME UNCTION n

most suitably represents the grace of the Holy Ghost, by which
the soul of the sick person is invisibly anointed." When it
speaks of anointing it clearly shows that the anointing is a
sensible sign of invisible grace, and consequently matter of
the sacrament; for in all the sacraments the sign does what it
signifies.

UNCTIONS USED

By ecclesiastical precept seven unctions are required, which
the Council of Florence enumerates in the Decree for the
Armenians: uThe sick person must be anointed on the eyes
on account of sight, on the ears on account of hearing, on the
nose on account of smell, on the mouth on account of taste
and speaking, on the hands on account of touch (priests'
hands are anointed on the exterior, for his hands were anointed
on the inside at ordination), on the feet on account of walking,
and on the loins on account of the pleasure there existing."
The Catechism of Trent repeats these words and adds "that
although the sense of touch is diffused throughout the body,
the hands are its principal seat. The sacrament is applied to
those members which are pre-eminently the organs of sense
and to the feet, by which we move from place to place." The
seventh unction is always omitted in women and in men when
they cannot be moved without danger. The anointing of the
feet is not necessary for the validity of the sacrament. The
sick should be anointed on each organ of the five senses.
Hence that the proximate matter be certainly valid each of
the five senses ought to be anointed, so that all the unctions,
whether made by one or different priests, are morally united.
That all possibility of doubt is absent, each of the five senses

i2 EXTREME UNCTION

ought to be anointed with a separate unction, and the essential
form for each sense ought to be pronounced while the unction
is being made.

In the Greek Church the unction is applied to the forehead,
chin, and both cheeks, thus forming a cross, and then to the
breast, two hands and two feet. In case of necessity one
organ is sufficient probably, and hence the priest anoints the
head, and while pronouncing the form he should pass his
thumb over the eyes, ear, nose and lips. The head would
represent the sense of touch, in the place of the hand. If the
person has lost a member the part nearest to it is anointed.
Redundant members are anointed nearest the natural position.
It was once a common practice to anoint the sick person on
the breast or on the seat of the malady.

The feet of men and women must be anointed, and the
loins of men if such is the custom of the country. To omit
either for a reasonable cause, even though contrary to the
custom of the place, would hardly exceed a venial sin. It is
never a mortal sin to omit anointing the loins, and it is not a
venial if such is the custom of the place. Neither is it mortal
to omit the anointing of the feet, but it would be a venial sin
to omit the anointing without some reason. However, the
Sacred Congregation of Rites has expressed the wish that the
custom of anointing both be introduced where the custom
does not exist.

We learn from old Rituals that the throat, neck, breast,
loins, the feet, the calves, knees and the place between the
shoulders used to be anointed.

A priest must not use such a condition as "if you are dis
posed," or "if you are in the state of grace," if the sick person
is capable of validly receiving the sacrament. He may use

EXTREME UNCTION 13

such a condition as "if you are capable," but it is unnecessary.
If he used the two first conditions the sacrament would be
often invalid. Example: John voluntarily gets drunk and
thereby commits a grievous sin. I assume he has not been
capable of making an act of even imperfect contrition. If the
priest anoints him in that drunken state with the first two
conditions, the sacrament is invalid. If he anoints him abso
lutely or with the condition "if you are capable," the sacra
ment is validly conferred, and probably remits sin as soon as
the subject is capable of making an act of imperfect contrition.
Hence such a person could be saved by imperfect contrition
with the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. If the short form is
used the unction ought to be done conditionally. The condi
tion, if this matter is sufficient, may be expressed, but this is
not necessary. The condition may be made mentally. In
case the sick person is not dead, he ought to be conditionally
anointed in the usual way. The condition mentally formed
or expressed would be: If he has not already been validly
anointed. If the priest should have reason to believe that the
sick person is probably dead, and he has already anointed
two or three of the organs of sense, he ought to apply one
unction with a general form, and afterwards resume where he
left off, anointing the remaining organs conditionally; or better
still, use the short form given below under "imminent death."

In a great epidemic or on the battlefield only one unction may
be used, provided there is not time to apply the five unctions.

If he by mistake had the wrong oil with him, and had
anointed two or three senses with it, he could anoint the
remaining senses conditionally, or he could procure the regular
oil, provided the sick person had received sacramental abso
lution. If the sick person had not been able to make a con-

i4 EXTREME UNCTION

fession, and Extreme Unction was the only sacrament he
could receive, the priest ought to anoint conditionally all the
five senses with the oil he had and then get the proper oil as
soon as possible. The priest would, as a matter of course,
give such a person absolution conditionally, and the Viaticum
if the sick person could swallow.

The old oil may be burned in the lamp which is placed
before the Blessed Sacrament.

If one priest applied the oil and another pronounced the
words the sacrament would be very probably invalid.

It is a grave sin to use the old oil if the new oil could be
obtained.

It is probable that one unction is sufficient for the validity
of the sacrament, and hence at the first unction grace is con
ferred, and at the others grace is increased proportionate to
the disposition.

If the organ is double and the priest anoints only one organ,
it is certainly valid. To reverse the ordinary way of anointing
would not render the sacrament invalid.

If the word "taste" or "speech" is omitted in anointing the
mouth the sacrament is probably valid. Hence it ought to
be anointed conditionally as soon as the priest adverts to the
mistake.

The unction is valid if made at the end of the formula; in
fact it is valid if made when pronouncing "Amen," for there
is a moral union of the matter with the form.

THE FORM

The form is: "By this holy unction and by His most tender
mercy may the Lord forgive thee whatever faults or sins you

EXTREME UNCTION 15

have committed by the sense of hearing, seeing, smelling,
tasting, or touching." The form used by the Greeks is:
"Holy Father, physician of souls and bodies, heal this thy
servant from that infirmity of soul and body which afflicts
him." The deprecatory form should be used, although the
indicative was used in the early ages. The indicative form is
valid, provided the priest has the intention of supplicating
God and such intention is evident from circumstances. The
essential words are: "By this unction and by His most tender
mercy may the Lord forgive thee whatever sins you have
committed," expressing the organ of sense with the word
corresponding. If a general form which expresses each of
the five senses is used the sacrament is probably validly con
ferred. If a priest should use the following form there does
not seem to be any reason for holding that the sacrament is
invalid: "By this holy unction and by His most tender mercy
may the Lord forgive thee whatever sins you have committed
by the senses: hearing (applying the unction), seeing (applying
the unction), smelling (applying the unction), tasting and
speaking (applying the unction), touching (applying the
unction)." In fact, if the forehead alone is anointed and
the priest says, "By this unction may the Lord forgive thee
whatever sins you have committed by senses," there is good
reason to believe that the sacrament is validly conferred.
However, practically each of the five senses must be anointed
and the form for each pronounced; and if this is not done
each sense must be anointed conditionally with its own par
ticular form. When the short form is used there must be some
grave reason for using it to compensate for the probable un
certainty of the validity of the sacrament.

Where the organ is double each sense must be anointed

16 EXTREME UNCTION

under pain of grievous sin unless there is a reasonable excusing
cause. To invert the order of the Ritual in applying the
unctions would not exceed a venial sin.

The form of the other sacraments, says the Catechism of
Trent, absolutely signifies what it expresses, but the form of
Extreme Unction alone is expressed by prayer. The propriety
of this difference will at once appear, if we reflect that this
sacrament is administered not only for the health of the soul,
but also for that of the body; and as it does not please Divine
Providence at all times to restore health to the sick, the form
consists of a prayer by which we beg of the divine bounty that
which is not a constant and uniform effect of the sacrament.

SACRAMENT OF THE LIVING AND DEAD

It is a sacrament of the living; that is, the person who re
ceives it is supposed to be living the life of grace. Extreme
Unction was per se and primarily instituted as a sacrament
of the living, and hence the recipient of it must have received
remission of all his mortal sins. This we infer from the
practice and constant teaching of the Church. The same
teaching is clear from the words of St. James and the Council
of Trent, for both speak conditionally of the sin of the sick
person. St. James says, "If he is in sin," and the Council of
Trent declares, "If there are any sins to be expiated." Hence
it is evident that both these great authorities assume that the
sick person ought, before Extreme Unction, be reconciled to
God. The same teaching follows from the doctrine of the
necessity of the Sacrament of Penance. Catholic faith (Council
of Trent, Sess. XIV., Cap. 2) teaches that the Sacrament of
Penance, in fact or in desire, is a necessary means of salvation

EXTREME UNCTION 17

for all who have committed mortal sin after baptism. Now,
if any other sacrament was per se and primarily instituted to
wash away grave sins, such a declaration of the Church would
be false, which no Catholic could admit. Therefore, writes
.Lehmkuhl, following Suarez, before Extreme Unction, either
confession or perfect contrition is necessary for everyone who
is guilty of grievous sin. And the continuous practice of the
Church is to confer Extreme Unction after confession and
sacramental absolution; in fact, to-day it is given, as a rule,
after the Viaticum. It is also a sacrament of the dead; that
is, the recipient is spiritually dead. It does not remit sin
merely per accidens, but per se, though such an effect is not
the principal one, and it was instituted not merely per accidens,
but per se; that is, directly intended in its institution, although
secondarily to take away all grievous and venial sins, provided
the sick person has imperfect contrition for the sins committed.
This is evident from the teaching of St. James and the Council
of Trent, for both declare that it remits sin. Now, we have
already seen that the other sacraments of the living, viz.,
Confirmation, Eucharist, Orders, and Matrimony, remit sin
if the recipient is in mortal sin but believes he is in the state
of grace, and has imperfect contrition. Example: Let us
suppose a man has committed a grievous sin and confessed it
with imperfect contrition, but for some reason or another he
did not receive sacramental absolution, although he thought
he had received it. If such a person received the Eucharist,
or Orders, or Matrimony, or Confirmation, his mortal sin
would be probably forgiven by the sacrament. But if such a
person received Extreme Unction it is morally certain that his
sin would be remitted. Again, if a person in mortal sin
believes he has perfect contrition, but in reality he has not —

i8 EXTREME UNCTION

I assume he has attrition — and in this state of mind he
receives Confirmation, Orders, or Matrimony, his sin would
probably be remitted. But if such a person received Extreme
Unction his sin would certainly be forgiven. I wish to make
this very clear to all of you. Let us suppose that there lies
here an unconscious person, seriously sick and in mortal sin,
but he has imperfect contrition. If I should absolve him, I
fear the absolution would be of little benefit to him, as there
is no Confession. If I gave him the Eucharist it is merely a
probable opinion — a pious conjecture according to the illus
trious Suarez — that his mortal sin would be remitted. But
if I administered Extreme Unction to him it is certain that
his mortal sin would be forgiven. If this man was a non-
Catholic — baptized — who lived according to his lights,
Extreme Unction would be perhaps a sure means of wiping
away all his sins. If such a man were in good faith, and
desired to live a Christian life — the proper intention would
be included in this desire — I think Extreme Unction would
be for him a sure means of justification. In connection with
this matter we must be careful not to be too severe on those
who have not had the privilege of being members of the Cath
olic Church. The late illustrious Pontiff, Leo XIII., in a
letter addressed to the American Bishops, in the beginning of
1895, wrote those words full of charity and kindness. " Our
thoughts," wrote the successor to St. Peter, "now turn to those
who dissent from us in matters of Christian faith; and who
shall deny that, with not a few of them, dissent is a matter
rather of inheritance than of will?"

The two greatest theologians of the last century or any
other century, Doctors Murray and Crolly, held that very
many non-Catholics are in good faith. "For my own part,"

EXTREME UNCTION 19

writes Doctor Murray, "I am, after long and thoughtful con
sideration of the question, decidedly of the opinion that, at
least in those countries where Protestantism is the prevailing
religion, or where it has been for several generations established
among a distinct religious party, the great mass of Protestants
are free from the sin of heresy, and even in a state of invincible
ignorance." Doctor Crolly is no less explicit. "When Cath
olic writers," writes this famous Maynooth professor, "speak
of an individual who has been baptized and educated outside
of the communion of the Roman Catholic Church as a heretic,
they do not mean to say that he is a formal heretic — this is
often a secret known to God — but simply that he belongs to
a society which is separated from the Church, and professes a
doctrine which she has pronounced to be false and heretical.
Such a person, according to De Lugo, might possess the virtue
of divine faith and be a Catholic though he rejected the au
thority of the Roman Catholic Church, through culpable or
inculpable ignorance." (I. E. Record, Vol. VI., 1885, page
337.) And a most worthy successor of Doctor Murray,
Professor O'Donnell, now the illustrious Bishop of Raphoe,
explains with great precision and clearness what a priest may
do for non-Catholics who have lived according to their lights.
In all this matter the priest must act with the greatest caution
and prudence. If the priest does not urge the obligation of
external communion with the Catholic Church he must not
by word or act convey to any one the denial of such an obli
gation. He must not do anything that would create hostility
of a serious character against the Catholic priesthood. He
must remember he is the minister and custodian of the sacra
ments, and hence he must have some reasonable ground for
believing that he can do some good to the sick person before

20 EXTREME UNCTION

he opens the channels of grace. If the person is conscious the
priest ought to teach him the existence of God, the mystery of
the Trinity, and the Incarnation. He ought to have him
elicit acts of faith, hope, and charity. He ought to make
every effort to have the sick person make an act of perfect
contrition. All this done, the priest will administer baptism
conditionally if there is a prudent doubt of its former validity,
and the patient gives his consent. Then the priest gives
conditional absolution. If the patient refuses to be baptized,
the priest will dispose the patient for conditional absolution.
If the priest considers it unwise to put forward the Sacrament
of Penance explicitly, he will ask the patient to acknowledge
himself a sinner before God and the priest, and express a
desire to benefit as far as possible by the priest's aid and
resources in removing the load of guilt and securing eternal
life. If this is done the priest is certainly justified in giving
the patient conditional absolution.

If the patient is unconscious, he ought to be baptized con
ditionally, if there is a grave doubt of his baptism. He ought
to be absolved conditionally also, as the sick person may be
yearning for spiritual help, although unnoticed. He may be
anointed if the priest should judge — this requires great
prudence — that under the circumstances it may be done.
(I. E. Record, Vol. VI., 1885, page 736.) I have no hesitation
in saying that a priest may anoint such a patient in any of our
large cities without exciting the least unfavorable comment,
but he would have to be more cautious in small towns and
villages.

Now, what dispositions are absolutely necessary in such
cases as we have been discussing? Doctor D. Coghlan treats
this question in the I. E. Record (Vol. IX., 1888, page 289)

EXTREME UNCTION 21

with rare ability and with his usual lucidity, and with that
thoroughness which we expect to find in anything written by
a Maynooth professor. As I have treated this question in
the " Sacraments," I shall merely give you a summary of the
learned professor's conclusions. Some intention is necessary
in the adult subject of the sacrament. A neutral intention
will not suffice. Positive consent of the will, although given
under the influence of strong moral or partial physical com
pulsion, will be sufficient. An implicit habitual intention will
suffice. If a human being had at any time in life a desire to
do everything necessary to save his soul, he would have what
we call an implicit habitual intention of receiving baptism or
penance. The subject may not intend to receive a sacrament
of the Catholic Church or of any church. It is sufficient if he
intends to receive the sacraments as they are received by
Catholics, although he believes the reception of them as useless.
A person may validly receive a sacrament, although he does
not profess the Catholic faith. Faith, even in the sacrament,
to be received, is not necessary for its validity. To receive
the Sacrament of Penance validly, faith in the essential dogmas
is necessary. Catholic faith is not necessary, nor is faith in
the efficacy of the sacrament. A valid confession, of course,
presupposes supernatural sorrow. From what we have said,
we may conclude that if a baptized person who believes in
the essential dogmas, should, in imitation of Catholics, se
riously and sorrowfully confess his sins to a priest, if perchance
he may obtain pardon, his confession would be valid, though
personally he disbelieved in the power of forgiving sins, and
rejected the Sacrament of Penance. Faith in the other dogmas
of the Church is not absolutely necessary. A person who
hopes for justification through the divinely constituted means,

22 EXTREME UNCTION

who in good faith disbelieves in the efficacy of the sacraments,
and who nevertheless seriously and religiously receives the
sacramental rites to partake of their graces, if perchance they
have the stamp of divine institution, such a person would
validly and fruitfully receive the sacraments. If the person
is guilty of actual mortal sin, attrition, at least, is necessary
for the fruitful reception of baptism. Attrition is always
necessary, both for the valid and lawful reception of Penance.
Hence, I conclude that neither faith, nor hope in a sacrament,
is necessary for its valid reception, and assuming faith in the
essential dogmas, and hope of attaining eternal life through
the means appointed by God, the sacraments will confer grace
on unbelieving recipients, who are not guilty of grievous sin
in their unbelief. With regard to the Eucharist, it will remain
a sacrament as long as the Real Presence continues. Even if
it were given to an irrational animal it would be a sacrament,
but such a communion would not be a sacramental reception
of the Eucharist, nor would it confer grace.

EFFECTS

The effects of Extreme Unction the Council of Trent enu
merates. The effect is conveyed in the words, " And the prayer
of faith shall save the sick man; the Lord will raise him up
and his sins shall be forgiven, which means that the grace
and unction of the Holy Ghost wipes away sins or faults, if
there be any remaining to be expiated, and also the relics of
sin; and alleviates and strengthens the soul of the sick man
by exciting in him a great confidence in the mercy of God,
owing to which he bears more patiently the inconveniences
and labors of his sickness, and resists more easily the tempta-

EXTREME UNCTION 23

tions of the devil, who lies in wait for his heel, and sometimes
obtains health of body when it will be expedient for the salva
tion of the soul." Therefore, Extreme Unction not only pro
duces sanctifying grace as do the other sacraments, but it has,
like each of them, effects peculiar to itself. It increases
sanctifying grace in the soul and gives a right to those actual
graces which are so necessary to a dying Christian. It strength
ens the hope of the sick person. Hence it is called the Sacra
ment of Hope, as the Eucharist is called the Sacrament of
Love. It gives him the virtue of patience to bear the ills of
life and fortitude to resist the temptations of the world, the
flesh, and the devil.

The primary effect, according to Scotus, is the remission of
all venial sins; according to Bellarmine, the remission not only
of venial but mortal sins, which may not have been forgiven;
but according to St. Thomas the primary effect, and per se
intended in its institution, is the strengthening and alleviation
of the sick person, and the grace strengthening the soul against
the temptations especially urgent in the moment of death, and
the removal of the spiritual torpor and weakness which are the
result of actual sin.

It wipes away the relics of sin. By this we mean the dark
ness of mind, the hardness of heart, and love of sensible
things, the want of confidence, and anxieties, the torpor and
sadness, and other things of this kind which arise from sin,
by reason of which spiritual torpidity is begotten in the soul
of the sinner. The scholastics used the expression "relics of
sin" in this sense. The bad habits left by sin are probably
taken away although more probably the habits are only weak
ened. The relics of sin are taken away by grace conferred by
the sacrament; the mind of the sick person is illuminated by

24 EXTREME UNCTION

heavenly light, his will is more prompt to do the will of God
and exercise with fervor and devotion acts of virtue, especially
faith, hope, and charity. It remits sin and part of the punish
ment due to sin. St. James says that " if the person is in sins,
they are forgiven him"; and the Council of Trent says the
anointing wipes away sin, if there are any to be expiated.
Venial sin is remitted, and the temporal punishment due to
the sin remitted «is forgiven. All the punishment may not be
remitted, but all may if the sick person has the proper dispo
sition. It remits, says St. Alphonsus, venial sins, and mortal
sins, too, if the sick person is invincibly ignorant of them and
he has attrition. Grace and sin, says St. Thomas, cannot be
in the soul together; hence, when grace is poured into the soul
by Extreme Unction it destroys sin. Extreme Unction, says
St. Alphonsus, liberates us from the temporal punishments
which we have not yet satisfied for sins committed. It remits
the temporal punishment in whole or in part, and this depends
on the dispositions of the recipient. Not only the sin but the
punishment is remitted, for, as St. Thomas and Suarez show,
the sacrament was instituted to help man die well, and prepare
him for eternal glory, and hence to remove all obstacles thereto.
Wherefore, although Extreme Unction is a sacrament of the
living and was instituted per se, that is, directly intended in
its institution and primarily to produce second grace, yet if
one is in mortal sin and in good faith believes he is in the state
of grace, and he receives Extreme Unction with sorrow for all
his sins, all his sins will be forgiven. This takes place per se
as being directly intended in its institution; although, as St.
Thomas says, as a consequence. Although the sacrament
ought to be received in a state of grace, yet it remits sin, as is
clear from the words of the Apostle and Trent. Baptism and

EXTREME UNCTION 25

penance differ from Extreme Unction in this, that they were
principally instituted to destroy actual and original sin. Ex
treme Unction, as St. Thomas teaches, was principally insti
tuted to take away the relics of sin, viz., the debility and torpor
which actual sin leaves after it. But because the relics of sin
cannot be taken away while there is sin in the soul unless the
sin is first taken away, therefore as a consequence this sacrament
destroys sin.

It sometimes restores health to the body if expedient for
the soul. The prayer following the anointing is for the health
of the body and soul. St. James says that the prayer of faith
shall save the sick person. And the Lord will raise him up.
These words, as the Councils of Florence and Trent say,
regard the soul and body. It does not always infallibly
produce this effect, for the principal reason of its institution
was the spiritual good of the soul. Now, if restoration to
health would be for the good of the soul, it will infallibly
restore us to good health provided we place no obstacle in
the way. Thus St. Thomas. But if the sick person gets well,
it is no guarantee that he will finally persevere. St. Liguori
tells us that it restores the sick to health by virtue of the
supernatural power of the sacrament; not miraculously, but
by the operation of natural causes assisted by the sacrament.
It restores health, as experience of nurses proves. But it does
not work a miracle, but rather it directs and assists natural
remedies by a special divine providence to restore physical
health to the recipient of the sacrament. Hence, theologians,
led by Bellarmine, teach that the sick are often deprived of
this wonderful effect of the sacrament by putting off its recep
tion to such a time when it would require a miracle to bring
back health. Hence, how foolish it is to put off the reception

26 EXTREME UNCTION

of the sacrament to the last moment when the powers of
nature are almost gone. Many sick persons would be restored
to health and family if they were anointed before all hope of
recovery had vanished. The sacrament produces its effect
when it is conferred. If one unction is sufficient, then the
sacrament is received with one; if five are essential, then at
last unction.

SPECIAL GRACE OF THE SACRAMENT

The special grace of this sacrament is the particular right
of divine assistance wherewith the sick person is spiritually
raised up and strengthened to sustain the insults and tempta
tions of Satan and to conquer them, and to bear with patience,
resignation, and merit, the pains and anguish of sickness, and,
in fact, to take them away, and to restore health if it would
be the best thing for the salvation of the sick person. What
special grace Extreme Unction gives we may learn from the
positive and expressed doctrine of the foundations of faith,
and from the end for which the sacrament was instituted, and
from the words used by the priest when giving the sacrament.
Theologians call this special grace a spiritual alleviation, or
the removal of the relics of sin. Both mean practically the
same thing. The words of the form, "May the Lord forgive
thee whatever sins you have committed," signify not merely
the remission of sin, but they signify that our most merciful
God takes away every obstacle and danger which sin may
have placed in the way of the sick person's salvation. The
same meaning may be attached to the expression, "the re
moval of the relics of sin." The whole of the temporal pun
ishment due to sin is not totally remitted, but very much is

EXTREME UNCTION 27

forgiven. The temporal punishment not yet paid for is re
garded as the relics of sin. In addition to this I may mention
a certain just refusal of the more abundant divine assistance,
a certain slavery to Satan and a subjection to his temptations
and assaults, and a certain depression of spirits and the dimin
ishing of our hope and confidence in obtaining our salvation.
Now, the Sacrament of Extreme Unction procures for us the
more copious aids of divine grace, breaks the power of the
devil, whether his temptations are taken away by the command
of God, or the powers of the tempted person are strengthened,
so that he can easily be victorious, and it expels fear, and
increases our hope and confidence. Calmness of mind and
joy of soul take the place of fear and sadness, and, therefore,
the sick person is truly raised up.

THE MINISTER

A priest is the minister of the sacrament. This is an article
of faith. The Council of Trent states, "If anyone says that
the priests of the Church whom St. James exhorts to be called
to anoint the sick, are not priests ordained by bishops, but are
elders in the community, and that therefore the minister of
Extreme Unction is not the priest only, let him be anathema."

St. James says, "Let him bring in the priests of the Church,
and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the
name of the Lord. And if he be in sins they shall be forgiven
him." The word presbyter or priest in the New Testament
is employed when there is question of ecclesiastical functions,
to designate those who are ordained, as is evident from the
Acts of the Apostles xiv. 22, Epistles of St. Paul, First Epistle
of St. Peter, Cap. 3, Epistles of St. John, chapters 2 and 3.

28 EXTREME UNCTION

St. James orders that the priests of the Church or those
who are deputed to exercise the sacred ministry, and not
physicians, should pray over the sick person, and his sins
would be forgiven. Now, only priests have such power, hence
it is only priests can confer the sacrament. The Tradition
and Practice of the Church proclaim the same doctrine.

The Sacrament of Extreme Unction is, according to Council
of Trent, the consummation of penance, because it was insti
tuted to wipe away the relics of sin. Since, therefore, priests
alone are the ministers of penance, it is natural to assume that
only priests are the ministers of Extreme Unction. Every
priest duly ordained can validly administer this sacrament,
but must have permission, either expressed or rationally pre
sumed, from the properly constituted authorities to do it
licitly, otherwise he would commit a grievous sin. If a member
of a religious community administers Extreme Unction to
any one who is not a member of his own community, or to
one to whom he is not privileged to give it, he is excommuni
cated. The religious contemplated in this are those who
make solemn vows and the parishes must be canonically erected.
In case of necessity any priest not excommunicated may ad
minister the sacrament. Every priest having the care of soul-
is bound from justice and charity, under pain of eternal
damnation, to administer the sacrament to those under his
care. All other priests are bound in charity. It can be
validly conferred by one or more priests, provided each one
anoints the organ of sense, and uses the proper words. The
unctions may be validly conferred by several priests simul
taneously or successively, for the sacrament results from many
unctions and different forms, so that each unction with its
own particular form has a complete meaning, and is indepen-

EXTREME UNCTION 29

dent of another form, and is suited to produce its own effect.
This cannot be done licitly in the Latin Church, although it
was done formerly, unless in case of necessity, as, for example,
if the sick person would die before one priest could anoint all
the five senses. But one priest cannot licitly anoint one ear
and another priest another ear. If a priest gets sick, and is
unable to complete the anointing, another priest can, within a
reasonable time, continue the anointing. A reasonable time
theologians consider ten or twelve minutes. Hence if a priest
should come within ten or twelve minutes, he begins the unc
tions where the other priest left off. If a quarter of an hour
intervened between the coming of the second priest and the
last unction of the first, the second priest ought to repeat the
unctions that had been already given. This he should do
conditionally. As the above hypothesis is practically impos
sible to verify, the second priest ought to anoint the sick per
son on each organ conditionally. In the Greek Church seven
priests, or at least three, administer the sacrament, and all
the parts are anointed by each priest. I may add the admin
istration of this sacrament is accompanied with more prayers
than any one of the other sacraments. In this, as in the other
sacraments, says the Catechism of Trent, it is also to be
distinctly recollected that the priest is the representative of
Jesus Christ and His Church.

MYSTIC MEANING

Faber (Sermon IV. twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost)
beautifully explains the effects of Extreme Unction. As oil,
he says, poured out on the sea, stills the fury of the waves,
so the Holy Oil, when applied to man, calms the waves of

3o EXTREME UNCTION

temptation stirred up by the demon, at the approach of death,
when the fiercest tempests rage. As of old, oil was applied
to the limbs of the athlete to prepare him for the contests, so
the Church would have her children prepared by the holy
anointing for the final struggle. As oil soothes bodily wounds,
and so was poured by the good Samaritan into the wounds of
the wayfarer that had fallen among robbers, so the oil of
Extreme Unction soothes and heals the wounds wrought in
the soul by the evil spirits. When the Romans of the early
centuries were about to perform their heathen sacrifices, a
crier proclaimed: Procul hinc sit lotus and unctus, a sign for
the baptized to depart, for demons were frustrated in their
oracles and deceits by the presence of the Christians. There
fore are Christians anointed as death comes on, for then the
demons approach with great fury, because the time in which
they can exercise their deceiving art is drawing to an end.

THE SUBJECT

The subject of Extreme Unction is a baptized person who
has arrived at the use of reason, and is in danger of death
from sickness. In other words, the subject is every baptized
human being who is capable of sin and who is dangerously ill,
and of whom we cannot reasonably say that he wishes to die
in mortal sin. St. James says, "If there is sick among you";
that is, the faithful or baptized. Moreover, baptism is the
gate of the other sacraments. The words "Asthenei tis" and
"Kamnonta" imply the sick is seriously sick. Hence, if
conferred on a person in health and probably on a person
slightly indisposed, would be invalid and, of course, illicit.
The form is, "May the Lord forgive thee whatever sin you

EXTREME UNCTION 31

may have committed by the senses." Now, before the use of
reason there is no sin committed by the senses. Therefore, if
the sacrament was conferred on children before the use of
reason, the form would not be verified, and therefore there
would be no sacrament. A person who is not capable of
receiving the principal effects of the sacrament is also incapable
of receiving the sacrament itself. Now, children, before the
use of reason, are not capable of receiving the principal effects;
for they are to strengthen the soul in its last agony, to resist
the temptations of the devil, to destroy the relics of sin, to
extinguish the punishments due to sin, which are not yet
cancelled. Suarez teaches that the Blessed Virgin received
baptism and Extreme Unction. Although never being subject
to sin, she was by nature liable to sin, and hence she could
receive the primary effect of the sacrament. The Ritual
declares that it is not to be administered to those who have
not as yet attained the use of reason. When a person may
receive penance he may receive Extreme Unction. In case
there is a doubt of a child having attained the use of reason,
the sacrament is administered conditionally. It is given the
insane if they have had some time in life lucid intervals. If
there is a doubt of the lucid intervals it is administered con
ditionally. It is given to all baptized persons who are in
good faith if the priest prudently judges that it may be done.
It is given to all who are not evidently impenitent, even to one
who is rendered unconscious in the act of sin, as a murderer,
if he lived a short time. It is given to one who has got drunk
through his own fault and is now unconscious and seriously
ill; in a word, it is given to every unconscious baptized adult
who ever had the use of reason and who, before becoming
unconscious, did not refuse to receive the sacrament. If the

32 EXTREME UNCTION

priest has not absolute proof that the unconscious person
would refuse Extreme Unction, it ought to be conferred.
Although the person has shown no sign of penance, condi
tional absolution and Extreme Unction ought to be given; for,
as Lehmkuhl says, the priest ought to do everything possible
in such circumstances.

It is given to an adult immediately after baptism, although
he has not committed actual sin after baptism, because, al
though baptism takes away the guilt and punishment of sin,
it does not produce the primary effect of the sacrament, which
is to remove the spiritual torpor and weakness that sin pro
duced in the soul. Neither does baptism give a special help
to resist the devil in the last moment. If there is a doubt of
a child having attained the use of reason, and he is now un
conscious, the priest is bound to anoint him under pain of the
most grievous sin. The unction is given in this case condi
tionally. If the priest is called to attend a child who has not
perhaps arrived at the years of discretion, he will help him to
elicit a supernatural act of imperfect contrition. This sorrow
supposes faith, hope, charity, and a detestation of sin. If the
child has not supernatural sorrow, but is capable of sinning,
the sacrament would be validly but unfruitfully conferred.
Hence the necessity of assisting and instructing the child to
make an act of contrition, for there is danger that he may
have committed a mortal sin. If the child had not supernatural
sorrow, and had committed a grave sin, the sacrament would
be valid but unfruitful; and if the priest did not think of
helping him to elicit an act of imperfect contrition, he would
be bound, under pain of grievous sin, on adverting to that
fact, to do so as soon as possible, for the child's soul was
exposed to eternal damnation. If the child committed only

EXTREME UNCTION 33

venial sin, the sacrament would not be useless or unfruitful,
for it would take away not only the venial sin but the relics
of venial sin, and would increase the child's confidence in
God, and give new strength to fight the temptations of the
devil. The proper course for the priest to pursue would be
to instruct the child, hear his confession, absolve him, give
him the Viaticum if he can distinguish it from ordinary bread,
anoint him, and give him the papal blessing.

It is given in old age, for old age is a disease. The sick
person must be dangerously sick. He must be in danger of
death from disease affecting the body. The Council of
Florence says the sacrament must be given only to those who
are in danger of death. The danger may be such that there
is still hope of recovery. When it can be prudently said that
the sick person is in danger of death the sacrament may be
given. It is not necessary that the danger is imminent or
certain, but it is sufficient if it is proximate or prudently feared.
The Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith
declared in 1801 that a person suffering from a lingering illness
may be anointed, although he may live for months. In the
case proposed to the Propaganda it was assumed that a priest
could not see the person for several months after the anointing.

According to the Roman Ritual, it ought to be given when
the sick persons have full use of their faculties, because then
their good dispositions would help them to receive more
abundant grace from the sacrament. According to the teach
ing of St. Liguori, following that of the Councils of Florence
and Trent, if administered in time it may restore the sick
person to health, but if nature is almost exhausted this effect
is not produced, for the sacrament does not operate miracu
lously. "It is a very grievous sin," says the Catechism of

34 EXTREME UNCTION

the Council of Trent, "to defer the Holy Unction until all
hope of recovery is lost, life begins to ebb, and the sick person
is sinking into insensibility. It is obvious that if administered
while the mental faculties are yet unimpaired and the sick
man can bring to its reception sentiments of faith and devo
tion, this circumstance must contribute very much to enable
him to partake more abundantly of the graces of the sacra
ment." Hence, the senseless fear of receiving Extreme Unc
tion. If he is not restored to bodily health, that is attributed
by the Catechism of Trent to the weakness of faith on the part
of the recipient or the minister of the sacrament. The danger
must come from a disease affecting the body. Hence, it
cannot be administered to criminals to be executed, or to soldiers
entering battle, or to one going on a perilous voyage, or to one
who is liable to suffer a stroke of apoplexy. Those who take
poison, or are severely wounded, likewise a person who is to
undergo a dangerous operation, are to receive the sacrament
if before the operation he is in danger of death. Although
Extreme Unction in the early ages of the Church — the custom
exists in some religious orders yet — was administered before
the Viaticum and in the opinion of St. Liguori would hardly
be a venial sin, yet the sick person ought to receive Penance
and Eucharist first.

DISPOSITIONS

According to Lehmkuhl, the disposition necessary in the
subject of Extreme Unction ought to be of such a character
that one may prudently say that he is in the state of grace;
or, rather, his sorrow for grave sin committed ought to be of
such a nature that it may be prudently considered to have

EXTREME UNCTION 35

brought about at least a reconciliation with God, and, at the
least, it is in reality of such a character that it remits sin with
the sacrament. Hence, to obtain the effect of the Sacrament of
Extreme Unction it is sufficient for him who has committed
mortal sin that he has at least imperfect contrition. This
disposition is in practice sufficient for those who now believe
that they are in the state of grace, whereas they are in mortal
sin, or for those who are unconscious and are unable to confess
their sins, or for those who think themselves absolved when
really they are not. But the requisite disposition for those who
knowingly receive Extreme Unction is the state of grace.
This state is obtained either by sacramental absolution or by
perfect contrition. The person may not be absolutely sure
that he is in the state of grace. All that is sufficient and re
quired is that in his judgment, prudently formed, he is in the
state of grace, whether that state is gained by a good confession
or by perfect contrition. But if he is not in the state of grace,
although he thinks he is, it is absolutely necessary that he
has, at least, imperfect contrition, to gain the secondary effect
of the sacrament; that is, the remission of all grievous sin and
venial sin. The Holy Eucharist is the only sacrament of the
living which absolutely requires confession for a person in
mortal sin. If a person has committed a grievous sin he is
bound, no matter how contrite he may be, to confess his sins,
because of a special precept which is probably founded on
the divine precept of St. Paul, — Let each man prove him
self.

THE INTENTION NECESSARY

The interpretative intention is sufficient. This means that
the sick person would have the intention of receiving Extreme

36 EXTREME UNCTION

Unction if he had now the use of his faculties, though in point
of fact he has not or may never have had, formally and ex
plicitly, such intention. Every Catholic is presumed to have
such an intention.

LICITNESS

For licitness the sacred oil must be of the year the oil is
used, the unction must be applied to each sense, a double
organ must be anointed on each sense — the upper or lower
lip may be anointed, or the two may be anointed while the
mouth is closed — the unction must be applied in the form of
a Cross, the feet must be anointed except there be a dispensa
tion from the Holy See, the loins of men must be anointed
except there be an excusing cause, and all the prayers of the
Ritual are to be said, and a cassock, surplice and stole must
be worn, except in a case of necessity. A wax candle must
be lighted; a server must be present. All these do not oblige
gravely. It is a grave sin to confer Extreme Unction without
a cassock, except there be an excusing cause. This is the
teaching of all Rubricists and theologians, even those who
wrote for, and in, English-speaking countries. St. Liguori says
that it is certainly a grave sin to anoint a person without
surplice and stole. It is a venial sin not to use a stole, or a
surplice, or a lighted candle, or to administer the sacrament
without a clerk, if one can be conveniently obtained. The
omission of the stole would be graver than that of the surplice.
It is a grave sin not to anoint with a double unction when
prescribed. Hence, each ear, each eye, and each hand, must
be anointed under pain of mortal sin.

When I state that a priest is obliged, under pain of grievous

EXTREME UNCTION 37

sin, to use a cassock when administering Extreme Unction, I
must not be understood as censuring in the slightest degree
those who administer the sacrament in the ordinary garb they
wear on the street. When priests so act, I assume, and every
one else ought to assume, that they have a valid reason.

FRUITFUL RECEPTION

To receive the sacrament with fruit the state of grace is
required, and consequently if the sick person is in mortal sin
he is bound to receive the Sacrament of Penance, or, at least,
make an act of perfect contrition. If such a person does not
confess before receiving Extreme Unction, he is bound to do
so immediately afterwards, for he is bound by divine precept
to confess when in danger of death if he is in mortal sin.
But if a person knowingly and voluntarily received the sacra
ment in mortal sin he would commit 'a sacrilege. He would,
indeed, receive the sacrament validly, but without fruit, and
in this case it cannot be repeated. To gain God's friendship
he must make an act of perfect contrition or go to confession.
If he had not the proper dispositions through no fault of his
own, imperfect contrition without the sacrament would be
sufficient to restore him to grace. If he is not conscious of
mortal sin he is not obliged to confess. If he is unconscious,
and hence cannot make any sign to acknowledge himself a
sinner, absolution would be useless, although it is advisable
to give it conditionally, for we have already seen that confes
sion of some kind is necessary. The Thomists say that
confession is an essential part of penance, and the Scotists
claim it is an indispensable condition; and hence on either
theory a confession is necessary. But as the unconscious

38 EXTREME UNCTION

person's cerebrum may be active and free, and hence he may
will and think, while the functions of the cerebellum are in
abeyance, and hence he has no control over his muscular
action, a priest always absolves such a person conditionally,
for he may be doing his best to confess. But if such a person
had imperfect contrition which morally perseveres, he would
receive Extreme Unction validly and fruitfully. If he received
the sacrament with the proper dispositions, and afterward fell
into mortal sin, he would forfeit the right to the special helps
the sacrament gives till such a time as he made an act of
perfect contrition, or made a good confession. To avoid
irreverence, a delirious person ought to be strapped to the
bed while the sacrament is being administered.

APPARENT DEATH

If the priest knows the sick person is dead he omits all the
Ritual prayers, and will say the prayers for a soul departed.
The sacrament is administered conditionally if the priest does
not know whether the sick person is dead or alive. Lehmkuhl
gives a sure rule to guide us. He says Extreme Unction is to
be conferred absolutely if the subject is capable of validly
receiving it, and conditionally when there is doubt whether
the subject can validly receive it. If he is not certain that the
sick person is incapable of the fruit of the sacrament, he anoints
absolutely. If the sick person is evidently incapable he cannot
be anointed. But when does a person die? The most emi
nent physicians admit that death does not occur at the moment
when the popular judgment thinks it does. Latent life is
present probably till decomposition sets in. The Rev. Father
Feijoo, who lived in the eighteenth century, gave it as his

EXTREME UNCTION 39

opinion that a person is alive for half an hour after apparent
death. Old Galen was of the same opinion. As the sacra
ment may be given if there is a slight hope of its being valid,
a priest ought to anoint an adult within several hours after
apparent death, although to all outward appearances the
person is really dead. This .ought to be done in cases where
the person died of an ordinary disease. In robust and healthy
persons latent life continues longer than in weaklings. Again,
in case of sudden death or accident, latent life is of longer
duration than when a person dies of an acute or chronic disease.
Hence, when a robust person dies suddenly — no matter what
may be the reason — he may be anointed within twenty or
twenty-five hours after apparent death. It is a demonstrated
fact that men have been restored to life hours after apparent
death. Men who were under water for sixteen hours were
restored to life and health. Men suddenly attacked by disease
had been apparently dead for three days, and were restored to
life. Many a time the rhythmic tractions of the tongue sug
gested by Doctor Laborde have restored the apparently dead
to life and health. There is no sure sign of death except the
presence of putrefaction in an advanced stage. Now, Extreme
Unction remits all grave actual sins if the unconscious person
has imperfect contrition. The effect is produced, as I said
before, per se, as being directly intended in its institution,
although, according to Suarez and others, only secondarily.
Hence, as the sacrament may be administered if there is the
slightest doubt of the subject being alive, a priest ought anoint
conditionally every baptized adult who is unconscious and in
whose body the presence of putrefaction is not shown to be
in an advanced stage; and this does not take place till about
twenty-four hours after apparent death. We must bear in

40 EXTREME UNCTION

mind, too, that the cessation of respiration or of the beating
of the heart, is not a sure sign of death. It is true that many
eminent physicians say that life is extinct when the heart
ceases to beat, but it is practically impossible to say when the
heart ceases to perform its function. It is equally true that
some medical experts claim that the soul remains to perform
the lesser vital functions, after the complete cessation of the
heart. Congealed blood is no proof of death. Neither is
cadaveric rigidity, except to an expert, and he is a very rare
being. Hence, it may be stated absolutely that putrefaction
in an advanced stage is practically the only certain sign of
death.

THE OBLIGATION TO RECEIVE IT

It is not absolutely necessary as is baptism. Although the
priest is bound under pain of mortal sin to administer Extreme
Unction to those who ask for it, yet there is no grave obligation
to receive it, but no good Catholic would refuse to receive a
sacrament which gives such powerful aid in that moment
when man is preparing to meet his God. But if he is con
scious, and is in mortal sin, and cannot confess, he would be
bound under pain of mortal sin to receive Extreme Unction if
he has not perfect contrition. He would be bound also, if his
refusal gave scandal or showed contempt for the sacrament,
or on account of the spiritual danger of the sick person.

The pastor or a priest having the care of souls is bound
under pain of grievous sin to administer Extreme Unction to
all under his care if they, when sick, expressly ask for it, or
interpretatively ask for it; that is, they did not, as a matter of
fact, ask in any way for the sacrament, but they would have

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EXTREME UNCTION 41

asked it if they had given the matter due reflection or thought.
The pastor sins gravely who culpably neglects to administer
it or who puts off administering it, with the probable danger
that the sick person may die without it, or who will not
confer it till the sick person is unconscious; for such a
person is robbed of the richer fruits of the sacrament.

The obligation of receiving it is not grave because it is not
a necessary means of salvation, and there is no grave precept
to receive it.

To neglect receiving it would, indeed, be a venial sin, for
the sick person would unreasonably deprive himself of an
assistance specially instituted for a dying Christian. If a
person is unconscious, he cannot sin by not receiving it, for
he is no longer capable of a human act, and hence incapable
of sinning.

It may seem strange, as Lehmkuhl suggests, that the sick
person who voluntarily refuses to receive Extreme Unction is
less guilty than the priest who does not administer it or see
that it is administered; and if we take into consideration only
those who are bound by the precept alone of common charity
towards the sick person, very properly are they to be regarded
as guiltless of a grave fault if they do not anoint such a sick
person or see that he is anointed, unless we assume that he
asked to be anointed. But if we consider those who ought to
look after the sick person on account of their office or on account
of some special claim of chanty, as members of the sick per
son's household, and especially relations, it is clear that they
are obliged more strictly by the laws of charity and justice;
for they ought not only to consider the expressed will of the
sick person, but his interpretative will; that is, the will he
would have if he knew his serious condition, although his

42 EXTREME UNCTION

formal will is to all appearances opposed to the reception of
the sacrament. They ought to do their best to influence him
to receive the sacrament, which may be perhaps necessary for
his spiritual welfare. He may refuse to receive the sacrament
without committing a grave sin, but the pastor and the relatives
may be guilty of a mortal sin in not taking care to see that he
receives it; for he can deprive himself of a great good without
grave sin, but others whose duty it is to make due provision
that he is not deprived of this great good may be guilty through
carelessness and negligence of a very grave sin. Example: Let
us assume that I have one hundred dollars in a bank. I may,
without grave fault, give the sum of money to some political
organization, although I have some need of the money. But
the banker whose duty it is to guard my money so that I shall
not lose it or be deprived of it, cannot, through carelessness
and neglect, permit me to be robbed of it or to be deprived of
it without grave sin. In like manner, a sick person may
deprive himself without grave sin of a great good, viz., Extreme
Unction; but the parish priest or the members of the household
and relatives may not do so without a grievous sip.

Hence, a pastor or a priest having the care of souls, sins
gravely if he does not confer the sacrament on a sick person
who asks for it. He sins gravely, too, if he does not use the
proper means to look after the members of his flock who are
careless of their spiritual needs, and see that they are warned
in time of their duties, and confer the sacrament on them, or
see that it is conferred. Hence, members of the household of
the sick person, especially parents, children, husbands, and
wives, may sin mortally if they do not tell the sick person of
the danger to which he is exposed; for the sick often deceive
themselves, building vain hopes on the stereotyped phrases

EXTREME UNCTION 43

of an optimistic physician. When the danger of death becomes
probable, this duty may be performed by the priest, physician,
or nurse, and, of course, by friends.

Lehmkuhl lays down the following rules to guide us: Rela
tives and friends are obliged under most grievous sin to see
that the sick person receives Extreme Unction, provided he
cannot receive any other sacrament. They are gravely bound
to get a priest if the sick person asks for him, and it is not
very hard to carry out his wish. They are gravely obliged to
warn the patient of his danger, and when he is in probable
danger of death they are gravely obliged to tell him that sick
people in his condition are anointed, for he may be deceiving
himself about his danger. But the pastor or the priest having
the care of souls is more strictly bound than any one else.
He is more gravely obliged than any other person to see that
all those within his jurisdiction shall not die without the
Sacrament of Extreme Unction through his own fault or
negligence. Hence, he is obliged, under pain of eternal
damnation, to give it to all who reasonably ask for it, or to
those who interpretatively ask for it; that is, they have not
expressed a wish to receive it, or do not wish to receive it, but
now, under the circumstances, they are rationally presumed
to wish to receive it. Therefore, the pastor or priest having
the care of souls is obliged under the most grievous sin to
administer Extreme Unction to a sick person who is uncon
scious, and who in all probability cannot receive any other
sacrament. In case the pastor does not do it, any priest is
gravely bound to administer Extreme Unction; for a fellow-
being is exposed to eternal damnation. Hence, the pastor is
obliged to be careful to see that when his parishioners get
seriously sick, they are warned of their danger and that they

44 EXTREME UNCTION

be induced to receive the Sacrament of Extreme Unction if
they show any reluctance.

THE RELUCTANT

If a person refuses the sacrament, he ought to be told of its
great spiritual and temporal advantages. In case he does not
agree to receive the sacrament, he cannot, of course, be anointed.
The pastor could suggest to him to agree to be anointed if he
became unconscious or delirious, and when he was in that
state the pastor ought to anoint him. In all such cases com
mon sense, united with apostolic zeal and charity, will triumph.

WHEN REPEATED

In the same sickness it cannot be repeated unless it is chronic
and the sick person got better and fell into the same danger
again. But mere continuance of life does not justify its repe
tition. Recovery of some kind is necessary. In cases of
dropsy and consumption the sacrament may be administered
if the person gets well and falls into the same danger; for,
although the disease is the same, the state of the disease is
different. The person must not only be apparently out of
danger, but there must be some ground for saying that he is
really out of danger, and hence improvement must continue
for some time. In case of doubt, the sacrament may be re
peated. The sacrament ought to be repeated if the sick person
gets well and afterward becomes seriously ill. It ought to be
repeated in every chronic disease if the danger of death has
passed away, and the danger after a notable time appears to
return. It is sufficient that the proximate danger of death has

EXTREME UNCTION 45

probably ceased, and again urges, provided a sufficiently long
time, say a month, has intervened. In consumption, asthma,
and dropsy, the danger very frequently is imminent in all
probability, and sometimes in reality is imminent, but after
wards becomes remote. Hence, writes Benedict XIV., in a
chronic disease if the sick person continued after the unction
in the same danger he cannot be anointed; but he can if there
is a positive doubt of the danger having ceased; for then
Benedict XIV. inclines to the opinion that such a person
ought to be anointed again, because it would be more in
keeping with the ancient custom of the Church, and it would
give a new aid to the sick. Therefore, writes Lehmkuhl, it
may often happen that it is lawful to confer the sacrament a
second time, although there is no obligation to do so.

During the same disease, and during the same grave and
proximate danger, writes the illustrious Jesuit, Extreme Unc
tion cannot be licitly or validly repeated. This we gather
from the teaching of the Council of Trent (Sess. XIV., Cap. 3),
which declares that if the sick person grows well after having
received the sacrament, he can be anointed again if he falls
into another serious danger. And we gather from the ancient
practice of the Church and the teaching of theology, that
entire restoration to health is not required, but it is sufficient
that the grave and proximate danger of death has ceased, and
afterwards he fell into the same or a similar danger. Lehm
kuhl approvingly quotes Ebel, saying: "It is not by any means
necessary that the sick person be fully restored to health, and
afterwards fall into the same danger. It is sufficient that the
old danger returns anew. Although the old danger, not just
now so urgent, continues with the old malady (as frequently
happens in asthma, dropsy, and phthisis, in which, during the

46 EXTREME UNCTION

continuance of the malady the state of the disease often changes
in a pronounced manner, so that at one time the sick person
is apparently out of danger and at another time he is in danger
of death), if a new danger is added the sick person may be
anointed without scruple." In such a case the sacrament may
be repeated, but there is no strict obligation in the matter.

If a priest should confer the sacrament so that it is probably
invalid, he would not be bound to repeat it if such action
would occasion him a great inconvenience. But if the sick
person had not received sacramental absolution after a con
fession, the priest would be gravely bound to repeat the
sacrament conditionally.

SUPERSTITIONS

In some places we find people so ignorant and superstitious
that they believe when they are anointed they are sure to die,
whereas it often, as we know, restores bodily health. Others
believe that if they get well after receiving Extreme Unction,
they must never touch the floor with their naked feet, or indulge
in the harmless amusement of dancing, without committing a
grievous sin. People of this character must be dealt with
prudently and charitably.

SPECIFIC CASES

Two thousand four hundred years ago Hippocrates told the
world that sure prognosis is the most difficult problem in
medical practice. Since the days of Bichat and Bright physi
cians recognize the necessity and importance of the brain,
heart, lungs, and kidneys being healthy. Permit me to state
a few facts well known to you. Respirations in adults are

EXTREME UNCTION 47

about 1 6 to 1 8, in children 25, and in infants 35. The normal
temperature is 98.4 degrees. A temperature of 100 degrees
indicates fever; 102 degrees, mild; 103 degrees, severe; 104
degrees, alarming; 105 degrees, very severe; 106 degrees,
almost hopeless; 107 degrees, fatal except in very rare cases.
As a rule, when the temperature goes below 95 degrees or
above 104 degrees the subject ought to be anointed. I shall
mention a few cases in which the sick person ought to be
anointed without hesitation: In epilepsy or fainting sickness
if there are about twenty continuous fits, .and when the face
has a grayish, dusky color, and the lips a bluish appearance;
in apoplexy when the temperature goes above 104 degrees;
in uraemia when there are sudden blindness and vomiting
(ursemic fits are nearly always fatal); in syncope or swooning
when the subject has a very weak heart; in typhoid fever
when his temperature is around 105 degrees, and if he has
had a hemorrhage no matter what the temperature may be;
in pneumonia if the lips get blue or the extremities cold (in
pneumonia and delirium tremens there is danger of heart
failure); in heart disease when the pulse and respiration are
irregular and there is swelling in the feet; in phthisis when
there are cold sweats and haemoptysis or blood-spitting; in
hiccough in old people if it continues in a marked degree; in
delirium tremens when the heart grows weak or pneumonia
ensues; in typhus fever in every form; in scarlet fever when
temperature is above 104 degrees and the breathing is labored;
in rheumatic fever when the pulse and breathing are rapid
and irregular and pericarditis is feared; in influenza when the
face has a dusky appearance and the temperature is high; in
erysipelas when the temperature is high, and always when
the subject has been a heavy drinker; in empyema if there is

48 EXTREME UNCTION

exhaustion; in diphtheria if tracheotomy is necessary; in
pyaemia if pneumonia supervenes; in phthisical mania in every
case; in pericarditis when the pulse is irregular and goes up
to 140 degrees, and the face is bluish; in diabetic mania always
if there is severe thirst; in acute bronchitis when the tempera
ture is high and breathing is labored; in cellulitis if pneumonia
is feared; in gangrene if in lungs; in all infectious diseases if
the kidneys are in bad condition; in nephritis if operation is
necessary, for chloroform and ether are not well tolerated in
nephritis; in all cases of kidney diseases if an anaesthetic has
to be administered; in coma when the subjects are found on
the street, as they are probably suffering from apoplexy or
kidney disease, although their breath smells of whiskey, as
they may have taken a stimulant to tide them over threatened
collapse; in an acute sore throat involving the larynx and
followed by oedema of the glottis; in heart disease when the
aortic valves are diseased; in spotted fever in every case; in
many diseases if the subject has clubbed or drum-stick fingers,
as there is probably an organic affection of the heart and lungs;
in pneumonia in old or very young (if in upper lobe more
serious than of the lower, secondary pneumonia more dan
gerous than primary); in pneumonia in persons of alcoholic
habits — in walking cases, as they are always very dangerous;
in typhoid in the second week, especially in walking typhoid;
in rheumatism when temperature is about 104 degrees (most
of the acquired heart disease is due to rheumatic fever); in
appendicitis in severe cases; in acute indigestion in old people;
in Addison's disease; in cirrhosis when there is fear of hemor
rhage; in black measles and black scarlet fever always; in acute
pancreatitis in every case; in cholelithiasis, stone in the bile
duct, in severe cases; in tetanus and hydrophobia always; in all

EXTREME UNCTION 49

alcoholic subjects nearly in every case, and always if they
have to undergo a serious operation; in Cheyne-Stokes respira
tion and air hunger respiration, shown by deep drawn sighs,
always; in every disease if one of the four vital organs — the
brain, heart, lungs, or kidneys — is organically affected; in
burns if the greater part of the body is affected, and in sun
stroke always.

A person cannot be validly anointed merely because he is
under the influence of ether or chloroform. Some authorities
claim that a person who is slightly indisposed can be validly
and licitly anointed, provided it is probable that he will die
during the operation. This is not, I believe, in accordance
with the principles of theology. But as soon as the danger
becomes probable and proximate he may be anointed; that is,
he may be anointed during the time he is being operated on.
Of course, if the danger existed before the operation, the sacra
ment ought to be conferred before the operation.

PREPARATION FOR THE SACRAMENT

A table ought to be prepared on which the priest may place
the oil stocks. It ought to be covered with a clean cloth.
One wax candle, a crucifix, holy water, and a sprinkler, a plate
with six small balls of cotton, some meal or dry bread, a towel,
and a basin of water to wash the priest's hands ought to be
placed on it. The attendant should wash the parts to be
anointed. The confiteor should be said by the sick person
in Latin or the vernacular. A woman may answer the re
sponses, but must not minister to the priest. She may say
the confiteor if the sick person is unable to do so. The holy
water and crucifix should be left on the table near the sick

5o EXTREME UNCTION

person, so that he may, as the Ritual states, look at the Cross,
and embrace and kiss it, for in the Cross is life, in the Cross
is hope, in the Cross is salvation. In contagious and infectious
diseases great care must be used to prevent their spread. To
accomplish this, six small pieces of wood may be used to
anoint the sick person. They should be burned immediately
after they have been used. If small pieces of wood are not
used, a little oil may be taken from the oil receptacle and
placed on the hand, and what is not used ought to be burned.
As the priest is bound under pain of grievous sin to use a
cassock or soutane and a surplice when he is administering
Extreme Unction, provision ought to be made for this in our
institutions, and in city parishes. A sleeveless cassock and a
linen surplice would answer the purpose. A priest may not
have the holy oils with him, and whilst he is hearing the con
fession of the sick person a trustworthy laic may be sent for
the oils. I assume, of course, that there is some necessity for
such a procedure, for a laic is not allowed to carry the oils
except in case of necessity. It has been decided by Rome that
we must not send the oils by express, but we are allowed in
case of necessity to send them with a trustworthy layman.
Hence, in similar circumstances, a laic may carry them. To
omit the prayers before and after the unction would be a grave
sin unless in case of necessity. To omit one prayer would not
exceed a venial sin.

If the priest carries the Blessed Sacrament in solemn pro
cession, he carries the vessel with the oil in some convenient
place under the surplice. Another priest, or a deacon, may
carry the oil secretly; but no one else is permitted to carry it
except in a case of very urgent necessity. When the priest
has the oil alone with him it is prohibited to carry lights, as

EXTREME UNCTION 51

the people might think he had the Blessed Sacrament. It is
no sin to carry the oil without surplice and stole. When thus
carried the priest fastens the leather case in which the silver
vessel with oil is to his neck by a chain or cord, but then it
must not form part of the pyxis or be joined with it in any
way.

REVERENCE SHOWN THE SACRAMENT

So great is the reverence in which the Sacrament of Extreme
Unction has been held everywhere that it was often admin
istered in church. Among the Greeks and Mexicans of the
tenth century the sacrament was often given in the church.
St. Bernard (St. B. in vita S. Malach. Cap. 2) tells us that in
1184 St. Malachy received Extreme Unction in the chapel of
the Monastery of Clairveaux in Burgundy.

THE MANNER IN WHICH A PRIEST ANOINTS

When the priest has arrived at the room of the sick person
he says, "Peace be to this house," and the clerk answers,
"And to all who dwell in it." If the priest has already used
these words before administering the Viaticum, he does not,
of course, repeat them now. He then places the holy oil on
the table and puts on a violet stole. He next presents a crucifix
to the sick person to be kissed, and afterwards sprinkles with
holy water the sick person, every one in the room, and the
room itself. He sprinkles the sick person in the form of a
Cross. He sprinkles the water in front of himself, then on
his own left, and afterwards on his own right. If he has
already done this before giving the Viaticum, he may not repeat
it here. The priest now hears the sick person's confession, if

52 EXTREME UNCTION

he has not already done so, and explains the nature of the
sacrament and its virtues and graces. If the person has been
absolved some time previous to this, the priest will ask him
to make an act of contrition.

The priest now says Adjutorium and makes the sign of the
Cross on himself. Three prayers follow. During these prayers
the priest makes the sign of the Cross in front of him, blessing
the sick person and room. If the sick person's death is so
imminent that the prayers cannot be said, the priest will say
them afterwards if the person did not die. Then is said the
Confiteor in Latin or vernacular by the patient, if he is able.
If unable to say it, the clerk will say it. Although the Con
fiteor had been said a short time before when the priest was
giving the sick person the Viaticum, it must be said again at
this time.

The priest now invites all present to offer fervent prayers
to the merciful God for the sick patient. The Rubric recom
mends the Penitential Psalms and the Litanies. The Rosary
may be substituted for the above prayers. Whatever prayers
are said, should be said kneeling and in a low voice. Before
the priest applies the oil to the sick person he makes the sign
of the Cross three times over the sick person. Whilst those
present are praying for the sick person the priest takes the oil
stock in his left hand and dips the thumb of the right hand
into the vessel of oil, and in the form of a Cross anoints the
several parts to be anointed, at the same time pronouncing the
form. To omit the Cross would not exceed a venial sin.

The unc'tions begin with the eyelids, the eyes being closed.
Amen of the form is said by the priest, not by the clerk. When
the organ is double the priest anoints the organ on the right
side of the sick person first. When he makes a Cross in

EXTREME UNCTION 53

applying the oil he draws a straight line down and then makes
a line from his own left to his own right. After the priest
applies the oil a person in Holy Orders wipes off the oil from
the anointed part. If there is no one present in Holy Orders
with the priest, he has to do this himself. He ought to use a
new piece of cotton for each unction, but for a double organ
one piece suffices. The cotton thus used and the crumbs of
bread with which he afterwards rubs his ringers ought to be
placed in the pocket of the oil case, and afterwards burned,
and the ashes ought to be thrown into the Sacrarium. The
lobes or lower extremities of the ears are next anointed. Then
are anointed either the extremity of the nose, or each nostril.
The fourth organ anointed is the mouth, which ought to be
closed. If, however, the sick person has any difficulty in
breathing, or for any other reason the priest may anoint the
upper or lower lip. In case of hydrophobia or a disease in
which contact with the saliva is dangerous, the cheek or some
part near the mouth is anointed. The fifth organ is the hand.
Deacons, clerics, and lay people are anointed on the palms,
and priests on the back of the hands. The feet are next
anointed. The unction may be applied to the metatarsus or
instep, or to the soles of the feet, according to the usage of the
place. In some places the unction is applied to the loins —
the os ischion — the prominent hip bone, on one side only.
Where this unction would cause an inconvenience it may be
omitted.

After the last unction the priest places the oil receptacle on
the table, cleanses his thumb and fingers with crumbs of
bread and water, and dries them with a towel. He then
continues the prayers, which are supplications to God for the
health of soul and body of the sick person. If the person

54

EXTREME UNCTION

anointed is a female, the feminine gender must be used in
the versicles and prayers.

The priest having finished the prayers, he puts the vessel
of oil in the case, and the crumbs of bread and pieces of cotton
which he had used into the pocket already mentioned. The
water with which the priest washes his hands is thrown into
the Sacrarium if it can be conveniently done, or into the
fire.

The priest will now advise the sick person to be resigned to
the will of God, and, if he has time, he will say a few inspiring
words to the sick to encourage him to resist Satan and all
his pomps and temptations, and to meet with courage and
faith and hope what Providence has decreed for him. He
will join those in attendance in thanking God for the graces
of the sacrament, and he wrill see that a crucifix is left on the
table near the sick, and holy water.

GIVEN TO A NUMBER TOGETHER

The priest enters the sick room with the usual salutation,
" Peace be to this house," places the holy oil on a table, presents
the crucifix to each to be kissed, sprinkles the holy water, and
gives the sick an opportunity to confess. He now delivers a
few words of exhortation. He then recites for all in common
the three prayers. They require no change of number. Each
of the sick recites the Confiteor. It may be recited, if the sick
are unable to do so, by the assistant or priest himself. The
prayers, which are accompanied by no actions or ceremonies,
and the Psalms, are said in the plural or singular number.
All the rites prescribed by the Ritual are to be performed over
each patient. The versicles and prayers are said for all in

EXTREME UNCTION 55

common. The plural number is used, and the feminine
gender if all are females.

EXTREME UNCTION IMMEDIATELY AFTER
VIATICUM

When the priest administers Extreme Unction immediately
after the Viaticum, he assumes a purple stole as soon as he
has finished the prayer following communion. He may use a
stole that is white on one side and purple on the other. The
Sacred Congregation permits such a stole in the ceremonies
of baptism, and hence we may justly infer that the priest is
justified in using the same kind now. He confers Extreme
Unction in the ordinary way prescribed by the Ritual, except
that he omits the salutation, "Peace be to this house," and
the Asperges. He ought not to place the oils on the corporal,
but to one side of it. If the priest brought more than one
particle, he leaves the ciborium or pyxis on the corporal till
he has finished all the ceremonies, and gives the benediction
with it. This benediction ought to be given after the papal
benediction.

IN CASE OF IMMINENT DEATH

When a priest finds the sick person near death, he asks
him to express sorrow for his sins, and gives him sacramental
absolution. He gives it thus, " I absolve thee from all censures
and sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost. Amen." If the sick person is unable to
speak, the priest will conditionally absolve him. If the person
has but a few moments to live, the priest will anoint him on
the forehead, saying, "By this Holy Unction may the Lord

56 EXTREME UNCTION

forgive thee whatever sins you have committed. Amen."
The Holy Office decreed in April, 1906, that the above form
is valid in a case of real necessity. If the priest is doubtful
whether the person is dead or alive, he anoints him condi
tionally, saying, "If you live." If the sick person survives,
the priest will say all the omitted prayers, both those that
precede and follow the sacrament. Then the papal blessing
is given even to an unconscious person.

CONCLUSION

And now one word to those who take care of the sick, and
I am done. You are God's agents to carry out His divine
will on earth. You are called and chosen for a great mission
and a glorious heritage in time and eternity. You will have
opportunities to do almost an infinite amount of good, and for
this you should ever give thanks to "God, the only wise,
through Jesus Christ, to whom be honor and glory for ever
and ever. Amen." Your responsibilities are great, are ex
traordinary. It will be often in your power to save a soul
created to the image and likeness of God. On your fidelity
will frequently depend an eternity of happiness or an eternity
of misery for your patient. The imperishable crown promised
by the Apostle may be snatched from us through your care
lessness and neglect. You know, as the Catechism of Trent
teaches, that the enemy of mankind never ceases to seek our
ruin, but he increases his efforts when we near our end. You
know how important it is to call the priest in time. Bear in
mind Extreme Unction restores bodily health, remits sin,
disposes us for the home of the saints, our Father's home, and
quiets our fears, as the Catechism of Trent tells us, illumines

EXTREME UNCTION 57

the gloom in which the soul is enveloped, fills it with pious
and holy joy, and enables us to wait with cheerfulness the
coming of our Lord, whenever He is pleased to summon us
from this world of woe, and above all it fortifies us against
the violent assaults of Satan. You must, of course, first save
your own souls, and this you must do "through Christ Jesus
that died, yea that is risen also again; who is at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Therefore,
since God has been so good to you, who shall separate you
from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? or famine? or
persecution? or danger? or the sword? or distress? I hope
that neither "death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall ever be
able to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus, our Lord."

St. Michael's College
Library

PHONE RENEWALS

, P.J.
Treatise on the sacrament of

Extreme Unction.