Extreme Unction given to a priest or Bishop

[mosher]

Now, I have been informed on a number of occasion that if a priest or Bishop is giving the Anointing of the Sick to a priest or Bishop then instead of anointing the palm of his hands the back of his hands are anointed because his hands are already consecrated in the reception of priestly Orders. The problem is that I can’t find a citation for this. Does anyone know where I can find this bit of info?

 

[Aramis]

Now, I have been informed on a number of occasion that if a priest or Bishop is giving the Anointing of the Sick to a priest or Bishop then instead of anointing the palm of his hands the back of his hands are anointed because his hands are already consecrated in the reception of priestly Orders. The problem is that I can’t find a citation for this. Does anyone know where I can find this bit of info?

Check the Pontifical (the Bishop’s sacramentary, while the Sacramentary is the Priest’s…)

 

[Allen537]

I am not sure where you would find something written, but I can say from experience that I have seen a priest receive the sacrament, and when it came time for his hands to be anointed, it was indeed the top of his hands and not his palms, that were anointed.

I hope this helps.

In Carmel,

Br. Allen

 

[FrDavid96]

Now, I have been informed on a number of occasion that if a priest or Bishop is giving the Anointing of the Sick to a priest or Bishop then instead of anointing the palm of his hands the back of his hands are anointed because his hands are already consecrated in the reception of priestly Orders. The problem is that I can’t find a citation for this. Does anyone know where I can find this bit of info?

That’s right. A priest is never anointed on the palms of his hands during Unction.

I don’t have the book at-hand right now, but I’ll get back to you with a citation if no one’s done so in the meantime.

 

[FrDavid96]

The only book I have handy right now is the 1954 Collectio Rituum. I have a pocket version of *Pastoral Care of the Sick *but I can’t find where it addresses this issue.
The General Instruction #23 calls for anointing “on the hands” but does not specify the palms or the backs of the hands.

In a case like this, we were taught that “rubrics mean what they have always meant” and since the practice of anointing the palms (except for a bishop/priest) is from time immemorial, unless the liturgical law says otherwise, we should continue to understand the rubrics to “mean what they have always meant.”

Here’s what the Collectio Rituum says:
Ad Manus
Et adverte quod Sacerdotibus manus non inunguntur interius, sed exterius.

A working (not literal) translation of that is that the hands of a priest are not anointed on the inside (palms) but the outside (backs).

 

[mosher]

The only book I have handy right now is the 1954 Collectio Rituum. I have a pocket version of *Pastoral Care of the Sick *but I can’t find where it addresses this issue.
The General Instruction #23 calls for anointing “on the hands” but does not specify the palms or the backs of the hands.

In a case like this, we were taught that “rubrics mean what they have always meant” and since the practice of anointing the palms (except for a bishop/priest) is from time immemorial, unless the liturgical law says otherwise, we should continue to understand the rubrics to “mean what they have always meant.”

Here’s what the Collectio Rituum says:
Ad Manus
Et adverte quod Sacerdotibus manus non inunguntur interius, sed exterius.

A working (not literal) translation of that is that the hands of a priest are not anointed on the inside (palms) but the outside (backs).

Thank you Father but I don’t think this will prove the case. I agree with your assessment and I have always understood rubrics to function the way to describe but in this case one of the brothers was specifically challenged on this point and so we are tying to clarify if it is explicit in the current rite. I should check a copy of Rites.