The Bishop's Weekly Column from the Parish Bulletin

OUR LADY OF FATIMA

CATHOLIC CHURCH

When is a Sacrament not a Sacrament ?

March 15, 2008

James 5:14-15: "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 be in sins, they shall be forgiven him."

Yesterday afternoon a parishioner called Sister Mary Michaela on her cell phone to say that one of our people had been rushed to hospital in Spring Hill and subsequently flown to Tampa with a suspected brain aneurysm. I was told she had received the "Last Rites" as per the new rite. Now the parishioner who called is one of my catechism students and a couple of weeks ago we covered the Sacrament of Extreme Unction in class. In conversation with her Father (who had traveled to the hospital) over a cell phone with a very bad connection she gave him the "third degree". She wanted to know exactly what the priest had said and done. When she heard he had anointed her on the forehead she was concerned since that was not how I had explained the anointings in the traditional rite. (Now even in the traditional rite, in an emergency the forehead alone may be anointed). I was more concerned, however, if she had received the Apostolic Blessing or not.

In any case, a group of us went down to Tampa General to see what we could do for our suffering parishioner. When I spoke with the gentleman who had spoken to his daughter, things changed dramatically. You see the priest who responded to the plea for a priest, entered the room, anointed the patient on the forehead saying absolutely nothing ! He then proceeded to wipe his finger and thumb on her pillow case ! Next he said the Our Father and the Hail Mary and gave two blessings (making the sign of the cross as at Mass) and departed. Now I am understandably not fully acquainted with the new ritual, but this story was enough to tell me that there wasn't even the remotest chance that the Sacrament of Extreme Unction had been conferred. Why ?

Simple catechism: for a valid Sacrament you need...

1/ A validly ordained minister.

2/ Valid matter (Oil of the Sick)

3/ Valid form (use of words signifying the conveyance of the Sacrament)

4/ Right intention (to give / receive)

Trads of all shades will contest a number of these conditions, my concern was with the lack of words - no form was used thus No Sacrament !

Once back at the rectory, late at night, I reviewed the ceremonial for the new rite and not even an emergency situation allows for a silent anointing, the wiping of fingers on pillow cases or Mass blessings and a quick departure. How many thousands of Catholics have been defrauded by scandalous practices such as these ?

In any case our parishioner received the Last Rites but she could use your prayers, and so could her husband and family too !

+TF

P.S. Today a parishioner who moved away called me because she wants to move back again. She was very upset by the abuses she witnesses in new rite churches. She told me she would be very wary of having one of the new rite priests at her death bed based on the abuses she has witnessed. With good reason I think, and from personal experience !