THEOLOGOS 1/2015 | ŠTÚDIE is thus the intervention of God in the life situation of a sick man.. There-fore, it is stated in the Introduction that „the dangerously ill person needs the s
Trang 1THEOLOGOS 1/2015 | ŠTÚDIE
is thus the intervention of God in the life situation of a sick man There-fore, it is stated in the Introduction that „the dangerously ill person needs the special grace of God, that under the influence of fear he does not fall
in spirit and become subject to temptation, nor weak in faith Therefore, Christ in the sacrament of the anointing gives his faithful affected by sick-ness, tremendous power and defense.“106 Referring to the teachings of the Council of Trent, it explains that it is the work of grace in the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, which in the first place is the grace of the Holy Spirit
It has a dimension of salvation, because it strengthens the faith of a man, arms against the temptations of Satan and protects against anxiety about death As a result, the sick man can not only endure the discomfort of the disease, but can overcome it and regain health.107
The most important changes encountered in the Introduction are: to define the subject of the Sacrament of the Anointing, which is the faith-ful whose life is threatened due to illness108 or the elderly, who is not suf-fering illness; the sacrament may be repeated, even in the same disease,
if there is a serious deterioration of health It allows for reception of this sacrament before major surgery if caused by a dangerous disease.109 The sacrament remains unchanged in that it can be given to young children who have sufficient understanding of the meaning of the sacrament, as well as patients who are already deprived of consciousness, but where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the patient would desire to receive this sacrament it if conscious.110 „Great emphasis is placed on the need for an informed faith and devotion in receiving the sacrament of the anointing, because the sacraments are not magical, but are sacraments
of faith, which is found through faith in the power and presence of Christ acting in the sacrament, and in the same way the rites of the sacrament are to contribute to the deepening of the faith in the one receiving it Also Anointing of the Sick, which according to the teachings of the letter of St
James (5:15) is accompanied by the prayer of faith – oratio fidei, is the
sac-rament of faith.“111 What should be understood is that one should not wait
106 SCh 5
107 cf SCh 6
108 To assess the severity of the disease prudent judgment is likely sufficient When in doubt, consult a physician.
109 cf SCh 10 point was in response to the voice of Bishop F Angelini, the chief chaplain
of hospitals in Italy, which at the time of the council meeting, reported the creation of such a possibility.
110 cf SCh 12, 14; as well as the article: J STEFAŃSKI, Pastoralno – teologiczne implikacje nowego Obrzędu namaszczenia chorych, „Ateneum Kapłańskie“ 67 (1975) t 85, z 1,
s 126.
111 S CZERWIK, Odnowa , s 115