Last Rites Crucifix for Laymen to use?

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A Protestant acquaintance of mine who is not at all friendly toward the Catholic Church (she considers the church idolatrous in all respects) wrote me this:

“Then perhaps you have not seen a “Last Rites” crucifix… It has the oil and the holy water right in side, you lay it flat, and it slides open, and everything you need is right in there. It’s a wooden cross and is hollow inside to hold those things, the “Laymen” instructions are there, I’ve seen them, I’ve read them, I have had that cross open and in front of me.”

I had tried to explain to her that the sacrament of anointing the sick with oil can only be done by a priest, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. But she claims that this is only the way they do it in “my church,” and that other Catholic Churches say that laymen can do it, too.

Anyway, she is using this as a hammer to claim that Catholicism isn’t “unified.”

Does anyone know what this is all about and what this Last Rites crucifix is and how it is possible for a layman to administer the Sacrament when a priest isn’t present? I’ve only been a Catholic for three years, so I don’t know everything yet! I know that there are some sacraments that can be performed by a layman, mainly baptism. But Anointing of the Sick? This seems to go totally against the Catechism!

Also, how would the oil be valid? I thought that the oil for the anointing of the sick was blessed yearly at the Chrism Mass. Is it possible that this oil can be used for years and years?

Thanks so much.
 
she is quite right, those kits are sold to lay people in Catholic gift catalogs, they are intended to be used on “sick calls” when the priest or lay minister brings communion to the sick, or when the priest visits for the purpose of administering the last rites (which consist of the sacrament of confession, the sacrament of anointing of the sick (for which the priest brings the oil) and communion, called viaticum or food for the journey.

some of these kits do contain little bottles of oil and water, but even if these have been blessed, they are not the oil consecrated by the bishop before Easter for the purpose of the sacrament of anointing the sick. In fact, in this diocese, the bishop has expressly forbidden the use by lay people in any context of any kind of blessed oil, specifically addressing the confusion that has arisen among the people about it when used for the sick.

the oil used in the sacrament of anointing of the sick has been consecrated by the bishop at the Chrism Mass (during Holy Week) and it is his blessing, with the authority he receives from Christ through the apostles, whose successor he is, that the oil becomes the efficacious sign of the sacrament.

it is Jesus Christ who gave us the sacraments. he gave them to the apostles. the gospels are quite specific on that point. The bishops are the direct successors of the apostles and it is they who ordain priests to administer the sacraments as means of Christ’s grace. The fact that some lay people misunderstand and abuse the sacraments does not deny their source, Christ, or their efficacy, in Christ.
 
Cat said:
A Protestant acquaintance of mine who is not at all friendly toward the Catholic Church (she considers the church idolatrous in all respects) wrote me this:

“Then perhaps you have not seen a “Last Rites” crucifix… It has the oil and the holy water right in side, you lay it flat, and it slides open, and everything you need is right in there. It’s a wooden cross and is hollow inside to hold those things, the “Laymen” instructions are there, I’ve seen them, I’ve read them, I have had that cross open and in front of me.”

I had tried to explain to her that the sacrament of anointing the sick with oil can only be done by a priest, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. But she claims that this is only the way they do it in “my church,” and that other Catholic Churches say that laymen can do it, too.

Anyway, she is using this as a hammer to claim that Catholicism isn’t “unified.”

Does anyone know what this is all about and what this Last Rites crucifix is and how it is possible for a layman to administer the Sacrament when a priest isn’t present? I’ve only been a Catholic for three years, so I don’t know everything yet! I know that there are some sacraments that can be performed by a layman, mainly baptism. But Anointing of the Sick? This seems to go totally against the Catechism!

Also, how would the oil be valid? I thought that the oil for the anointing of the sick was blessed yearly at the Chrism Mass. Is it possible that this oil can be used for years and years?

Thanks so much.
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She most likely was looking at a “Sick Call Crucufix” It is hollow inside and has candles, a small bottle with Holy water not oil, usually a small piece of cotton and instructions for setting it up in preparation for the Priest’s arrival. Sometimes the insturction sheet is torn or lost and people make their own sheet and stick it in the cross. I have bought these at yardsales with these sometimes incorrect sheets inside. There is also sometimes a small bottle of Blessed oil., NOT Oil of the Infirm used for the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. But a sacramental oil for lay use this also should not normally be in there.
 
It depends what is meant by “last rites”. If it means “Viaticum” (i.e. Communion for the dying) the answer is that it can be done by a lay person, who is an Extraordinary Minister. In the USA’s edition of the liturgical book “Pastoral Care of the Sick” it has in the Viaticum ceremony
“210. … A minister who is not a priest or deacon invokes God’s blessing and makes the sign of the cross on himself or herself, as described in n. 91.” (The Rites Volume One, Liturgical Press, 1990, ISBN: 0-8146-6015-0, page 859).
I don’t think this is in the Latin original, because in the right hand margin it has “E40” indicating that this comes from the liturgical book “Holy Communion and the Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass” n. 40.

Other things a lay person can do is lead “Commendation of the Dying” and “Prayers for the Dead”. According to “Pastoral Care of the Sick” it has for both these “… the minister may conclude these prayers with a simple blessing or with a symbolic gesture, for example, signing the forehead with the sign of the cross. A priest or deacon may sprinkle the body with holy water.” (n. 222 and n. 225, The Rites Volume One, Liturgical Press, 1990, ISBN: 0-8146-6015-0, pages 871and 872).

Also the lay person can do Christian Initiation for the Dying. Baptism can be done by anyone. “276. … Also whenever possible the priest or deacon, as well as a catechist or layperson having permission to distribute communion, should give the eucharist to the person newly baptized (with the special words proper to viaticum).” (Pastoral Care of the Sick, n. 276. The Rites Volume One, Liturgical Press, 1990, ISBN: 0-8146-6015-0, page 887. In the right hand margin it has “I278” and “I280” indicating that this is from Christian Initiation of Adults n. 278 and 280.

But if “last rites” is understood as the sacrament of anointing of the sick, the answer is that this can only be done by a priest. The same with the sacrament of penance.
 
Thanks for the information, everyone.

Do you mind if I cut and paste your answers into my email? I will erase any sign of your identity.
 
This is just another example proving Fulton Sheen’s words that people don’t really hate the Catholic Church.

They hate what they THINK is the Catholic Church.
 
I have one of those “Late Rite Crosses.” Got if from my mother. It must be a hundred years old, well maybe 75. I have no idea if there is any oil or water in there, haven’t opened it in decades. I can’t imagine ever using it, myself.
 
Cat said:
Thanks for the information, everyone.

Do you mind if I cut and paste your answers into my email? I will erase any sign of your identity.
Click to expand...
No problem. Feel free to erase my identity or keep it in the email.
 
I always had one of those sick call crucifixes in my room before I went out on my own. It was my favorite crucifix in the house.

In the “old” days the instructions for the lay person included things like meeting the priest at the door with a lit candle and preparing the dying individual’s room before hand (a white cloth and cotton balls were mentioned, if I remember correctly). It was far from a “do-it-yourself” kit; it contains items to have in the home (or hospital, I assume) when the priest comes.
 
Cat said:
A Protestant acquaintance of mine who is not at all friendly toward the Catholic Church (she considers the church idolatrous in all respects) wrote me this:

“Then perhaps you have not seen a “Last Rites” crucifix… It has the oil and the holy water right in side, you lay it flat, and it slides open, and everything you need is right in there. It’s a wooden cross and is hollow inside to hold those things, the “Laymen” instructions are there, I’ve seen them, I’ve read them, I have had that cross open and in front of me.”

I had tried to explain to her that the sacrament of anointing the sick with oil can only be done by a priest, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. But she claims that this is only the way they do it in “my church,” and that other Catholic Churches say that laymen can do it, too.

Anyway, she is using this as a hammer to claim that Catholicism isn’t “unified.”

Does anyone know what this is all about and what this Last Rites crucifix is and how it is possible for a layman to administer the Sacrament when a priest isn’t present? I’ve only been a Catholic for three years, so I don’t know everything yet! I know that there are some sacraments that can be performed by a layman, mainly baptism. But Anointing of the Sick? This seems to go totally against the Catechism!

Also, how would the oil be valid? I thought that the oil for the anointing of the sick was blessed yearly at the Chrism Mass. Is it possible that this oil can be used for years and years?

Thanks so much.
Click to expand...
Sombodys been reading Jack Chick
 
Here is a photo of a typical sick call set. I have two sets – one was my parents’ (now both deceased), and one we received for our wedding.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

And here are instructions for how to use the set and the ritual the priest uses:

fisheaters.com/sickcalls.html

'thann
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
NOT Oil of the Infirm used for the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. But a sacramental oil for lay use this also should not normally be in there.
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I’m curious. Is there actually some non-sacramental oil laypeople can use? If so, what, and in what circumstances?
 
Sick call set are not frequently used anymore due to the fact that most people die in hospitals or nursing home/hospice.
 
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