Article I. On The Notion And Existence Of The Sacrament Of Extreme Unction

569. Name. The sacrament of Extreme Unction has been called by many names, for example, holy oil, oil of blessing, oil of unction, the sacrament of those departing, and so forth. By the Greeks, however, it is called ἅγιον ἔλαιον, εὐχέλαιον, ὑστεραχρίσις, θεῖον μύρον, and so forth.

Definition. Extreme Unction is a sacrament of the New Law by which, through the anointing of blessed oil and the prayer of a priest, the salvation of soul and sometimes of body is conferred upon a man capable of malice and gravely ill.

This definition will become clearer from what is to be said below concerning the matter, form, effects, and subject of this sacrament.

Errors. Although the Waldensians and Wycliffites perhaps did not totally deny the existence of this sacrament, nevertheless they spoke of it rather irreverently.² Luther, in the sermon On the New Testament (in the year 1520), n. 24, still enumerates Extreme Unction among the sacraments, but in the book On the Babylonian Captivity (in the same year 1520) he rejects this sacrament, although he admits it as a kind of sacramental. Calvin,³ however, calls Extreme Unction "histrionic hypocrisy."

² Cf. Billuart, De extr. unct., diss. unica, a. 1.

³ Instit., l. 4, c. 19, § 18.

570. Thesis. Extreme Unction is a true sacrament of the New Testament.

It is defined as of faith. The Council of Florence⁴ says: "The fifth sacrament is Extreme Unction, whose matter is olive oil blessed by a bishop." The Council of Trent⁵ defines: "If anyone says that Extreme Unction is not truly and properly a sacrament instituted by Christ Our Lord and promulgated by the blessed Apostle James, but only a rite received from the Fathers or a human invention, let him be anathema."

Proof 1. From Sacred Scripture. "Is anyone among you sick? Let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him."⁶ Almost all Protestants, from Martin Chemnitz down to Hase, explain this text of the gift of healings, which was signified by the anointing with oil. But this explanation is forced and false. For: a) If bodily healing were treated here, there is no reason why St. James should command the priests to be called. For then physicians, or those who have the gift of healings, which priests did not always exercise, ought rather to be called. b) The gift of healings was given not only for the sick who were bedridden, but also for the lame, blind, deaf, and so forth. Why, therefore, does St. James speak only of the sick? c) St. James adds: "And if he [the sick man] be in sins, they shall be forgiven him."⁷ But it is impossible for sins to be infallibly remitted by some natural anointing or prayer. Protestants indeed think that sins are remitted neither through the anointing nor through the prayer, but through the faith of the man anointed; but this faith is asserted gratuitously, since the Apostle speaks of the prayer of faith of the priests, and not of the man anointed.

Since these things are so, the argument from the cited text of St. James is constructed thus: A sacrament is a sensible sign efficacious of grace, permanently instituted by Christ. But Extreme Unction is such a sign. Therefore Extreme Unction is a true sacrament. Proof of the minor: Extreme Unction is: a) a sensible sign, for a sensible anointing and the words of the priest are employed; b) it effects grace, because it remits sins, if any are present; c) it was permanently instituted by Christ. This is evident a priori, because no one except God alone can annex grace to a sensible sign. Furthermore, St. James speaks neither to one church nor for one time, but simply, without any limitation. Moreover, he could not do this except by the authority of God.

If it is further asked when Christ instituted this sacrament, theologians do not agree. Some (Maldonatus, Sainte-Beuve, and others) think that Christ instituted this sacrament already before the Passion, since it is said of the Apostles in Mark 6:13: "They anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them"; but this opinion is deservedly rejected, since the Apostles were not yet priests at that time and consequently could not administer this sacrament. Therefore the better and more common opinion teaches that Extreme Unction was instituted by Christ together with the sacrament of Penance after the Resurrection and was afterward promulgated by St. James.

Proof 2. From tradition. Origen⁸ (third century) presents Extreme Unction as a complement of the sacrament of Penance. Innocent I (402-417), when asked by Decentius, Bishop of Gubbio, concerning certain doubts about this sacrament, responds: 1. that the words of St. James are to be understood of the faithful who are sick; 2. that this anointing can be performed both by bishops and by priests; 3. that this anointing is not to be administered to public penitents, "because it is a kind of sacrament. For to those to whom the other sacraments are denied, how is it thought that one kind can be granted?"⁹ St. Gregory the Great (sixth century) not only knows this sacrament, but in his Sacramentary prescribes the manner of administering it.¹⁰ For other testimonies of the ancients, see Drouven.¹¹ The Scholastics of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and thereafter all Catholic authors, hold Extreme Unction to be a true sacrament, although some (Hugh of St. Victor, the Master of the Sentences, St. Bonaventure) teach that it was instituted not by Christ, but by the Apostle St. James under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This opinion, however, can no longer be maintained today because of the canon of the Council of Trent already cited above.¹²

Proof 3. From prescription, that is, from the consent of the Eastern Churches, in whose most ancient Euchologia the rite of this sacrament is found.¹³

Proof 4. From the reason of fittingness. Extreme Unction very fittingly assists man in the final danger of death. For it can be administered even to those deprived of their senses, upon whom another sacrament can scarcely, if at all, be conferred. Furthermore, in agony man most needs assistance. Certainly assistance perhaps is already afforded through the Eucharist and Penance, but perhaps the remnants of sins remain. Moreover, the Eucharist cannot always be given to the dying person. Therefore it is most fitting that Christ, who during His earthly life assisted so many sick persons, should have instituted Extreme Unction as a permanent sacrament and the best assistance for a happy passage into eternal life.

⁴ Denz., n. 700.

⁵ Sess. 14, can. 1, De extr. unct. (Denz., n. 926).

⁶ James 5:14 ff.

⁷ κἂν ἁμαρτίας ᾖ πεποιηκώς, ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ.

⁸ Hom. 2 in Lev., n. 4 (Migne, Patr. lat. 12, 419). For an explanation of this text, cf. Kern, De sacr. extr. unct., p. 53.

⁹ Ep. 25 to Decentius, n. 8 (Denz., n. 99).

¹⁰ In Migne, Patr. lat. 78, 233.

¹¹ De re sacr., l. 7, q. 1, c. 1.

¹² P. 408, note 5.

¹³ Cf. Goar, Euchol., p. 408 ff., and Drouven, loc. cit.