Q: We would like to include the Anointing of the Sick during a Saturday Evening Mass in the Advent season. We have many parishioners of advanced age, undergoing chemotherapy, and fighting other serious illnesses, such as Parkinson’s Disease. I can not find the Order for the Anointing of the Sick during Mass. I found the references to the Rite, but can’t locate the actual document. Please advise.
And, as always, thank you for your sage advice and insight.
God Bless,
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A: How good of you to take of your elderly and ill in this way.
To find the right rite, go to the liturgical book called Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum. Turn to chapter IV, Anointing of the Sick. Paragraphs 131-148 describe anointing within Mass.
I’m probably fussier than most priests when it comes to this ceremony. I like to keep a record of whom I have anointed. So when I do an anointing at Mass, I ask for one or two helpers to write down the names of the people I’ve anointed. That way I can later bring comfort to family members that I did take care of their loved one on a particular day.