Healing

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billcu1

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I asked my Pastor (via email) if it was appropriate to get a healing sacrament. He said before when I had one that when your health changes that would be the appropriate time to do it again. He has not responded. Well anyway my blood work has change I believe since my last healing sacrament. They do this at the Parrish btw once a month during Mass. But my travel sometimes restricts me to Mass on Tuesdays. I am now anemic and my blood work is all messed up. I am going to get a thyroid panel (TSH, IDK about T3 and T4, ec cetra) and urine test for albumin. Which should NOT be there.
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Since there has been a change is a healing sacrament warranted ?
Bill
 
billcu1 said:
I asked my Pastor (via email) if it was appropriate to get a healing sacrament. He said before when I had one that when your health changes that would be the appropriate time to do it again. He has not responded. Well anyway my blood work has change I believe since my last healing sacrament. They do this at the Parrish btw once a month during Mass. But my travel sometimes restricts me to Mass on Tuesdays. I am now anemic and my blood work is all messed up. I am going to get a thyroid panel (TSH, IDK about T3 and T4, ec cetra) and urine test for albumin. Which should NOT be there.
Code: 
Since there has been a change is a healing sacrament warranted ?
Bill
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Bill,

First, you’re in my prayers RE your health situation.

The Church does not have a “healing sacrament” because that would imply that if a person’s body is not healed then the sacrament somehow did not work. Instead, the Church has “Anointing of the Sick” or “Unction of the Sick” (2 words that mean exactly the same thing).

No one, again NO ONE on an internet forum can answer the question of whether or not you’re a candidate to be Anointed again. Especially because you wrote that the medical tests haven’t happened yet.

Email is not always a reliable way to contact the priest. Since he hasn’t responded to email, try the telephone, or try some other means. You say that you can go to Mass on Tuesdays. By all means speak to the priest on Tuesday when you go to Mass. Even if that is not the same priest, he will still be able to answer the question. Talk to him and take it from there. If he decides it’s necessary or appropriate he can always Anoint you, again even if he wasn’t the priest to Anoint the first time.

Please understand that I’m not saying to “wait until Tuesday” to communicate this to the priest. I don’t know your situation anymore than anyone else knows it. If your situation is dire (I hope not, but if the doctors said “you might not make it through the week”) then phone the parish right away and if you don’t get a response, phone a neighboring parish.
Instead, I’m saying that (if your situation is NOT dire) then if you don’t get a response before Tuesday’s Mass then talk to the priest on Tuesday.

While Anointing either during a Mass for the Sick or somehow attached to a Mass for the Sick is recommended by the Church, there is no reason (none at all) that requires it to be done this way. If the priest decides you need Anointing he can do so right then-and-there.

Again, prayers.
 
FrDavid96 said:
Bill,

First, you’re in my prayers RE your health situation.

The Church does not have a “healing sacrament” because that would imply that if a person’s body is not healed then the sacrament somehow did not work. Instead, the Church has “Anointing of the Sick” or “Unction of the Sick” (2 words that mean exactly the same thing).

No one, again NO ONE on an internet forum can answer the question of whether or not you’re a candidate to be Anointed again. Especially because you wrote that the medical tests haven’t happened yet.

Email is not always a reliable way to contact the priest. Since he hasn’t responded to email, try the telephone, or try some other means. You say that you can go to Mass on Tuesdays. By all means speak to the priest on Tuesday when you go to Mass. Even if that is not the same priest, he will still be able to answer the question. Talk to him and take it from there. If he decides it’s necessary or appropriate he can always Anoint you, again even if he wasn’t the priest to Anoint the first time.

Please understand that I’m not saying to “wait until Tuesday” to communicate this to the priest. I don’t know your situation anymore than anyone else knows it. If your situation is dire (I hope not, but if the doctors said “you might not make it through the week”) then phone the parish right away and if you don’t get a response, phone a neighboring parish.
Instead, I’m saying that (if your situation is NOT dire) then if you don’t get a response before Tuesday’s Mass then talk to the priest on Tuesday.

While Anointing either during a Mass for the Sick or somehow attached to a Mass for the Sick is recommended by the Church, there is no reason (none at all) that requires it to be done this way. If the priest decides you need Anointing he can do so right then-and-there.

Again, prayers.
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Oh I see. I thought there was a healing sacrament. But the blood tests other than the thyroid have been done.

Bill
 
Bill -

The Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament, but not necessarily of healing. The last time I had it was right before I got an accurate diagnosis of my condition, which allowed the doctor to do the surgery to correct the problem. So it can be healing in that sense. Other times I got peace, but not physical healing.
 
billcu1 said:
Oh I see. I thought there was a healing sacrament. But the blood tests other than the thyroid have been done.

Bill
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It is a sacrament of healing in the sense of grouping the Sacraments together.

Confession and Anointing are classified as “Sacraments of Healing” while Baptism Communion and Confirmation are “Sacraments of Initiation” etc.

But when we’re speaking of Anointing by itself (in contrast to categories) we don’t call it the Sacrament of Healing (I added the caps) because if we did, then that would imply that it causes bodily healing (which it sometimes can, miraculously) but would open the misunderstanding that if the person isn’t healed, then the Sacrament was not-effective. It’s always effective on the soul, just not always on the body.
 
FrDavid96 said:
It is a sacrament of healing in the sense of grouping the Sacraments together.

Confession and Anointing are classified as “Sacraments of Healing” while Baptism Communion and Confirmation are “Sacraments of Initiation” etc.

But when we’re speaking of Anointing by itself (in contrast to categories) we don’t call it the Sacrament of Healing (I added the caps) because if we did, then that would imply that it causes bodily healing (which it sometimes can, miraculously) but would open the misunderstanding that if the person isn’t healed, then the Sacrament was not-effective. It’s always effective on the soul, just not always on the body.
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Sickness can come from many causes. Sometimes ourselves, and the tempter. But can God make one sick? Or rather allow the tempter to inflict illness?

Bill
 
FrDavid96 said:
It is a sacrament of healing in the sense of grouping the Sacraments together.

Confession and Anointing are classified as “Sacraments of Healing” while Baptism Communion and Confirmation are “Sacraments of Initiation” etc.

But when we’re speaking of Anointing by itself (in contrast to categories) we don’t call it the Sacrament of Healing (I added the caps) because if we did, then that would imply that it causes bodily healing (which it sometimes can, miraculously) but would open the misunderstanding that if the person isn’t healed, then the Sacrament was not-effective. It’s always effective on the soul, just not always on the body.
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I find Communion to be quite healing myself. With thegraces and all 🙂 Of sustenance and sanctification.
 
billcu1 said:
Sickness can come from many causes. Sometimes ourselves, and the tempter. But can God make one sick?
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God can do anything He wants to do. That does NOT mean that He made you sick–which I fear is what you’re asking.
Or rather allow the tempter to inflict illness?
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Bill
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Yes, again, God can allow it. And again, that does NOT mean the Tempter did inflict it.

This is really a conversation that should happen in-person. Talk to the priest on Tuesday. Please do.

I have to leave for the evening, so I won’t be back on CAF. If you respond again, I won’t be here (I’m not ignoring you).

Please do talk to the priest on Tuesday, or earlier if you can reach him.
 
FrDavid96 said:
Bill,

First, you’re in my prayers RE your health situation.

The Church does not have a “healing sacrament” because that would imply that if a person’s body is not healed then the sacrament somehow did not work. Instead, the Church has “Anointing of the Sick” or “Unction of the Sick” (2 words that mean exactly the same thing)…
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On a side note, why would the “healing sacrament” not work? If it’s a sacrament, performed by God through the priest, why?
 
Faith1960 said:
On a side note, why would the “healing sacrament” not work? If it’s a sacrament, performed by God through the priest, why?
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I’m not Fr. David (he’s off of here for the night) but he did explain it pretty well. If the Sacrament of the Sick were a “healing” sacrament, then it would have to heal people every time. It doesn’t so it isn’t.

Which suddenly reminds me of a cartoon I saw years ago (when I was still a Protestant). An overweight man went to Kathryn Kuhlman to be healed of his obesity. She laid hands on him and said “Be healed of obesity!” He lost weight so rapidly that his pants fell down.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if healing worked that way? 😃
 
FrDavid96 said:
God can do anything He wants to do. That does NOT mean that He made you sick–which I fear is what you’re asking.

Yes, again, God can allow it. And again, that does NOT mean the Tempter did inflict it.

This is really a conversation that should happen in-person. Talk to the priest on Tuesday. Please do.

I have to leave for the evening, so I won’t be back on CAF. If you respond again, I won’t be here (I’m not ignoring you).

Please do talk to the priest on Tuesday, or earlier if you can reach him.
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I think I might disagree if I may with one thing. You said God can do anything he wants. There’s a lot of things IMO God can’t do. He cannot lie, tempt, be tempted. And that’s all I can right off think of.

Thanks for your advice.
 
Bonnie said:
I’m not Fr. David (he’s off of here for the night) but he did explain it pretty well. If the Sacrament of the Sick were a “healing” sacrament, then it would have to heal people every time. It doesn’t so it isn’t.
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Why doesn’t God and the sacrament heal every time?
 
Bonnie said:
Because - as has been said - it is NOT a sacrament of healing. Perhaps spiritual healing, but not physical.
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“Catholic since '76.” Way to go Bonnie! I really like that in your signature. 👍
 
billcu1 said:
I think I might disagree if I may with one thing. You said God can do anything he wants. There’s a lot of things IMO God can’t do. He cannot lie, tempt, be tempted. And that’s all I can right off think of.

Thanks for your advice.
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That’s more of a philosophical question.

When we say that God can do “anything” we mean “anything logically possible”; so yes, you’re right, God cannot lie, nor can he catch the flu, nor self-destruct. God cannot contradict Himself. The words “God can do anything” is just a phrase we use.
 
Faith1960 said:
On a side note, why would the “healing sacrament” not work? If it’s a sacrament, performed by God through the priest, why?
Click to expand...
That’s not quite what I said.

I wrote this:
that would imply that if a person’s body is not healed then the sacrament somehow did not work
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Read the sentence again. I said that if the body is not healed, that would imply that the sacrament did not work. If the Anointing healed every bodily illness, we would have 2,000 year old Christians still living among us; which is, of course, not the case.

The Anointing is a prayer for bodily healing. It does not always and everywhere cause bodily healing.

That’s why we call it “Anointing” and not “Healing.”
 
FYI: probably not needed but…

You said you were going to a mass, where they did that.

It could be a “Healing Mass” usually arranged by Charismatic Catholics,
but the laying of hands at the end of the mass is not a sacrament.

Or it could be the Sacrament of Annointing of the Sick given during a normal mass.
Catholic Catechism paragraph 1514:

vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a5.htm

I’ve attended some of these things(Annointing of the Sick) and mistakenly believed I could participate in this factory line dispensation of the sacrament during mass: What happened was the alter servers were laying hands on me(violation of the catechism), priest would thumb the oil on me. Priest was winging it in violation of the churchs guidance(read above) on administering the sacrament. Was done once a month, the new pastor eventually put a kibosh on it.
 
RB2 said:
FYI: probably not needed but…

You said you were going to a mass, where they did that.

It could be a “Healing Mass” usually arranged by Charismatic Catholics,
but the laying of hands at the end of the mass is not a sacrament.

Or it could be the Sacrament of Annointing of the Sick given during a normal mass.
Catholic Catechism paragraph 1514:

vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a5.htm

I’ve attended some of these things(Annointing of the Sick) and mistakenly believed I could participate in this factory line dispensation of the sacrament during mass: What happened was the alter servers were laying hands on me(violation of the catechism), priest would thumb the oil on me. Priest was winging it in violation of the churchs guidance(read above) on administering the sacrament. Was done once a month, the new pastor eventually put a kibosh on it.
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I have never been to this But I am quite sure it’s a normal Mass with the “annointing oil”. I have had this done privately by a Priest. They annoint the forehead and then palms.
 
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