§ 2. On The Form Of Extreme Unction

1877. The FORM of Extreme Unction is this: Through this holy anointing, and His most loving mercy, may the Lord forgive thee whatever THROUGH SIGHT (if the eyes are anointed, and so concerning the others) thou hast committed. Amen. - It is clear from the Council of Trent and from the Roman Ritual. The indicative form would be invalid, as is taught more truly; for from the words of St. James, And let them pray over him, it ought to be deprecatory.¹⁸

Moreover, to one asking why the form of this Sacrament is deprecatory, the Roman Catechism responds:¹⁹ "This was constituted by the best right; for since this Sacrament is therefore applied so that, besides the spiritual grace which it bestows, it may also restore health to the sick; nevertheless, because it does not always follow that the sick recover from diseases, for that cause the form is completed by prayer, so that from the kindness of God we may obtain that which the power of the Sacrament is not wont to effect by a constant and perpetual order."

As regards the form, LET THE FOLLOWING BE NOTED:

1. To the essence of the Sacrament pertain the words: Through this anointing may the Lord forgive thee whatever thou hast committed. - There are indeed some who deny that the word thou hast committed is of the essence; but undeservedly: for this word expresses the remission of sins, which is the principal effect of this Sacrament.

2. The word holy does not pertain to the essence, as all confess; nor these other words: through His most loving mercy, because one who prays God that He forgive already implores His mercy, as the Authors more commonly and more probably teach. Nevertheless, to omit these last words would be a grave sin against the use of the Church, in a grave matter; but neither can the word holy be omitted without fault.

3. The form is not to be ended before the other part of the same sense has been anointed. If the priest fails between the anointings, the anointings already made are not to be repeated, unless a fourth part of an hour has now elapsed; in which case they would have to be repeated under condition.²⁰

4. Once the form has been ended, in the individual anointings, the sick person with those standing by can respond Amen. And it will be excellent if, while the five senses of the body are being anointed, he expressly grieves concerning the faults committed through them.²¹

IT IS ASKED. In what way, WHEN NECESSITY URGES, must the Sacrament be conferred?

Resp. 1. "If someone labors in extremis, and danger is imminent lest he depart before the anointings are finished, let him be anointed quickly, beginning from that place: Through this holy anointing, etc. Then, if he still survives, let the prayers omitted, placed in their own place, be said." Thus the ROMAN RITUAL.

2. If the danger of death is so imminent that all the anointings do not seem able to be carried out in the due manner, let the priest make one anointing, under condition if it is valid, on some sense (yet more advisedly on the forehead, since the nerves of all the senses descend from the head), using this form: Through this holy anointing... may the Lord forgive thee whatever thou hast committed through the senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch; therefore placing first the word thou hast committed, because if it were pronounced at the end, and meanwhile the sick person should die, there is no Sacrament. - If the sick person survives, the anointings, as Lacroix rightly affirms, are to be repeated on the individual senses, and the other omitted prayers are to be added.

3. But if it is doubted whether the sick person still lives, let the priest continue the anointing under condition, saying: If thou livest, through this, etc. "But if the sick person, while he is anointed, departs, let the priest proceed no further, and let him omit the aforesaid prayers." Thus the RITUAL.