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REMIGIUS LAFORT, S.T.L.,

Censor.

imprimatur,

>J«JQHN M. FARLEY,

Archbishop oj New York.

May 15, 1907

Osaefed

Copyright, 1907,

By Rev. PATRICK J. HANLEY



INTRODUCTION

The following treatise is published with the hope that it

will afford profitable reading to young and old, and in view

of the fact that there is no treatise in English on the subject

worthy of the name. The clergy and the laity will find in it

information not found outside of large theological works.

I have consulted the most eminent and orthodox of ancient

and modern theologians, and I have tried to follow their

teachings and their spirit.

I have read the most approved and the most conservative

of medical works treating directly or indirectly with the subject

in hand, and I give the decisions which appear to me to be in

consonance with the spirit of Catholic theology.

The doctrine given in this treatise and the opinions expressed

herein I have taken from standard Catholic theological works.

I have, at times, used the very phraseology of the great masters

of the sacred science of theology; and I shall here merely

express the hope that I have not misinterpreted their meaning,

nor weakened their arguments, nor diminished in any way

the lucid manner in which they treat the subject.

I have done my best to catch the spirit of the Church, and

thus avoid using language calculated to offend pious ears. I

have ever kept before my mind the words attributed to St.

Augustine, and well worthy of that extraordinary genius, viz.,

“
In these things that are necessary, let there be unity; in doubt,

iii



IV INTRODUCTION

liberty; and in all things, charity.” But if any word or phrase

has crept into the treatise which can be construed as opposed

to the teaching of the Church, or her theologians, I hereby

condemn and repudiate such a word, or such a phrase. A

Catholic ought not to be satisfied to listen, and obey the voice

of the Church; he ought to think and feel with the Church,

the spouse of Christ, in purity, a virgin; in love, a mother;

for she has the adoption of sons, and the glory, and the cove-

nants, and the revealed law, and the service of God, and the

promises, and she is the pillar and the ground of truth. Cath-

olics ought to put their all at her disposal, that she may carry

out her divine mission on earth, and ever join one another in

the divine hope that we all shall meet in Mount Zion and the

heavenly Jerusalem, in the company of many thousands of

angels, the church of the first born who are written in heaven,

with God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made

perfect, and Jesus the mediator of the New Testament, with

Mary, the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the honor of

her people.

P. J. H.



EXTREME UNCTION

Is any man sick among you? 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— James v. 14.

Baptism gives us a new life, a spiritual life, which is strength-

ened by confirmation and nourished by the Eucharist. And

when this spiritual life is lost by mortal sin it can be regained

by the Sacrament of Penance. Those four sacraments give

man all the assistance necessary to live a pious and holy life.

But since he only is crowned who perseveres unto the end, it

is necessary that when death comes he receive such help that

he may not lose the crown which he had won during life.

The surest aid is the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, which

is the completion of the Sacrament of Penance, and which is,

according to St. Thomas, Contra Gent. IV. 7:3, the consum-

mation of the whole spiritual life by which man is prepared to

participate in eternal glory. As confirmation is called by the

Fathers the perfection and completion of baptism, so is Extreme

Unction to be regarded the completion of penance, or the

whole Christian life; for the true Christian’s life is, as the

Council of Trent declares (Sess. XIV., Doctr. Unct.), a per-

petual penance.

It is the province of penance to wipe out sin, and that of

Extreme Unction to take away the relics of sin.



2 EXTREME UNCTION

ITS NAMES

Extreme Unction is known by various names; from the

matter of which it consists it is called the Holy Oil, agion

elaion by the Greeks, the Oil of Benediction, the Sacrament of

the Sacred Unction; from its matter and form it is called by

the Greeks euckelaion
,
or prayer with oil, and to agion elaion;

from the subject by whom it is received it is called Unction

of the Infirm and Extreme Unction — the latter since the
twelfth century— because, as the Catechism of Trent says, it
is the last unction administered to members of the Church—
the other unctions are used in baptism, confirmation, ordina-

tion and other consecrations — and because it is administered
when man reaches the extreme term of life. Hence the

Catechism of Trent calls it, after our predecessors in the faith,

the Unction of the Infirm and the Sacrament of the Departing.

The Orientals called it Kendil, viz., a lamp; and from its

effect we call it the medicine of the soul and body, and the

liquor by which health is given us, and sins forgiven. It was

called also in the early ages the Blessed Unction, the Anointing

of the Sick, the Oil of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of the

Pilgrim, and the Unction of the Wanderer. The name by

which the Sacrament is called to-day was used by the holy

Virgin Maura when she asked Prudentius, bishop of Troyes,

to administer to her the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. She

lived in the ninth century.

ITS DEFINITION

Extreme Unction is a sacrament instituted by Christ and

promulgated by St. James for the salvation of the soul and

body of the sick whose life is in danger, and is conferred by



EXTREME UNCTION
3

the anointing of blessed oil and the prayer of the priest. In

this definition we see that the immediate author is Christ;

the effect, the health of the soul and body; the subject, the

sick whose life is in danger; the remote matter, blessed oil;

the proximate matter, the anointing; the form, the prayer;

and the person of the minister, the priest.

WHEN INSTITUTED

It is not known with certainty when this sacrament was

instituted. Many authorities say that Christ instituted it

before His death— probably when He sent His apostles to
Galilee to preach— and the apostles dispensed it while our
blessed Lord was still living. They base their belief on the

words of St. Mark vi. 13, “And the apostles anointed with

oil the sick, and healed them.” Ven. Bede, Franciscus Lucas,

and Maldonatus teach this.

But the commonly received opinion is that Extreme Unction

was instituted after the Resurrection, or at least after the Last

Supper, because the minister of this sacrament is the priest.

And it is evident from the Council of Trent (Sess. XXII.,

Cap. 1 and Can. 2), the apostles were not ordained priests

till the Last Supper; and hence the apostles could not confer

Extreme Unction till they had been ordained. The anointing

spoken of by St. Mark produced only bodily cures. It was

not confined to the baptized, for it was conferred on “Many

that were sick” and hence most likely on those who were not

baptized. Therefore it was not the Sacrament of Extreme

Unction, for it can be conferred only on the baptized. But

the anointing referred to by St. Mark obscurely signified and

prefigured the sacrament. Hence the Council of Trent (Sess.



4 EXTREME UNCTION

XIV., Cap. i) says that this “ Sacrament was insinuated by

St. Mark, but promulgated and commended to the faithful by

James the Apostle.”

ERRORS

The Albigenses denied the existence of this sacrament.

The Waldenses, Wicleffites, and Hussites showed more or less

contempt for it, but it is not certain that they entirely rejected

it. Luther said it was a rite like a sacramental; he, however,

absolutely denied to it the dignity of a sacrament. Calvin

called it a fictitious sacrament, and a histrionic hypocrisy

(Inst., L. LV. C. 19, Sec. 18), and entirely rejected it. Me-

lancthon called it a superstitious ceremony. Protestants to-day,

if we except the Ritualists, unanimously reject it, and they

say that the words of St. James refer to the corporal healing

of the sick.

IT IS A SACRAMENT

Extreme Unction is, truly and properly speaking, a sacra-

ment of the New Law. This is an article of faith, as is evident

from the words of the Council of Trent, XIV., Can. 1: “If

anyone says that Extreme Unction is not truly and properly a

sacrament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, and promul-

gated by St. James, but that it is merely a rite accepted by

the Fathers or a human figment, let him be anathema.”

It is equally clear from Scripture, James v. 14, 15: “Is any

man sick among you? 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 is

in sins, they shall be forgiven him.”



EXTREME UNCTION
5

Hence we argue that sacred rite is, truly and properly

speaking, a sacrament of the New Law which was instituted

by Christ by the mode of a sensible sign to produce grace.

Now, such a rite is Extreme Unction. It is a sensible sign,

viz., the anointing with oil coupled with the prayer of the

priest. There is promise of grace, because “if he is in sins

they shall be forgiven him”; and this takes place only by the

infusion of sanctifying grace. Christ instituted it, for we may

infer from the words “ in the name of the Lord,” that priests,

as the ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries

of God, confer the sacrament, and it is evident that God

alone can give grace by some sensible sign. The Greek and

Latin, Oriental and Schismatic, churches admit it as a sacra-

ment.

Origen, St. Ephraem, St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, St.

Innocent, St. Caesarius, Victor of Antioch, and St. Cyril

of Alexandra teach that this is a sacrament. The Council of

Trent declares (Sess. XIV.), “As regards the institution

of Extreme Unction the Synod declares and teaches that our

most merciful Redeemer, who willed that His servants should,

at all times, be provided with salutary remedies against all

the weapons of all the enemies; as in the other sacraments He

prepared the greatest aids whereby, during life, Christians

might preserve themselves whole from every most grievous

•evil, so did He guard the close of life by the sacrament of

Extreme Unction as with a most firm defense.”

Hence the Catechism of Trent declares that the apostle

ascribes to Extreme Unction at once the nature and efficacy of

the sacrament. That such has been at all times the doctrine

of the Catholic Church many councils testify, and the Council

of Trent denounces anathema against those who presume to



6 EXTREME UNCTION

teach or think otherwise. Innocent III. also recommends the

sacrament with great earnestness to the attention of the faithful.

Hence Extreme Unction is a true sacrament, and although

administered with many unctions, performed each with a

peculiar prayer, and under a peculiar form, it constitutes but

one sacrament— one, not by the inseparable continuity of its
parts, but like everything composed of parts, by the perfection

of the whole. As an edifice which consists of a great variety

of parts derives its perfection from one form, so is this sacra-

ment, although composed of many and different things, but

one sign, and its efficacy is that of one thing of which it is the

sign.

LEIBNITZ ON THE SACRAMENT

Leibnitz in his System of Theology pays a tribute of his

admiration to the holy sacrament of Extreme Unction. The

Sacrament of Extreme Unction, writes the great philosopher,,

has unquestionably in its favor the support of the Sacred

Scriptures. For the soul rightly prepared for its reception, it

possesses the lasting virtue and unfailing power of sanctification

attributed to its administration by the Apostle St. James.

According to his teaching, it relieves the soul from sin, and

confirms it in faith and Christian justice. These requisites

are never more urgent than when life is in danger, and when

man stands in view of the terrors of death.

GOD’S GOODNESS

And it is natural to expect that Christ instituted this sacra-

ment He instituted sacraments which help man in all the

difficulties of his spiritual life. Now there is no greater



EXTREME UNCTION 7

difficulty than that which one encounters in the supreme

conflict with death. For then his body is weakened, his soul

is afflicted with all kinds of temptations, and very often with

suggestions of the devil. Therefore it is reasonable to say

that Christ would fortify him with a strong guard by which

he could resist the demon in his last moments, and be a solace

and a comfort to him when his body is racked with pain and

his mind disturbed by suggestions of the evil one, and when

the fear of judgment and the uncertainty of his future state

stare him in the face. Plato (Republic, 54, 1) describes with

a master’s hand the agonies of the last hours. As life comes

to a close, he writes, we begin to be troubled about things

which never disturbed our mind before. All the negligences

of the past, the imprudent acts which have left their traces

upon the lives of those who remain behind us, all come up

with a strange vividness. The truths about retribution and

the life after death, which we treat as fables in our conversa-

tions, inspire us now with the fear that, after all, they may

be realities which we have to face. Amid the reflections upon

the past, we become frightened, as children who are suddenly

roused in the night.

GOETHE ON EXTREME UNCTION

Finally, writes Goethe in his autobiography, to sanctify the

entire man his feet are anointed and blessed. Even if the

sick man should be restored to health, his feet are to be sen-

sible, as it were, of a repugnance to touch the hard soil of

earthly pursuits. They are to be quickened with a wondrous

swiftness which repels the ground which hitherto has attracted

them. Thus, by a splendid circle of equally dignified and



s EXTREME UNCTION

sacred actions, the beauty of which we have barely indicated,

the cradle and the grave, however far apart, are bound together.

ITS MATTER AND FORM

Extreme Unction, like all the other sacraments, consists of

matter and form. The remote matter is the oil of olives.

This is an article of faith; for the Council of Florence, in the

Decree for the Armenians, declares that “the fifth sacrament

is Extreme Unction, the matter of which is the oil of olives.”

St. James says that the sick are to be anointed with oil.

This must mean oil of olives, which alone is, properly speaking,

oil.

From the practice of the Church, the testimony of the

Fathers, and Councils, from the Roman rituals and the Greek

euchologies, it is abundantly clear that no other oil than that

of olive was used in the administration of the sacraments.

Hence, that there be no danger of the sacrament being

invalid, the remote matter ought to be oil of olives.

The Roman Catechism teaches that the matter is oil blessed

by the Bishop; namely, liquor obtained not from unclean

material, but from the berries of olives. Most suitable does

this matter signify what is effected in the soul by the power

of the sacrament, for as oil diminishes the pain of the body,

so does the virtue of the sacrament mitigate the sorrows of

the soul. Oil restores health, gives joy, and supplies food for

light. It is very well adapted to refresh the fatigued body..

All these this sacrament does in the soul of the sick person

by divine power. (Conf. St. Thomas Suppl. q. 29, a 4.)

As oil lessens the pains of the body, restores health, gives

joy and supplies food for light, so Extreme Unction lessens



EXTREME UNCTION 9

the sadness and sorrows of the soul, restores spiritual health,

gives spiritual joy, and nourishes our hope. Just as oil is

soothing and penetrating, so does Extreme Unction assuage

the sorrows of the soul and penetrate to the very depths of our

heart to cure its anguish and its sickness.

OIL BLESSED

The oil must be blessed by a Bishop, otherwise a priest

could not validly confer a sacrament with it. The Councils

of Florence and Trent declare that the oil must be blessed

by a Bishop. The Holy Office in 1842 declared that oil

blessed by a priest is not valid matter for the sacrament of

Extreme Unction. The Pope, however, can delegate a priest

to bless the oil, as is evident from the fact that priests in the

Greek Church, with permission of the Pope, confer Extreme

Unction with oil blessed by themselves, and Clement VIII.

and Benedict XIV. conceded this faculty to the Greek-Italian

priests. The blessing of the oil is a special one, so that we

may not use the oil blessed for other purposes. Hence the

oil must be blessed by a Bishop, or by a priest delegated by

the Pope, and the special benediction of the oil for the infirm

must be used. But if there is no oil blessed for Extreme

Unction the other oils may be used conditionally, and if the

sick person survives, the regular oil ought to be procured and

the person anointed with it conditionally. It must be renewed

annually under pain of grievous sin. Unblessed oil may be

added to the blessed, but the quantity must be less than that

to which it is added, although the sum total of all the unblessed

oil thus added may exceed the quantity of the oil first blessed.

It ought to be kept in a silver or tin vase in the church or



IO EXTREME UNCTION

sacristy. Some Rubricists recommend that it be placed on

the wall of the Gospel side of the large altar, or of the altar

where the Blessed Sacrament is kept. A small box could be

made for it, with a cross on top of it, lined inside with purple

silk, with the Latin inscription, “S. Oleum Infirmorum”

—

holy oil for the sick— on the outside. The box ought to be
locked. It has been suggested that provision should be made

for the oils in churches to be erected. If the priest is a con-

siderable distance from the church, he may keep them in a

clean place becomingly fitted up for the Holy Oils. A chaplain

or a priest who is frequently called upon to attend “accidents”

may keep the oils in a drawer or suitable receptacle in his

room. The Rubric recommends that a small silver vessel

legibly marked should be used to hold the oil, which may be

absorbed in cotton. A small case made of leather and lined

with purple silk would be very suitable for the silver vessel.

OTHER OILS

The Oil of the Infirm is used to anoint the sick and to

anoint bells on the outside; the Oil of Catechumens to anoint

Catechumens before they receive baptism, the hands of priests

when they are being ordained, or other consecrations, such as

kings; the Oil of Chrism is used in confirmation, in the cere-

monies of baptism, after the sacrament is conferred and various

consecrations, as those of the chalice, interior of a bell, etc.

PROXIMATE MATTER

The proximate matter is the anointing of the sick person.

St. James distinctly says that he is anointed with oil. The

Council of Trent declares that “ the matter is oil, for anointing



EXTREME UNCTION n

most suitably represents the grace of the Holy Ghost, by which

the soul of the sick person is invisibly anointed.” When it

speaks of anointing it clearly shows that the anointing is a

sensible sign of invisible grace, and consequently matter of

the sacrament; for in all the sacraments the sign does what it

signifies.

UNCTIONS USED

By ecclesiastical precept seven unctions are required, which

the Council of Florence enumerates in the Decree for the

Armenians: “The sick person must be anointed on the eyes

on account of sight, on the ears on account of hearing, on the

nose on account of smell, on the mouth on account of taste

and speaking, on the hands on account of touch (priests’

hands are anointed on the exterior, for his hands were anointed

on the inside at ordination), on the feet on account of walking,

and on the loins on account of the pleasure there existing.
”

The Catechism of Trent repeats these words and adds “that

although the sense of touch is diffused throughout the body,

the hands are its principal seat. The sacrament is applied to

those members which are pre-eminently the organs of sense

and to the feet, by which we move from place to place.” The

seventh unction is always omitted in women and in men when

they cannot be moved without danger. The anointing of the

feet is not necessary for the validity of the sacrament. The

sick should be anointed on each organ of the five senses.

Hence that the proximate matter be certainly valid each of

the five senses ought to be anointed, so that all the unctions,

whether made by one or different priests, are morally united.

That all possibility of doubt is absent, each of the five senses



12 EXTREME UNCTION

ought to be anointed with a separate unction, and the essential

form for each sense ought to be pronounced while the unction

is being made.

In the Greek Church the unction is applied to the forehead,

chin, and both cheeks, thus forming a cross, and then to the

breast, two hands and two feet. In case of necessity one

organ is sufficient probably, and hence the priest anoints the

head, and while pronouncing the form he should pass his

thumb over the eyes, ear, nose and lips. The head would

represent the sense of touch, in the place of the hand. If the

person has lost a member the part nearest to it is anointed.

Redundant members are anointed nearest the natural position.

It was once a common practice to anoint the sick person on

the breast or on the seat of the malady.

The feet of men and women must be anointed, and the

loins of men if such is the custom of the country. To omit

either for a reasonable cause, even though contrary to the

custom of the place, would hardly exceed a venial sin. It is

never a mortal sin to omit anointing the loins, and it is not a

venial if such is the custom of the place. Neither is it mortal

to omit the anointing of the feet, but it would be a venial sin

to omit the anointing without some reason. However, the

Sacred Congregation of Rites has expressed the wish that the

custom of anointing both be introduced where the custom

does not exist.

We learn from old Rituals that the throat, neck, breast,

loins, the feet, the calves, knees and the place between the

shoulders used to be anointed.

A priest must not use such a condition as “if you are dis-

posed, ’’ or “if you are in the state of grace,” if the sick person

is capable of validly receiving the sacrament. He may use



EXTREME UNCTION *3

such a condition as “if you are capable,” but it is unnecessary.

If he used the two first conditions the sacrament would be

often invalid. Example: John voluntarily gets drunk and

thereby commits a grievous sin. I assume he has not been

capable of making an act of even imperfect contrition. If the

priest anoints him in that drunken state with the first two

conditions, the sacrament is invalid. If he anoints him abso-

lutely or with the condition “if you are capable,” the sacra-

ment is validly conferred, and probably remits sin as soon as

the subject is capable of making an act of imperfect contrition.

Hence such a person could be saved by imperfect contrition

with the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. If the short form is

used the unction ought to be done conditionally. The condi-

tion, if this matter is sufficient, may be expressed, but this is

not necessary. The condition may be made mentally. In

case the sick person is not dead, he ought to be conditionally

anointed in the usual way. The condition mentally formed

or expressed would be: If he has not already been validly

anointed. If the priest should have reason to believe that the

sick person is probably dead, and he has already anointed

two or three of the organs of sense, he ought to apply one

unction with a general form, and afterwards resume where he

left off, anointing the remaining organs conditionally; or better

still, use the short form given below under “imminent death.”

In a great epidemic or on the battlefield only one unction may

be used, provided there is not time to apply the five unctions.

If he by mistake had the wrong oil with him, and had

anointed two or three senses with it, he could anoint the

remaining senses conditionally, or he could procure the regular

oil, provided the sick person had received sacramental abso-

lution. If the sick person had not been able to make a con-



14 EXTREME UNCTION

fession, and Extreme Unction was the only sacrament he

could receive, the priest ought to anoint conditionally all the

five senses with the oil he had and then get the proper oil as

soon as possible. The priest would, as a matter of course,

give such a person absolution conditionally, and the Viaticum

if the sick person could swallow.

The old oil may be burned in the lamp which is placed

before the Blessed Sacrament.

If one priest applied the oil and another pronounced the

words the sacrament would be very probably invalid.

It is a grave sin to use the old oil if the new oil could be

obtained.

It is probable that one unction is sufficient for the validity

of the sacrament, and hence at the first unction grace is con-

ferred, and at the others grace is increased proportionate to

the disposition.

If the organ is double and the priest anoints only one organ,

it is certainly valid. To reverse the ordinary way of anointing

would not render the sacrament invalid.

If the word “taste” or “speech” is omitted in anointing the

mouth the sacrament is probably valid. Hence it ought to

be anointed conditionally as soon as the priest adverts to the

mistake.

The unction is valid if made at the end of the formula; in

fact it is valid if made when pronouncing “Amen,” for there

is a moral union of the matter with the form.

THE FORM

The form is: “By this holy unction and by His most tender

mercy may the Lord forgive thee whatever faults or sins you



EXTREME UNCTION *5

have committed by the sense of hearing, seeing, smelling,

tasting, or touching.” The form used by the Greeks is:

^Holy Father, physician of souls and bodies, heal this thy

servant from that infirmity of soul and body which afflicts

him.” The deprecatory form should be used, although the

indicative was used in the early ages. The indicative form is

valid, provided the priest has the intention of supplicating

God and such intention is evident from circumstances. The

essential words are: “By this unction and by His most tender

mercy may the Lord forgive thee whatever sins you have

committed,” expressing the organ of sense with the word

corresponding. If a general form which expresses each of

the five senses is used the sacrament is probably validly con-

ferred. If a priest should use the following form there does

not seem to be any reason for holding that the sacrament is

invalid: “By this holy unction and by His most tender mercy

may the Lord forgive thee whatever sins you have committed

by the senses: hearing (applying the unction), seeing (applying

the unction), smelling (applying the unction), tasting and

speaking (applying the unction), touching (applying the

unction).” In fact, if the forehead alone is anointed and

the priest says, “By this unction may the Lord forgive thee

whatever sins you have committed by senses,” there is good

reason to believe that the sacrament is validly conferred.

However, practically each of the five senses must be anointed

and the form for each pronounced; and if this is not done

each sense must be anointed conditionally with its own par-

ticular form. When the short form is used there must be some

grave reason for using it to compensate for the probable un-

certainty of the validity of the sacrament.

Where the organ is double each sense must be anointed



i6 EXTREME UNCTION

under pain of grievous sin unless there is a reasonable excusing

cause. To invert the order of the Ritual in applying the

unctions would not exceed a venial sin.

The form of the other sacraments, says the Catechism of

Trent, absolutely signifies what it expresses, but the form of

Extreme Unction alone is expressed by prayer. The propriety

of this difference will at once appear, if we reflect that this

sacrament is administered not only for the health of the soul,

but also for that of the body; and as it does not please Divine

Providence at all times to restore health to the sick, the form

consists of a prayer by which we beg of the divine bounty that

which is not a constant and uniform effect of the sacrament.

SACRAMENT OF THE LIVING* AND DEAD

It is a sacrament of the living; that is, the person who re-

ceives it is supposed to be living the life of grace. Extreme

Unction was per se and primarily instituted as a sacrament

of the living, and hence the recipient of it must have received

remission of all his mortal sins. This we infer from the

practice and constant teaching of the Church. The same

teaching is clear from the words of St. James and the Council

of Trent, for both speak conditionally of the sin of the sick

person. St. James says, “If he is in sin,” and the Council of

Trent declares, “If there are any sins to be expiated.” Hence

it is evident that both these great authorities assume that the

sick person ought, before Extreme Unction, be reconciled to

God. The same teaching follows from the doctrine of the

necessity of the Sacrament of Penance. Catholic faith (Council

of Trent, Sess. XIV., Cap. 2) teaches that the Sacrament of

Penance, in fact or in desire, is a necessary means of salvation



EXTREME UNCTION i7

for all who have committed mortal sin after baptism. Now,

if any other sacrament was per se and primarily instituted to

wash away grave sins, such a declaration of the Church would

be false, which no Catholic could admit. Therefore, writes

Lehmkuhl, following Suarez,, before Extreme Unction, either

confession or perfect contrition is necessary for everyone who

is guilty of grievous sin. And the continuous practice of the

Church is to confer Extreme Unction after confession and

sacramental absolution; in fact, to-day it is given, as a rule,

after the Viaticum. It is also a sacrament of the dead; that

is, the recipient is spiritually dead. It does not remit sin

merely per accidens, but per se, though such an effect is not

the principal one, and it was instituted not merely per accidens,

but per se; that is, directly intended in its institution, although

secondarily to take away all grievous and venial sins, provided

the sick person has imperfect contrition for the sins committed.

This is evident from the teaching of St. James and the Council

of Trent, for both declare that it remits sin. Now, we have

already seen that the other sacraments of the living, viz.,

Confirmation, Eucharist, Orders, and Matrimony, remit sin

if the recipient is in mortal sin but believes he is in the state

of grace, and has imperfect contrition. Example: Let us

suppose a man has committed a grievous sin and confessed it

with imperfect contrition, but for some reason or another he

did not receive sacramental absolution, although he thought

he had received it. If such a person received the Eucharist,

or Orders, or Matrimony, or Confirmation, his mortal sin

would be probably forgiven by the sacrament. But if such a

person received Extreme Unction it is morally certain that his

sin would be remitted. Again, if a person in mortal sin

believes he has perfect contrition, but in reality he has not—



i8 EXTREME UNCTION

I assume he has attrition— and in this state of mind he
receives Confirmation, Orders, or Matrimony, his sin would

probably be remitted. But if such a person received Extreme

Unction his sin would certainly be forgiven. I wish to make

this very clear to all of you. Let us suppose that there lies

here an unconscious person, seriously sick and in mortal sin,

but he has imperfect contrition. If I should absolve him, I

fear the absolution would be of little benefit to him, as there

is no Confession. If I gave him the Eucharist it is merely a

probable opinion — a pious conjecture according to the illus-
trious Suarez— that his mortal sin would be remitted. But
if I administered Extreme Unction to him it is certain that

his mortal sin would be forgiven. If this man was a non-

Catholic — baptized— who lived according to his lights,
Extreme Unction would be perhaps a sure means of wiping

away all his sins. If such a man were in good faith, and

desired to live a Christian life— the proper intention would
be included in this desire— I think Extreme Unction would
be for him a sure means of justification. In connection with

this matter we must be careful not to be too severe on those

who have not had the privilege of being members of the Cath-

olic Church. The late illustrious Pontiff, Leo XIII., in a

letter addressed to the American Bishops, in the beginning of

1895, wrote those words full of charity and kindness. “Our

thoughts,” wrote the successor to St. Peter, “now turn to those

who dissent from us in matters of Christian faith; and who

shall deny that, wTith not a few of them, dissent is a matter

rather of inheritance than of will?”

The two greatest theologians of the last century or any

other century, Doctors Murray and Crolly, held that very

many non-Catholics are in good faith. “For my own part,”



19EXTREME UNCTION

writes Doctor Murray, “I am, after long and thoughtful con-

sideration of the question, decidedly of the opinion that, at

least in those countries where Protestantism is the prevailing

religion, or where it has been for several generations established

among a distinct religious party, the great mass of Protestants

are free from the sin of heresy, and even in a state of invincible

ignorance.” Doctor Crolly is no less explicit. “When Cath-

olic writers,” writes this famous Maynooth professor, “speak

of an individual who has been baptized and educated outside

of the communion of the Roman Catholic Church as a heretic,

they do not mean to say that he is a formal heretic— this is
often a secret known to God— but simply that he belongs to
a society which is separated from the Church, and professes a

doctrine which she has pronounced to be false and heretical.

Such a person, according to De Lugo, might possess the virtue

of divine faith and be a Catholic though he rejected the au-

thority of the Roman Catholic Church, through culpable or

inculpable ignorance.” (I. E. Record, Vol. VI., 1885, page

337.) And a most worthy successor of Doctor Murray,

Professor O’Donnell, now the illustrious Bishop of Raphoe,

explains with great precision and clearness what a priest may

do for non-Catholics who have lived according to their lights.

In all this matter the priest must act with the greatest caution

and prudence. If the priest does not urge the obligation of

external communion with the Catholic Church he must not

by word or act convey to any one the denial of such an obli-

gation. He must not do anything that would create hostility

of a serious character against the Catholic priesthood. He

must remember he is the minister and custodian of the sacra-

ments, and hence he must have some reasonable ground for

believing that he can do some good to the sick person before



20 EXTREME UNCTION

he opens the channels of grace. If the person is conscious the

priest ought to teach him the existence of God, the mystery of

the Trinity, and the Incarnation. He ought to have him

elicit acts of faith, hope, and charity. He ought to make

every effort to have the sick person make an act of perfect

contrition. All this done, the priest will administer baptism

conditionally if there is a prudent doubt of its former validity,

and the patient gives his consent. Then the priest gives

conditional absolution. If the patient refuses to be baptized,

the priest will dispose the patient for conditional absolution.

If the priest considers it unwise to put forward the Sacrament

of Penance explicitly, he will ask the patient to acknowledge

himself a sinner before God and the priest, and express a

desire to benefit as far as possible by the priest’s aid and

resources in removing the load of guilt and securing eternal

life. If this is done the priest is certainly justified in giving

the patient conditional absolution.

If the patient is unconscious, he ought to be baptized con-

ditionally, if there is a grave doubt of his baptism. He ought

to be absolved conditionally also, as the sick person may be

yearning for spiritual help, although unnoticed. He may be

anointed if the priest should judge— this requires great
prudence— that under the circumstances it may be done.
(I. E. Record, Vol. VI., 1885, Page 736.) I have no hesitation

in saying that a priest may anoint such a patient in any of our

large pities without exciting the least unfavorable comment,

but he would have to be more cautious in small towns and

villages.

Now, what dispositions are absolutely necessary in such

-cases as we have been discussing? Doctor D. Coghlan treats

I his question in the I. E. Record (Vol. IX., 1888, page 289)



EXTREME UNCTION 21

with rare ability and with his usual lucidity, and with that

thoroughness which we expect to find in anything written by

a Maynooth professor. As I have treated this question in

the “Sacraments,” I shall merely give you a summary of the

learned professor’s conclusions. Some intention is necessary

in the adult subject of the sacrament. A neutral intention

will not suffice. Positive consent of the will, although given

under the influence of strong moral or partial physical com-

pulsion, will be sufficient. An implicit habitual intention will

suffice. If a human being had at any time in life a desire to

do everything necessary to save his soul, he would have what

we call an implicit habitual intention of receiving baptism or

penance. The subject may not intend to receive a sacrament

of the Catholic Church or of any church. It is sufficient if he

intends to receive the sacraments as they are received by

Catholics, although he believes the reception of them as useless.

A person may validly receive a sacrament, although he does

not profess the Catholic faith. Faith, even in the sacrament,

to be received, is not necessary for its validity. To receive

the Sacrament of Penance validly, faith in the essential dogmas

is necessary. Catholic faith is not necessary, nor is faith in

the efficacy of the sacrament. A valid confession, of course,

presupposes supernatural sorrow. From what we have said,

we may conclude that if a baptized person who believes in

the essential dogmas, should, in imitation of Catholics, se-

riously and sorrowfully confess his sins to a priest, if perchance

he may obtain pardon, his confession would be valid, though

personally he disbelieved in the power of forgiving sins, and

rejected the Sacrament of Penance. Faith in the other dogmas

of the Church is not absolutely necessary. A person who

hopes for justification through the divinely constituted means,



22 EXTREME UNCTION

who in good faith disbelieves in the efficacy of the sacraments,

and who nevertheless seriously and religiously receives the

sacramental rites to partake of their graces, if perchance they

have the stamp of divine institution, such a person would

validly and fruitfully receive the' sacraments. If the person

is guilty of actual mortal sin, attrition, at least, is necessary

for the fruitful reception of baptism. Attrition is always

necessary, both for the valid and lawful reception of Penance.

Hence, I conclude that neither faith, nor hope in a sacrament,

is necessary for its valid reception, and assuming faith in the

essential dogmas, and hope of attaining eternal life through

the means appointed by God, the sacraments will confer grace

on unbelieving recipients, who are not guilty of grievous sin

in their unbelief. With regard to the Eucharist, it will remain

a sacrament as long as the Real Presence continues. Even if

it were given to an irrational animal it would be a sacrament,

but such a communion would not be a sacramental reception

of the Eucharist, nor would it confer grace.

EFFECTS

The effects of Extreme Unction the Council of Trent enu-

merates. The effect is conveyed in the words, “ And the prayer

of faith shall save the sick man; the Lord will raise him up

and his sins shall be forgiven, which means that the grace

and unction of the Holy Ghost wipes away sins or faults, if

there be any remaining to be expiated, and also the relics of

sin; and alleviates and strengthens the soul of the sick man

by exciting in him a great confidence in the mercy of God,

owing to which he bears more patiently the inconveniences

and labors of his sickness, and resists more easily the tempta-



EXTREME UNCTION 23

tions of the devil, who lies in wait for his heel, and sometimes

obtains health of body when it will be expedient for the salva-

tion of the soul.’ ’ Therefore, Extreme Unction not only pro-

duces sanctifying grace as do the other sacraments, but it has,

like each of them, effects peculiar to itself. It increases

sanctifying grace in the soul and gives a right to those actual

graces which are so necessary to a dying Christian. It strength-

ens the hope of the sick person. Hence it is called the Sacra-

ment of Hope, as the Eucharist is called the Sacrament of

Love. It gives him the virtue of patience to bear the ills of

life and fortitude to resist the temptations of the world, the

flesh, and the devil.

The primary effect, according to Scotus, is the remission of

all venial sins; according to Bellarmine, the remission not only

of venial but mortal sins, which may not have been forgiven;

but according to St. Thomas the primary effect, and per se

intended in its institution, is the strengthening and alleviation

of the sick person, and the grace strengthening the soul against

the temptations especially urgent in the moment of death, and

the removal of the spiritual torpor and weakness which are the

result of actual sin.

It wipes away the relics of sin. By this we mean the dark-

ness of mind, the hardness of heart, and love of sensible

things, the want of confidence, and anxieties, the torpor and

sadness, and other things of this kind which arise from sin,

by reason of which spiritual torpidity is begotten in the soul

of the sinner. The scholastics used the expression
“
relics of

sin” in this sense. The bad habits left by sin are probably

taken away although more probably the habits are only weak-

ened. The relics of sin are taken away by grace conferred by

the sacrament; the mind of the sick person is illuminated by



24 EXTREME UNCTION

heavenly light, his will is more prompt to do the will of God

and exercise with fervor and devotion acts of virtue, especially

faith, hope, and charity. It remits sin and part of the punish-

ment due to sin. St. James says that “if the person is in sins,

they are forgiven him”; and the Council of Trent says the

anointing wipes away sin, if there are any to be expiated.

Venial sin is remitted, and the temporal punishment due to

the sin remitted is forgiven. All the punishment may not be

remitted, but all may if the sick person has the proper dispo-

sition. It remits, says St. Alphonsus, venial sins, and mortal

sins, too, if the sick person is invincibly ignorant of them and

he has attrition. Grace and sin, says St. Thomas, cannot be

in the soul together; hence, when grace is poured into the soul

by Extreme Unction it destroys sin. Extreme Unction, says

St. Alphonsus, liberates us from the temporal punishments

which we have not yet satisfied for sins committed. It remits

the temporal punishment in whole or in part, and this depends

on the dispositions of the recipient. Not only the sin but the

punishment is remitted, for, as St. Thomas and Suarez show,

the sacrament was instituted to help man die well, and prepare

him for eternal glory, and hence to remove all obstacles thereto.

Wherefore, although Extreme Unction is a sacrament of the

living and was instituted per se, that is, directly intended in

its institution and primarily to produce second grace, yet if

one is in mortal sin and in good faith believes he is in the state

of grace, and he receives Extreme Unction with sorrow for all

his sins, all his sins will be forgiven. This takes place per se

as being directly intended in its institution; although, as St.

Thomas says, as a consequence. Although the sacrament

ought to be received in a state of grace, yet it remits sin, as is

clear from the words of the Apostle and Trent. Baptism and



EXTREME UNCTION 2S

penance differ from Extreme Unction in this, that they were

principally instituted to destroy actual and original sin. Ex-

treme Unction, as St. Thomas teaches, was principally insti-

tuted to take away the relics of sin, viz., the debility and torpor

which actual sin leaves after it. But because the relics of sin

cannot be taken away while there is sin in the soul unless the

sin is first taken away, therefore as a consequence this sacrament

destroys sin.

It sometimes restores health to the body if expedient for

the soul. The prayer following the anointing is for the health

of the body and soul. St. James says that the prayer of faith

shall save the sick person. And the Lord will raise him up.

These words, as the Councils of Florence and Trent say,

regard the soul and body. It does not always infallibly

produce this effect, for the principal reason of its institution

was the spiritual good of the soul. Now, if restoration to

health would be for the good of the soul, it will infallibly

restore us to good health provided we place no obstacle in

the way. Thus St. Thomas. But if the sick person gets well,

it is no guarantee that he will finally persevere. St. Liguori

tells us that it restores the sick to health by virtue of the

supernatural power of the sacrament; not miraculously, but

by the operation of natural causes assisted by the sacrament.

It restores health, as experience of nurses proves. But it does

not work a miracle, but rather it directs and assists natural

remedies by a special divine providence to restore physical

health to the recipient of the sacrament. Hence, theologians,

led by Bellarmine, teach that the sick are often deprived of

this wonderful effect of the sacrament by putting off its recep-

tion to such a time when it would require a miracle to bring

back health. Hence, how foolish it is to put off the reception



26 EXTREME UNCTION

of the sacrament to the last moment when the powers of

nature are almost gone. Many sick persons would be restored

to health and family if they were anointed before all hope of

recovery had vanished. The sacrament produces its effect

when it is conferred. If one unction is sufficient, then the

sacrament is received with one; if five are essential, then at

last unction.

SPECIAL GRACE OF THE SACRAMENT

The special grace of this sacrament is the particular right

of divine assistance wherewith the sick person is spiritually

raised up and strengthened to sustain the insults and tempta-

tions of Satan and to conquer them, and to bear with patience,

resignation, and merit, the pains and anguish of sickness, and,

in fact, to take them away, and to restore health if it would

be the best thing for the salvation of the sick person. What

special grace Extreme Unction gives we may learn from the

positive and expressed doctrine of the foundations of faith,

and from the end for which the sacrament was instituted, and

from the words used by the priest when giving the sacrament.

Theologians call this special grace a spiritual alleviation, or

the removal of the relics of sin. Both mean practically the

same thing. The words of the form, “ May the Lord forgive

thee whatever sins you have committed/’ signify not merely

the remission of sin, but they signify that our most merciful

God takes away every obstacle and danger which sin may

have placed in the way of the sick person’s salvation. The

same meaning may be attached to the expression, “the re-

moval of the relics of sin.” The whole of the temporal pun-

ishment due to sin is not totally remitted, but very much is



EXTREME UNCTION 2
7

forgiven. The temporal punishment not yet paid for is re-

garded as the relics of sin. In addition to this I may mention

a certain just refusal of the more abundant divine assistance,

a certain slavery to Satan and a subjection to his temptations

and assaults, and a certain depression of spirits and the dimin-

ishing of our hope and confidence in obtaining our salvation.

Now, the Sacrament of Extreme Unction procures for us the

more copious aids of divine grace, breaks the power of the

devil, whether his temptations are taken away by the command

of God, or the powers of the tempted person are strengthened,

so that he can easily be victorious, and it expels fear, and

increases our hope and confidence. Calmness of mind and

joy of soul take the place of fear and sadness, and, therefore,

the sick person is truly raised up.

THE MINISTER

A priest is the minister of the sacrament. This is an article

of faith. The Council of Trent states, “If anyone says that

the priests of the Church whom St. James exhorts to be called

to anoint the sick, are not priests ordained by bishops, but are

elders in the community, and that therefore the minister of

Extreme Unction is not the priest only, let him be anathema.

”

St. James says, “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 if he be in sins they shall be forgiven

him.” The word presbyter or priest in the New Testament

is employed when there is question of ecclesiastical functions,

to designate those who are ordained, as is evident from the

Acts of the Apostles xiv. 22, Epistles of St. Paul, First Epistle

of St. Peter, Cap. 3, Epistles of St. John, chapters 2 and 3.



28 EXTREME UNCTION

St. James orders that the priests of the Church or those

who are deputed to exercise the sacred ministry, and not

physicians, should pray over the sick person, and his sins

would be forgiven. Now, only priests have such power, hence

it is only priests can confer the sacrament. The Tradition

and Practice of the Church proclaim the same doctrine.

The Sacrament of Extreme Unction is, according to Council

of Trent, the consummation of penance, because it was insti-

tuted to wipe away the relics of sin. Since, therefore, priests

alone are the ministers of penance, it is natural to assume that

only priests are the ministers of Extreme Unction. Every

priest duly ordained can validly administer this sacrament,,

but must have permission, either expressed or rationally pre-

sumed, from the properly constituted authorities to do it

licitly, otherwise he would commit a grievous sin. If a member

of a religious community administers Extreme Unction to*

any one who is not a member of his own community, or to*

one to whom he is not privileged to give it, he is excommuni-

cated. The religious contemplated in this are those who*

make solemn vows and the parishes must be canonically erected.

In case of necessity any priest not excommunicated may ad-

minister the sacrament. Every priest having the care of soul

is bound from justice and charity, under pain of eternal

damnation, to administer the sacrament to those under his

care. All other priests are bound in charity. It can be

validly conferred by one or more priests, provided each one

anoints the organ of sense, and uses the proper words. The

unctions may be validly conferred by several priests simul-

taneously or successively, for the sacrament results from many

unctions and different forms, so that each unction with its

own particular form has a complete meaning, and is indepen-



EXTREME UNCTION 29

dent of another form, and is suited to produce its own effect.

This cannot be done licitly in the Latin Church, although it

was done formerly, unless in case of necessity, as, for example,

if the sick person would die before one priest could anoint all

the five senses. But one priest cannot licitly anoint one ear

and another priest another ear. If a priest gets sick, and is

unable to complete the anointing, another priest can, within a

reasonable time, continue the anointing. A reasonable time

theologians consider ten or twelve minutes. Hence if a priest

should come within ten or twelve minutes, he begins the unc-

tions where the other priest left off. If a quarter of an hour

intervened between the coming of the second priest and the

last unction of the first, the second priest ought to repeat the

unctions that had been already given. This he should do

conditionally. As the above hypothesis is practically impos-

sible to verify, the second priest ought to anoint the sick per-

son on each organ conditionally. In the Greek Church seven

priests, or at least three, administer the sacrament, and all

the parts are anointed by each priest. I may add the admin-

istration of this sacrament is accompanied with more prayers

than any one of the other sacraments. In this, as in the other

sacraments, says the Catechism of Trent, it is also to be

distinctly recollected that the priest is the representative of

Jesus Christ and His Church.

MYSTIC MEANING

Faber (Sermon IV. twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost)

beautifully explains the effects of Extreme Unction. As oil,

he says, poured out on the sea, stills the fury of the waves,

so the Holy Oil, when applied to man, calms the waves of



3° EXTREME UNCTION

temptation stirred tip by the demon, at the approach of death,

when the fiercest tempests rage. As of old, oil was applied

to the limbs of the athlete to prepare him for the contests, so

the Church would have her children prepared by the holy

anointing for the final struggle. As oil soothes bodily wounds,

and so was poured by the good Samaritan into the wounds of

the wayfarer that had fallen among robbers, so the oil of

Extreme Unction soothes and heals the wounds wrought in

the soul by the evil spirits. When the Romans of the early

centuries were about to perform their heathen sacrifices, a

crier proclaimed: Procul hinc sit lotus and unctus, a sign for

the baptized to depart, for demons were frustrated in their

oracles and deceits by the presence of the Christians. There-

fore are Christians anointed as death comes on, for then the

demons approach with great fury, because the time in which

they can exercise their deceiving art is drawing to an end.

THE SUBJECT

The subject of Extreme Unction is a baptized person who

has arrived at the use of reason, and is in danger of death

from sickness. In other words, the subject is every baptized

human being who is capable of sin and who is dangerously ill,

and of whom we cannot reasonably say that he wishes to die

in mortal sin. St. James says, “If there is sick among you”;

that is, the faithful or baptized. Moreover, baptism is the

gate of the other sacraments. The words “ Asthenei tis” and

“Kamnonta” imply the sick is seriously sick. Hence, if

conferred on a person in health and probably on a person

slightly indisposed, would be invalid and, of course, illicit.

The form is, “May the Lord forgive thee whatever sin you



EXTREME UNCTION 3 1

may have committed by the senses.” Now, before the use of

reason there is no sin committed by the senses. Therefore, if

the sacrament was conferred on children before the use of

reason, the form would not be verified, and therefore there

\^ould be no sacrament. A person who is not capable of

receiving the principal effects of the sacrament is also incapable

of receiving the sacrament itself. Now, children, before the

use of reason, are not capable of receiving the principal effects;

for they are to strengthen the soul in its last agony, to resist

the temptations of the devil, to destroy the relics of sin, to

extinguish the punishments due to sin, which are not yet

cancelled. Suarez teaches that the Blessed Virgin received

baptism and Extreme Unction. Although never being subject

to sin, she was by nature liable to sin, and hence she could

.receive the primary effect of the sacrament. The Ritual

declares that it is not to be administered to those who have

not as yet attained the use of reason. When a person may

receive penance he may receive Extreme Unction. In case

there is a doubt of a child having attained the use of reason,

the sacrament is administered conditionally. It is given the

insane if they have had some time in life lucid intervals. If

there is a doubt of the lucid intervals it is administered con-

ditionally. It is given to all baptized persons who are in

good faith if the priest prudently judges that it may be done.

It is given to all who are not evidently impenitent, even to one

who is rendered unconscious in the act of sin, as a murderer,

if he lived a short time. It is given to one who has got drunk

through his own fault and is now unconscious and seriously

ill; in a word, it is given to every unconscious baptized adult

who ever had the use of reason and who, before becoming

unconscious, did not refuse to receive the sacrament. If the



3 2 EXTREME UNCTION

priest has not absolute proof that the unconscious person

would refuse Extreme Unction, it ought to be conferred.

Although the person has shown no sign of penance, condi-

tional absolution and Extreme Unction ought to be given; for,

as Lehmkuhl says, the priest ought to do everything possible

in such circumstances.

It is given to an adult immediately after baptism, although

he has not committed actual sin after baptism, because, al-

though baptism takes away the guilt and punishment of sin,

it does not produce the primary effect of the sacrament, which

is to remove the spiritual torpor and weakness that sin pro-

duced in the soul. Neither does baptism give a special help

to resist the devil in the last moment. If there is a doubt of

a child having attained the use of reason, and he is now un-

conscious, the priest is bound to anoint him under pain of the

most grievous sin. The unction is given in this case condi-

tionally. If the priest is called to attend a child who has not

perhaps arrived at the years of discretion, he will help him to

elicit a supernatural act of imperfect contrition. This sorrow

supposes faith, hope, charity, and a detestation of sin. If the

child has not supernatural sorrow, but is capable of sinning,

the sacrament would be validly but unfruitfully conferred.

Hence the necessity of assisting and instructing the child to

make an act of contrition, for there is danger that he may

have committed a mortal sin. If the child had not supernatural

sorrow, and had committed a grave sin, the sacrament would

be valid but unfruitful; and if the priest did not think of

helping him to elicit an act of imperfect contrition, he would

be bound, under pain of grievous sin, on adverting to that

fact, to do so as soon as possible, for the child’s soul was

exposed to eternal damnation. If the child committed only



EXTREME UNCTION 33

venial sin, the sacrament would not be useless or unfruitful,

for it would take away not only the venial sin but the relics

of venial sin, and would increase the child’s confidence in

God, and give new strength to fight the temptations of the

devil. The proper course for the priest to pursue would be

to instruct the child, hear his confession, absolve him, give

him the Viaticum if he can distinguish it from ordinary bread,

anoint him, and give him the papal blessing.

It is given in old age, for old age is a disease. The sick

person must be dangerously sick. He must be in danger of

death from disease affecting the body. The Council of

Florence says the sacrament must be given only to those who

are in danger of death. The danger may be such that there

is still hope of recovery. When it can be prudently said that

the sick person is in danger of death the sacrament may be

given. It is not necessary that the danger is imminent or

certain, but it is sufficient if it is proximate or prudently feared.

The Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith

declared in 1801 that a person suffering from a lingering illness

may be anointed, although he may live for months. In the

case proposed to the Propaganda it was assumed that a priest

could not see the person for several months after the anointing.

According to the Roman Ritual, it ought to be given when

the sick persons have full use of their faculties, because then

their good dispositions would help them to receive more

abundant grace from the sacrament. According to the teach-

ing of St. Liguori, following that of the Councils of Florence

and Trent, if administered in time it may restore the sick

person to health, but if nature is almost exhausted this effect

is not produced, for the sacrament does not operate miracu-

lously. “'It is a very grievous sin,” says the Catechism of



34 EXTREME UNCTION

the Council of Trent, “to defer the Holy Unction until all

hope of recovery is lost, life begins to ebb, and the sick person

is sinking into insensibility. It is obvious that if administered

while the mental faculties are yet unimpaired and the sick

man can bring to its reception sentiments of faith and devo-

tion, this circumstance must contribute very much to enable

him to partake more abundantly of the graces of the sacra-

ment.” Hence, the senseless fear of receiving Extreme Unc-

tion. If he is not restored to bodily health, that is attributed

by the Catechism of Trent to the weakness of faith on the part

of the recipient or the minister of the sacrament. The danger

must come from a disease affecting the body. Hence, it

cannot be administered to criminals to be executed, or to soldiers

entering battle, or to one going on a perilous voyage, or to one

who is liable to suffer a stroke of apoplexy. Those who take

poison, or are severely wounded, likewise a person who is to

undergo a dangerous operation, are to receive the sacrament

if before the operation he is in danger of death. Although

Extreme Unction in the early ages of the Church— the custom
exists in some religious orders yet— was administered before
the Viaticum and in the opinion of St. Liguori would hardly

be a venial sin, yet the sick person ought to receive Penance

and Eucharist first.

DISPOSITIONS

According to Lehmkuhl, the disposition necessary in the

subject of Extreme Unction ought to be of such a character

that one may prudently say that he is in the state of grace;

or, rather, his sorrow for grave sin committed ought to be of

such a nature that it may be prudently considered to have



EXTREME UNCTION 35

orought about at least a reconciliation with God, and, at the

least, it is in reality of such a character that it remits sin with

the sacrament. Hence, to obtain the effect of the Sacrament of

Extreme Unction it is sufficient for him who has . committed

mortal sin that he has at least imperfect contrition. This

disposition is in practice sufficient for those who now believe

that they are in the state of grace, whereas they are in mortal

sinj or for those who are unconscious and are unable to confess

their sins, or for those who think themselves absolved when

really they are not. But the requisite disposition for those who

knowingly receive Extreme Unction is the state of grace.

This state is obtained either by sacramental absolution or by

perfect contrition. The person may not be absolutely sure

that he is in the state of grace. All that is sufficient and re-

quired is that in his judgment, prudently formed, he is in the

state of grace, whether that state is gained by a good confession

or by perfect contrition. But if he is not in the state of grace,

although he thinks he is, it is absolutely necessary that he

has, at least, imperfect contrition, to gain the secondary effect

of the sacrament; that is, the remission of all grievous sin and

venial sin. The Holy Eucharist is the only sacrament of the

living which absolutely requires confession for a person in

mortal sin. If a person has committed a grievous sin he is

bound, no matter how contrite, he may be, to confess his sins,

because of a special precept which is probably founded on

the divine precept of St. Paul, — Let each man prove him-
self.

THE INTENTION NECESSARY

The interpretative intention is sufficient. This means that

ie sick person would have the intention of receiving Extreme



36
EXTREME UNCTION

Unction if he had now the use of his faculties, though in point

of fact he has not or may never have had, formally and ex-

plicitly, such intention, Every Catholic is presumed to have

such an intention.

LICITNESS

For licitness the sacred oil must be of the year the oil is

used, the unction must be applied to each sense, a double

organ must be anointed on each sense— the upper or lower
lip may be anointed, or the two may be anointed while the

mouth is closed— the unction must be applied in the form of
a Cross, the feet must be anointed except there be a dispensa-

tion from the Holy See, the loins Of men must be anointed

except there be an excusing cause, and all the prayers of the

Ritual are to be said, and a cassock, surplice and stole must

be worn, except in a case of necessity. A wax candle must

be lighted; a server must be present. All these do not oblige

gravely. It is a grave sin to confer Extreme Unction without

a cassock, except there be an excusing cause. This is the

teaching of all Rubricists and theologians, even those who

wrote for, and in, English-speaking countries. St. Liguori says

that it is certainly a grave sin to anoint a person without

surplice and stole. It is a venial sin not to use a stole, or a

surplice, or a lighted candle, or to administer the sacrament

without a clerk, if one can be conveniently obtained. The

omission of the stole would be graver than that of the surplice.

It is a grave sin not to anoint with a double unction when

prescribed. Hence, each ear, each eye, and each hand, must

be anointed under pain of mortal sin.

When I state that a priest is obliged, under pain of grievous



EXTREME UNCTION 37

sin, to use a cassock when administering Extreme Unction, I

must not be understood as censuring in the slightest degree

those who administer the sacrament in the ordinary garb they

wear on the street. When priests so act, I assume, and every

.one else ought to assume, that they have a valid reason.

FRUITFUL RECEPTION

To receive the sacrament with fruit the state of grace is

xequired, and consequently if the sick person is in mortal sin

he is bound to receive the Sacrament of Penance, or, at least,

make an act of perfect contrition. If such a person does not

.confess before receiving Extreme Unction, he is bound to do

;so immediately afterwards, for he is bound by divine precept

to confess when in danger of death if he is in mortal sin.

But if ;a person knowingly and voluntarily received the sacra-

ment in mortal sin he would commit a sacrilege. He would,

indeed, receive the sacrament validly, but without fruit, and

in this case it cannot be repeated. To gain God’s friendship

he musit make an act of perfect contrition or go to confession.

If he had not the proper dispositions through no fault of his

•own, imperfect contrition without the sacrament would be

sufficient to restore him to grace. If he is not conscious of

mortal sin he is not obliged to confess. If he is unconscious,

and hence cannot make any sign to acknowledge himself a

sinner., absolution would be useless, although it is advisable

to give it conditionally, for we have already seen that confes-

sion of some kind is necessary. The Thomists say that

confession is an essential part of penance, and the Scotists

claim it is an indispensable condition; and hence on either

theorv a confession is necessary. But as the unconscious



38 EXTREME UNCTION

person’s cerebrum may be active and free, and hence he may’

will and think, while the functions of the cerebellum are in

abeyance, and hence he has no control over his muscular

action, a priest always absolves such a person conditionally,,

for he may be doing his best to confess. But if such a person:

had imperfect contrition which morally perseveres, he would

receive Extreme Unction validly and fruitfully. If he received

the sacrament with the proper dispositions, and afterward fell

into mortal sin, he would forfeit the right to the special helps

the sacrament gives till such a time as he made an act of

perfect contrition, or made a good confession. To avoid

irreverence, a delirious person ought to be strapped to the

bed while the sacrament is being administered.

APPARENT DEATH

If the priest knows the sick person is dead he omits all the

Ritual prayers, and will say the prayers for a soul departed.

The sacrament is administered conditionally if the priest does

not know whether the sick person is dead or alive. Lehmkuhl

gives a sure rule to guide us. He says Extreme Unction is to

be conferred absolutely if the subject is capable of validly

receiving it, and conditionally when there is doubt whether

the subject can validly receive it. If he is not certain that the

sick person is incapable of the fruit of the sacrament, he anoints

absolutely. If the sick person is evidently incapable he cannot

be anointed. But when does a person die? The most emi-

nent physicians admit that death does not occur at the moment

when the popular judgment thinks it does. Latent life is

present probably till decomposition sets in. The Rev. Father

Feijoo, who lived in the eighteenth century, gave it as his



EXTREME UNCTION 39

opinion that a person is alive for half an hour after apparent

death. Old Galen was of the same opinion. As the sacra-

ment may be given if there is a slight hope of its being valid,

a priest ought to anoint an adult within several hours after

apparent death, although to all outward appearances the

person is really dead. This ought to be done in cases where

the person died of an ordinary disease. In robust and healthy

persons latent life continues longer than in weaklings. Again,

in case of sudden death or accident, latent life is of longer

duration than when a person dies of an acute or chronic disease.

Hence, when a robust person dies suddenly— no matter what
may be the reason — he may be anointed within twenty or
twenty-five hours after apparent death. It is a demonstrated

fact that men have been restored to life hours after apparent

death. Men who were under water for sixteen hours were

restored to life and health. Men suddenly attacked by disease

had been apparently dead for three days, and were restored to

life. Many a time the rhythmic tractions of the tongue sug-

gested by Doctor Laborde have restored the apparently dead

to life and health. There is no sure sign of death except the

presence of putrefaction in an advanced stage. Now, Extreme

Unction remits all grave actual sins if the unconscious person

has imperfect contrition. The effect is produced, as I said

before, per se, as being directly intended in its institution,

although, according to Suarez and others, only secondarily.

Hence, as the sacrament may be administered if there is the

slightest doubt of the subject being alive, a priest ought anoint

conditionally every baptized adult who is unconscious and in

whose body the presence of putrefaction is not shown to be

in an advanced stage; and this does not take place till about

twenty-four hours after apparent death. We must bear in



40 EXTREME UNCTION

mind, too, that the cessation of respiration or of the beating

of the heart, is not a sure sign of death. It is true that many

eminent physicians say that life is extinct when the heart

ceases to beat, but it is practically impossible to say when the

heart ceases to perform its function. It is equally true that

some medical experts claim that the soul remains to perform

the lesser vital functions, after the complete cessation of the

heart. Congealed blood is no proof of death. Neither is

cadaveric rigidity, except to an expert, and he is a very rare

being. Hence, it may be stated absolutely that putrefaction

in an advanced stage is practically the only certain sign of

death.

THE OBLIGATION TO RECEIVE IT

It is not absolutely necessary as is baptism. Although the

priest is bound under pain of mortal sin to administer Extreme

Unction to those who ask for it, yet there is no grave obligation

to receive it, but no good Catholic would refuse to receive a

sacrament which gives such powerful aid in that moment

when man is preparing to meet his God. But if he is con-

scious, and is in mortal sin, and cannot confess, he would be

bound under pain of mortal sin to receive Extreme Unction if

he has not perfect contrition. He would be bound also, if his

refusal gave scandal or showed contempt for the sacrament,

or on account of the spiritual danger of the sick person.

The pastor or a priest having the care of souls is bound

under pain of grievous sin to administer Extreme Unction to

all under Jiis care if they, when sick, expressly ask for it, or

interpretatively ask for it; that is, they did not, as a matter of

fact, ask in any way for the sacrament, but they would have



EXTREME UNCTION 4i

asked it if they had given the matter due reflection or. thought.

The pastor sins gravely who culpably neglects to administer

it or who puts off administering it, with the probable danger

that the sick person may die without it, or who will not

confer it till the sick person is unconscious; for such a

person is robbed of the richer fruits of the sacrament.

The obligation of receiving it is not grave because it is not

a necessary means of salvation, and there is no grave precept

to receive it.

To neglect receiving it would, indeed, be a venial sin, for

the sick person would unreasonably deprive himself of an

assistance specially instituted for a dying Christian. If a

person is unconscious, he cannot sin by not receiving it, for

he is no longer capable of a human act, and hence incapable

of sinning.

It may seem strange, as Lehmkuhl suggests, that the sick

person who voluntarily refuses to receive Extreme Unction is

less guilty than the priest who does not administer it or see

that it is administered; and if we take into consideration only

those,who are bound by the precept alone of common charity

towards the sick person, very properly are they to be regarded

as guiltless of a grave fault if they do not anoint such a sick

person or see that he is anointed, unless we assume that he

asked to be anointed. But if we consider those who ought to

look after the sick person on account of their office or on account

of some special claim- of charity, as members of the sick per-

son’s household, and especially relations, it is clear that they

are obliged more strictly by the laws of charity and justice;

for they ought not only to consider the expressed will of the

sick person, but his interpretative will; that is, the will he

would have if he knew his serious condition, although his



42 EXTREME UNCTION

formal will is to all appearances opposed to the reception of

the sacrament. They ought to do their best to influence him

to receive the sacrament, which may be perhaps necessary for

his spiritual welfare. He may refuse to receive the sacrament

without committing a grave sin, but the pastor and the relatives

may be guilty of a mortal sin in not taking care to see that he

receives it; for he can deprive himself of a great good without

grave sin, but others whose duty it is to make due provision

that he is not deprived of this great good may be guilty through

carelessness and negligence of a very grave sin. Example: Let

us assume that I have one hundred dollars in a bank. I may,

without grave fault, give the sum of money to some political

organization, although I have some need of the money. But

the banker whose duty it is to guard my money so that I shall

not lose it or be deprived of it, cannot, through carelessness

and neglect, permit me to be robbed of it or to be deprived of

it without grave sin. In like manner, a sick person may

deprive himself without grave sin of a great good, viz., Extreme

Unction; but the parish priest or the members of the household

and relatives may not do so without a grievous sin.

Hence, a pastor or a priest having the care of souls, sins

gravely if he does not confer the sacrament on a sick person

who asks for it. He sins gravely, too, if he does not use the

proper means to look after the members of his flock who are

careless of their spiritual needs, and see that they are warned

in time of their duties, and confer the .sacrament on them, or

see that it is conferred. Hence, members of the household of

the sick person, especially parents, children, husbands, and

wives, may sin mortally if they do not tell the sick person of

the danger to which he is exposed; for the sick often deceive

themselves, building vain hopes on the stereotyped phrases



EXTREME UNCTION 43

of an optimistic physician. When the danger of death becomes

probable, this duty may be performed by the priest, physician,

or nurse, and, of course, by friends.

Lehmkuhl lays down the following rules to guide us: Rela-

tives and friends are obliged under most grievous sin to see

that the sick person receives Extreme Unction, provided he

cannot receive any other sacrament. They are gravely bound

to get a priest if the sick person asks for him, and it is not

very hard to carry out his wish. They are gravely obliged to

warn the patient of his danger, and when he is in probable

danger of death they are gravely obliged to tell him that sick

people in his condition are anointed, for he may be deceiving

himself about his danger. But the pastor or the priest having

the care of souls is more strictly bound than any one else.

He is more gravely obliged than any other person to see that

all those within his jurisdiction shall not die without the

Sacrament of Extreme Unction through his own fault or

negligence. Hence, he is obliged, under pain of eternal

damnation, to give it to all who reasonably ask for it, or to

those who interpretatively ask for it; that is, they have not

expressed a wish to receive it, or do not wish to receive it, but

now, under the circumstances, they are rationally presumed

to wish to receive it. Therefore, the pastor or priest having

the care of souls is obliged under the most grievous sin to

administer Extreme Unction to a sick person who is uncon-

scious, and who in all probability cannot receive any other

sacrament. In case the pastor does not do it, any priest is

gravely bound to administer Extreme Unction; for a fellow-

being is exposed to eternal damnation. Hence, the pastor is

obliged to be careful to see that when his parishioners get

seriously sick, they are warned of their danger and that they



44 EXTREME UNCTION

be induced to receive the Sacrament of Extreme Unction if

they show any reluctance.

THE RELUCTANT

If a person refuses the sacrament, he ought to be told of its

great spiritual and temporal advantages. In case he does not

agree to receive the sacrament, he cannot, of course, be anointed.

The pastor could suggest to him to agree to be anointed if he

became unconscious or delirious, and when he was in that

state the pastor ought to anoint him. In all such cases com-

mon sense, united with apostolic zeal and charity, will triumph.

WHEN REPEATED

In the same sickness it cannot be repeated unless it is chronic

and the sick person got better and fell into the same danger

again. But mere continuance of life does not justify its repe-

tition. Recovery of some kind is necessary. In cases of

dropsy and consumption the sacrament may be administered

if the person gets well and falls into the same danger; for,

although the disease is the same, the state of the disease isr

different. The person must not only be apparently out of

danger, but there must be some ground for saying that he is

really out of danger, and hence improvement must continue

for some time. In case of doubt, the sacrament may be re -

peated. The sacrament ought to be repeated if the sick person

gets well and afterward becomes seriously ill. It ought to be

repeated in every chronic disease if the danger of death has

passed away, and the danger after a notable time appears to

return. It is sufficient that the proximate danger of death has



EXTREME UNCTION 45

probably ceased, and again urges, provided a sufficiently long

time, say a month, has intervened. In consumption, asthma,

and dropsy, the danger very frequently is imminent in all

probability, and sometimes in reality is imminent, but after-

wards becomes remote. Hence, writes Benedict XIV., in a

chronic disease if the sick person continued after the unction

in the same danger he cannot be anointed; but he can if there

is a positive doubt of the danger having ceased; for then

Benedict XIV. inclines to the opinion that such a person

ought to be anointed again, because it would be more in

keeping with the ancient custom of the Church, and it would

give a new aid to the sick. Therefore, writes Lehmkuhl, it

may often happen that it is lawful to confer the sacrament a

second time, although there is no obligation to do so.

During the same disease, and during the same grave and

proximate danger, writes the illustrious Jesuit, Extreme Unc-

tion cannot be licitly or validly repeated. This we gather

from the teaching of the Council of Trent (Sess. XIV., Cap.
3),

which declares that if the sick person grows well after having

received the sacrament, he can be anointed again if he falls

into another serious danger. And we gather from the ancient

practice of the Church and the teaching of theology, that

entire restoration to health is not required, but it is sufficient

that the grave and proximate danger of death has ceased, and

afterwards he fell into the same or a similar danger. Lehm-

kuhl approvingly quotes Ebel, saying: “It is not by any means

necessary that the sick person be fully restored to health, and

afterwards fall into the same danger. It is sufficient that the

old danger returns anew. Although the old danger, not just

now so urgent, continues with the old malady (as frequently

happens in asthma, dropsy, and phthisis, in which, during the



46 EXTREME UNCTION

continuance of the malady the state of the disease often changes

in a pronounced manner, so that at one time the sick person

is apparently out of danger and at another time he is in danger

of death), if a new danger is added the sick person may be

anointed without scruple.” In such a case the sacrament may

be repeated, but there is no strict obligation in the matter.

If a priest should confer the sacrament so that it is probably

invalid, he would not be bound to repeat it if such action

would occasion him a great inconvenience. But if the sick

person had not received sacramental absolution after a con-

fession, the priest would be gravely bound to repeat the

sacrament conditionally.

SUPERSTITIONS

In some places we find people s# ignorant and superstitious

that they believe when they are anointed they are sure to die,

whereas it often, as we know, restores bodily health. Others

believe that if they get well after receiving Extreme Unction,

they must never touch the floor with their naked feet, or indulge

in the harmless amusement of dancing, without committing a

grievous sin. People of this character must be dealt with

prudently and charitably.

SPECIFIC CASES

Two thousand four hundred years ago Hippocrates told the

world that sure prognosis is the most difficult problem in

medical practice. Since the days of Bichat and Bright physi-

cians recognize the necessity and importance of the brain,

heart, lungs, and kidneys being healthy. Permit me to state

a few facts well known to you. Respirations in adults are



EXTREME UNCTION 47

about 16 to 18, in children 25, and in infants 35. The normal

temperature is 98.4 degrees. A temperature of 100 degrees

indicates fever; 102 degrees, mild; 103 degrees, severe; 104

degrees, alarming; 105 degrees, very severe; 106 degrees,

almost hopeless; 107 degrees, fatal except in very rare cases.

As a rule, when the temperature goes below 95 degrees or

above 104 degrees the subject ought to be anointed. I shall

mention a few cases in which the sick person ought to be

anointed without hesitation: In epilepsy or fainting sickness

if there are about twenty continuous fits, and when the face

has a grayish, dusky color, and the lips a bluish appearance;

in apoplexy when the temperature goes above 104 degrees;

in uraemia when there are sudden blindness and vomiting

(uraemic fits are nearly always fatal); in syncope or swooning

when the subject has a very weak heart; in typhoid fever

when his temperature is around 105 degrees, and if he has

had a hemorrhage no matter what the temperature may be;

in pneumonia if the lips get blue or the extremities cold (in

pneumonia and delirium tremens there is danger of heart

failure); in heart disease when the pulse and respiration are

irregular and there is swelling in the feet; in phthisis when

there are cold sweats and haemoptysis or blood-spitting; in

hiccough in old people if it continues in a marked degree; in

delirium tremens when the heart grows weak or pneumonia

ensues; in typhus fever in every form; in scarlet fever when

temperature is above 104 degrees and the breathing is labored;

in rheumatic fever when the pulse and breathing are rapid

and irregular and pericarditis is feared; in influenza when the

face has a dusky appearance and the temperature is high; in

erysipelas when the temperature is high, and always when

the subject has been a heavy drinker; in empyema if there is



48 EXTREME UNCTION

exhaustion; in diphtheria if tracheotomy is necessary; in

pyaemia if pneumonia supervenes; in phthisical mania in every

case; in pericarditis when the pulse is irregular and goes up

to 140 degrees, and the face is bluish; in diabetic mania always

if there is severe thirst; in acute bronchitis when the tempera-

ture is high and breathing is labored; in cellulitis if pneumonia

is feared; in gangrene if in lungs; in all infectious diseases if

the kidneys are in bad condition; in nephritis if operation is

necessary, for chloroform and ether are not well tolerated in

nephritis; in all cases of kidney diseases if an anaesthetic has

to be administered; in coma when the subjects are found on

the street, as they are probably suffering from apoplexy or

kidney disease, although their breath smells of whiskey, as

they may have taken a stimulant to tide them over threatened

collapse; in an acute sore throat involving the larynx and

followed by oedema of the glottis; in heart disease when the

aortic valves are diseased; in spotted fever in every case; in

many diseases if the subject has clubbed or drum-stick fingers,

as there is probably an organic affection of the heart and lungs;

in pneumonia in old or very young (if in upper lobe more

serious than of the lower, secondary pneumonia more dan-

gerous than primary); in pneumonia in persons of alcoholic

habits— in walking cases, as they are always very dangerous;
in typhoid in the second week, especially in walking typhoid;

in rheumatism when temperature is about 104 degrees (most

of the acquired heart disease is due to rheumatic fever); in

appendicitis in severe cases; in acute indigestion in old people;

in Addison’s disease; in cirrhosis when there is fear of hemor-

rhage; in black measles and black scarlet fever always; in acute

pancreatitis in every case; in cholelithiasis, stone in the bile

duct, in severe cases; in tetanus and hydrophobia always; in all



EXTREME UNCTION 49

alcoholic subjects nearly in every case, and always if they

have to undergo a serious operation; in Cheyne-Stokes respira-

tion and air hunger respiration, shown by deep drawn sighs,

always; in every disease if one of the four vital organs— the
brain, heart, lungs, or kidneys — is organically affected; in
burns if the greater part of the body is affected, and in sun-

stroke always. *
*

A person cannot be validly anointed merely because he is

under the influence of ether or chloroform. Some authorities

claim that a person who is slightly indisposed can be validly

and licitly anointed, provided it is probable that he will die

during the operation. This is not, I believe, in accordance

with the principles of theology. But as soon as the danger

becomes probable and proximate he may be anointed; that is,

he may be anointed during the time he is being operated on.

Of course, if the danger existed before the operation, the sacra-

ment ought to be conferred before the operation.

PREPARATION FOR THE SACRAMENT

A table ought to be prepared on which the priest may place

the oil stocks. It ought to be covered with a clean cloth.

One wax candle, a crucifix, holy water, and a sprinkler, a plate

with six small balls of cotton, some meal or dry bread, a towel,

and a basin of water to wash the priest’s hands ought to be

placed on it. The attendant should wash the parts to be

anointed. The confiteor should be said by the sick person

in Latin or the vernacular. A woman may answer the re-

sponses, but must not minister to the priest. She may say

the confiteor if the sick person is unable to do so. The holy

water and crucifix should be left on the table near the sick



EXTREME UNCTION
5
°

person, so that he may, as the Ritual states, look at the Cross,

and embrace and kiss it, for in the Cross is life, in the Cross

is hope, in the Cross is salvation. In contagious and infectious

diseases great care must be used to prevent their spread. To

accomplish this, six small pieces of wood may be used to

anoint the sick person. They should be burned immediately

after they have been used. If small pieces of wood are not

used, a little oil may be taken from the oil receptacle and

placed on the hand, and what is not used ought to be burned.

As the priest is bound under pain of grievous sin to use a

cassock or soutane and a surplice when he is administering

Extreme Unction, provision ought to be made for this in our

institutions, and in city parishes. A sleeveless cassock and a

linen surplice would answer the purpose. A priest may not

have the holy oils with him, and whilst he is hearing the con-

fession of the sick person a trustworthy laic may be sent for

the oils. I assume, of course, that there is some necessity for

such a procedure, for a laic is not allowed to carry the oils

except in case of necessity. It has been decided by Rome that

we must not send the oils by express, but we are allowed in

case of necessity to send them with a trustworthy layman.

Hence, in similar circumstances, a laic may carry them. To

omit the prayers before and after the unction would be a grave

sin unless in case of necessity. To omit one prayer would not

exceed a venial sin.

If the priest carries the Blessed Sacrament in solemn pro-

cession, he carries the vessel with the oil in some convenient

place under the surplice. Another priest, or a deacon, may

carry the oil secretly; but no one else is permitted to carry it

except in a case of very urgent necessity. When the priest

has the oil alone with him it is prohibited to carry lights, as



EXTREME UNCTION 5 1

the people might think he had the Blessed Sacrament. It is

no sin to carry the oil without surplice and stole. When thus

carried the priest fastens the leather case in which the silver

vessel with oil is to his neck by a chain or cord, but then it

must not form part of the pyxis or be joined with it in any

way.

REVERENCE SHOWN THE SACRAMENT

So great is the reverence in which the Sacrament of Extreme

Unction has been held everywhere that it was often admin-

istered in church. Among the Greeks and Mexicans of the

tenth century the sacrament was often given in the church.

St. Bernard (St. B. in vita S. Malach. Cap. 2) tells us that in

1184 St. Malachy received Extreme Unction in the chapel of

the Monastery of Clairveaux in Burgundy.

THE MANNER IN WHICH A PRIEST ANOINTS

When the priest has arrived at the room of the sick person

he says,
u
Peace be to this house,” and the clerk answers,

“ And to all who dwell in it.” If the priest has already used

these words before administering the Viaticum, he does not,

of course, repeat them now. He then places the holy oil on

the table and puts on a violet stole. He next presents a crucifix

to the sick person to be kissed, and afterwards sprinkles with

holy water the sick person, every one in the room, and the

room itself. He sprinkles the sick person in the form of a

Cross. He sprinkles the water in front of himself, then on

his own left, and afterwards on his own right. If he has

already done this before giving the Viaticum, he may not repeat

it here. The priest now hears the sick person’s confession, if



5
2 EXTREME UNCTION

he has not already done so, and explains the nature of the

sacrament and its virtues and graces. If the person has been

absolved some time previous to this, the priest will ask him

to make an act of contrition.

The priest now says Adjutorium and makes the sign of the

Cross on himself. Three prayers follow. During these prayers

the priest makes the sign of the Cross in front of him, blessing

the sick person and room. If the sick person’s death is so

imminent that the prayers cannot be said, the priest will say

them afterwards if the person did not die. Then is said the

Confiteor in Latin or vernacular by the patient, if he is able.

If unable to say it, the clerk will say it. Although tke Con-

fiteor had been said a short time before when the priest was

giving the sick person the Viaticum, it must be said again at

this time.

The priest now invites all present to offer fervent prayers

to the merciful God for the sick patient. The Rubric recom-

mends the Penitential Psalms and the Litanies. The Rosary

may be substituted for the above prayers. Whatever prayers

are said, should be said kneeling and in a low voice. Before

the priest applies the oil to the sick person he makes the sign

of the Cross three times over the sick person. Whilst those

present are praying for the sick person the priest takes the oil

stock in his left hand and dips the thumb of the right hand

into the vessel of oil, and in the form of a Cross anoints the

several parts to be anointed, at the same time pronouncing the

form. To omit the Cross would not exceed a venial sin.

The unctions begin with the eyelids, the eyes being closed.

Amen of the form is said by the priest, not by the clerk. When

the organ is double the priest anoints the organ on the right

side of the sick person first. When he makes a Cross in



EXTREME UNCTION 53

applying the oil he draws a straight line down and then makes

a line from his own left to his own right. After the priest

applies the oil a person in Holy Orders wipes off the oil from

the anointed part. If there is no one present in Holy Orders

with the priest, he has to do this himself. He ought to use a

new piece of cotton for each unction, but for a double organ

one piece suffices. The cotton thus used and the crumbs of

bread with which he afterwards rubs his fingers ought to be

placed in the pocket of the oil case, and afterwards burned,

and the ashes ought to be thrown into the Sacrarium. The

lobes or lower extremities of the ears are next anointed. Then

are anointed either the extremity of the nose, or each nostril.

The fourth organ anointed is the mouth, which ought to be

closed. If, however, the sick person has any difficulty in

breathing, or for any other reason the priest may anoint the

upper or lower lip. In case of hydrophobia or a disease in

which contact with the saliva is dangerous, the cheek or some

part near the mouth is anointed. The fifth organ is the hand.

Deacons, clerics, and lay people are anointed on the palms,

and priests on the back of the hands. The feet are next

anointed. The unction may be applied to the metatarsus or

instep, or to the soles of the feet, according to the usage of the

place. In some places the unction is applied to the loins—
the os ischion— the prominent hip bone, on one side only.
Where this unction would cause an inconvenience it may be

omitted.

After the last unction the priest places the oil receptacle on

the table, cleanses his thumb and fingers with crumbs of

bread and water, and dries them with a towel. He then

continues the prayers, which are supplications to God for the

health of soul and body of the sick person. If the person



54 EXTREME UNCTION

anointed is a female, the feminine gender must be used in

the versicles and prayers.

The priest having finished the prayers, he puts the vessel

of oil in the case, and the crumbs of bread and pieces of cotton

which he had used into the pocket already mentioned. The

water with which the priest washes his hands is thrown into

the Sacrarium if it can be conveniently done, or into the

fire.

The priest will now advise the sick person to be resigned to

the will of God, and, if he has time, he will say a few inspiring

words to the sick to encourage him to resist Satan and all

his pomps and temptations, and to meet with courage and

faith and hope what Providence has decreed for him. He

will join those in attendance in thanking God for the graces

of the sacrament, and he will see that a crucifix is left on the

table near the sick, and holy water.

GIVEN TO A NUMBER TOGETHER

The priest enters the sick room with the usual salutation,

“ Peace be to this house,” places the holy oil on a table, presents

the crucifix to each to be kissed, sprinkles the holy water, and

gives the sick an opportunity to confess. He now delivers a

few words of exhortation. He then recites for all in common

the three prayers. They require no change of number. Each

of the sick recites the Confiteor. It may be recited, if the sick

are unable to do so, by the assistant or priest himself. The

prayers, which are accompanied by no actions or ceremonies,

and the Psalms, are said in the plural <5r singular number.

All the rites prescribed by the Ritual are to be performed over

each patient. The versicles and prayers are said for all in



EXTREME UNCTION 55-*

common. The plural number is used, and the feminine

gender if all are females.

EXTREME UNCTION IMMEDIATELY AFTER

VIATICUM

When the priest administers Extreme Unction immediately

after the Viaticum, he assumes a purple stole as soon as he

has finished the prayer following communion. He may use a

stole that is white on one side and purple on the other. The

Sacred Congregation permits such a stole in the ceremonies

of baptism, and hence we may justly infer that the priest is

justified in using the same kind now. He confers Extreme

Unction in the ordinary way prescribed by the Ritual, except

that he omits the salutation, “ Peace be to this house,” and

the Asperges. He ought not to place the oils on the corporal,

but to one side of it. If the priest brought more than one

particle, he leaves the ciborium or pyxis on the corporal till

he has finished all the ceremonies, and gives the benediction

with it. This benediction ought to be given after the papal

benediction.

IN CASE OF IMMINENT DEATH

When a priest finds the sick person near death, he asks

him to express sorrow for his sins, and gives him sacramental

absolution. He gives it thus, “ I absolve thee from all censures

and sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of

the Holy Ghost. Amen.” If the sick person is unable to

speak, the priest will conditionally absolve him. If the person

has but a few moments to live, the priest will anoint him on

the forehead, saying, “ By this Holy Unction may the Lord



EXTREME UNCTION56

forgive thee whatever sins you have committed. Amen.”

The Holy Office decreed in April, 1906, that the above form

is valid in a case of real necessity. If the priest is doubtful

whether the person is dead or alive, he anoints him condi-

tionally, saying, “If you live.” . If the sick person survives,

the priest will say all the omitted prayers, both those that

precede and follow the sacrament. Then the papal blessing

is given even to an unconscious person.

CONCLUSION

And now one word to those who take care of the sick, and

I am done. You are God’s agents to carry out His divine

will on earth. You are called and chosen for a great mission

and a glorious heritage in time and eternity. You will have

opportunities to do almost an infinite amount of good, and for

this you should ever give thanks to “ God, the only wise,

through Jesus Christ, to whom be honor and glory for ever

and ever. Amen.” Your responsibilities are great, are ex-

traordinary. It will be often in your power to save a soul

created to the image and likeness of God. On your fidelity

will frequently depend an eternity of happiness or an eternity

of misery for your patient. The imperishable crown promised

by the Apostle may be snatched from us through your care-

lessness and neglect. You know, as the Catechism of Trent

teaches, that the enemy of mankind never ceases to seek our

ruin, but he increases his efforts when we near our end. You

know how important it is to call the priest in time. Bear in

mind Extreme Unction restores bodily health, remits sin,

disposes us for the home of the saints, our Father’s home, and

quiets our fears, as the Catechism of Trent tells us, illumines



EXTREME UNCTION 57

the gloom in which the soul is enveloped, fills it with pious

and holy joy, and enables us to wait with cheerfulness the

coming of our Lord, whenever He is pleased to summon us

from this world of woe, and above all it fortifies us against

the violent assaults of Satan. You must, of course, first save

your own souls, and this you must do “ through Christ Jesus

that died, yea that is risen also again; who is at the right hand

of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Therefore,

since God has been so good to you, who shall separate you

from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? or famine? or

persecution? or danger? or the sword? or distress? I hope

that neither “death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,

nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor mighty

nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall ever be

able to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ

Jesus, our Lord.”









Letters of Congratulation from

Eminent Prelates and

Others

From His Eminence Cardinal Raphael Merry del Val,

Papal Secretary of State.

Rev. Dear Sir:

While gratefully acknowledging the receipt of your booklet

on the “Sacrament of Extreme Unction” and of the letter

that accompanied it, I cannot but express my appreciation of

the zeal for the salvation of souls that prompted you to pub-

lish the Treatise. At the same time I congratulate you on

the reception which your booklet has received at the hands of

the Bishops of the English-speaking world, and I am happy

to be able to add that the Holy Father desires me to convey to

you the Apostolic Benediction.

I am yours faithfully in Christ,



From His Eminence James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop

op Baltimore.

Bear Rev. Father:

I am sure your booklet on the “ Sacrament of Extreme

Unction” will not only increase the faith of the sick in the

efficacy of that Sacrament, but will also be a source of con-

solation and comfort to them in their illness.

From His Excellency the Most Reverend Diomede Fal-

conio, D.D., Apostolic Delegate for the United States.

I beg you to accept' my sincerest thanks for the copy of your

il
Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, which you

have had the kindness to send me; and I offer you my con-

gratulations for this little work, and I am pleased to not© that

you are thus dedicating your spare time to such useful studies.

Hoping that your Treatise will be a source of instruction to

the faithful, I remain, with sentiments of esteem,

Most faithfully yours in Christ,

ii

Apostolic Delegate.



From His Grace the Most Rev. John M. Farley, D.D.,

Archbishop op New York.

Dear Father Hanley:

The Most Rev. Archbishop desires me to acknowledge the

receipt of your excellent
‘ 1

Treatise on the Sacrament of Ex-

treme Unction.
M His Grace is confident that your book will

prove most useful and instructive to all its readers and prays

for it the wide circulation it so well deserves.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Jas. Y. Lewis, Sec .

From the Rev. Remy Lafort, S.T.L., Theological Censor

op the Archdiocese op New York.

Rev. Dear Father Hanley:

After reading your English “Treatise on the Sacrament of

Extreme Unction, it is a matter of pleasure to me to hear

of your intention to publish similar treatises on the other Sac-

raments. To my mind you are rendering English readers of

Catholic works a service which will undoubtedly receive due

appreciation and encouragement from the clergy and laity.

To the latter especially you are opening a store of doctrine

from masterly minds of which sermons and catechisms give

only select samples.

May God bless your health and labors.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) Remy Lafort.

From the Most Rev. Dr. M. Fogarty, Lord Bishop op

Killaloe, Ireland.

Dear Father Hanley:

I desire to thank you sincerely for your interesting work

on Extreme Unction. You have given us an admirable little

Treatise in English on this important Sacrament.

Sincerely yours,

(Signed) M. Fogarty,

Bishop of Killaloo.

iii



From His Grace the Most Rev. John Healy, D.D., Arch-

bishop of Tuam, Ireland.

Dear Father Hanley:

I have to thank you very much for your kindness in send-

ing me a copy of your “ Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme

Unction .
1 ’

It is clearly written and a most useful little book. I shall

have much pleasure in recommending it to my clergy.

I am, my dear Father Hanley,

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) John Healy, D.D.,

Archbishop of Tuam.

From the Right Rev. J. F. Regis Canevin, D.D., Bishop

of Pittsburg.

Dear Father Hanley:

Your treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction may

be read with profit by priests as well as by the laity. To the

former it will be the means of reviewing the teaching of the

theologians, which may have been obscured by lapse of time

and the wear and tear of a busy life; and to the latter it will

impart much interesting and vauable information concerning

that sacrament which we all hope to receive when the last hour

of our earthly course draws near.

With best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) Regis Canevtn.

From the Right Rev. James McGoldrick, D.D., Bishop of

Duluth.

Rev. and Dear Father:

Your little 1

1

Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction"

is well prepared, and the information under the various head-

ings is valuable.

I cordially recommend the work to our priests and I thank

you for the copy you kindly sent me.

I am,

Yours sincerely,

James McGoldrick.



From the Eight Rev. Chas. Henry Colton, Bishop op

Buffalo, N. Y.

Dear Father Hanley:

After reading your
‘ 1
Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme

Unction, ” I unhesitatingly endorse the book, and wish it a

wide circulation among the priests of this diocese.

It will be found a valuable help to the intelligent adminis-

tration of that important Sacrament, answering, as it does, the

doubts and difficulties often attendant in administering it.

Yours sincerely,

Charles H. Colton.

From the Right Rev. Ignatius Horstmann, D.D., Bishop

of Cleveland.

Rev. and Dear Sir:

Your * 1 Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction” is

good. It summarizes both doctrine and ritual.

Sincerely yours,

(Signed) Ignatius F. Horstmann,

Bishop of Cleveland.

From the Right Rev. Michael Tierney, D.D., Bishop op

Hartford.

My dear Father Hanley:
Thanks for copy of your “ Treatise on the Sacrament of

Extreme Unction” so kindly sent me.

I will recommend it to our priests and also to our Mission

Band for the people.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) M. Tierney.

From the Right Rev. James Trobec, D.D., Bishop of St.

Cloud.

Rev. Dear Father:

I have received a copy of your “ Treatise on the Sacrament

of Extreme Unction,” and shall recommend it to my priests at
the next retreat in August. Many thanks.

Yours,

(Signed) James Trobec.

v



From the Right Rev. Thomas Grace, D.D., Bishop of

Sacramento.

Rev. Dear Father Hanley:

I thank you for copy of your
“
Treatise on the Sacrament

of Extreme Unction. ” Within a small compass it contains

a large amount of theological and valuable information, ad-

vantage being taken of the recent discoveries in medicine and

science.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) Thomas Grace.

From the Right Rev. Philip Joseph Garrigan, D.D., Bishop

of Sioux City, Iowa.

Rev. Dear Father:

I thank you for the copy of your
1

1

Treatise on the Sacrament

of Extreme Unction” sent me.

It is a very interesting and instructive little treatise on a

much neglected subject. It ought to find a place and be of

much use among Catholic priests and people.

Yours very truly in Christ.

(Signed) P. J. Garrigan,

Bishop of Sioux City .

From the Right Rev. Edward P. Allen, Bishop of

Mobile, Ala.

Rev. Dear Father:

The ‘ 1 Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction ’ 1 which

you sent me came to hand in due time, and I write to thank

you for it. It is a useful and timely work and I hope it will

be favorably received by priests and people.

I am, Rev. dear sir,

Very truly yours,

Edward P. Allen,

Bishop of Mobile.

vi



From the Right Rev. Thos F. Lillis, D.D., Bishop op

Leavenworth.

Dear Father Hanley:

I amv very thankful for your
‘ 1
Treatise on the Sacrament of

Extreme Unction.” I have read it with interest, and I con-

gratulate you on your work. This little book should receive

hearty endorsement, and it will not fail to do much good.

Sincerely yours,

(Signed) Thos F. Lillis,

Bishop of Leavenworth .

From the Most Rev. Dr. Browne, Lord Bishop op Ferns,

Ireland.

Rev. and Dear Father:

I beg leave to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your

little treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, and I

will say a kind word of it to the priests of this diocese.

Yours faithfully,

(Signed) James Browne.

From the American Ecclesiastical Review, Phila., Pa.

“
Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction,* * by Rev.

P. J. Hanley.

This is a really useful exposition of the subject, and serves

both the student and catechist by explaining in a clear, per-

fectly simple way the nature of the Sacrament—its names,
definition, institution, the doctrinal errors concerning it con-

demned by the Church. It points out the benefits of this Sac-

rament from the supernatural and also from the natural points

of view as evidenced by what Protestants, such as Leibnitz and

Goethe, have written of its beneficent effects. The theological

doctrine of matter and form, the application, immediate and

secondary effects in the order of grace, the disposition and

intention requisite for the due reception of the benefits, to-

gether with many practical directions for the minister and the

recipients of this helpful Sacrament, are treated in a manner

which is thoroughly readable and will be found helpful by those

who expect to come in professional contact with Catholic

patients to whom the Sacrament is to be given.

vii



From the Right Rev. John J. Hogan, D.D., Bishop op

Kansas City.

Rev. Dear Sir:

Your 11 Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction,” hav-

ing the Imprimatur of Archbishop Farley, needs no further

recommendation.

Yours truly,

(Signed) John J. Hogan,

Bishop of Kansas City.

From the Monitor, The Official Catholic Weekly of New

Jersey.

It gives us pleasure to commend this theological work on

the
‘

‘ Sacrament of Extreme Unction,” by Father Hanley, to

the readers of The Monitor.

No one will dispute the utility of. Father Hanley's little

book. There is considerable ignorance about Extreme Unction,

even among some Catholics, and there are misconceptions in

regard to it, amounting in some instances almost to positive

superstition. And we have little written in our language to

instruct the faithful and counteract the many false notions

prevalent concerning Extreme Unction. Books like Father

Hanley's are therefore specially desirable. The reverend writer

explains this great Sacrament in simple language, and gives

the theological technicalities a plain English garb.

These features invite the patronage of the good, faithful

people who are always anxious to grasp intelligently the doc-

trines of our holy religion.

But whilst Father Hanley tries to write for the people, it

must not be supposed that he deals in general outlines merely.

His book is almost a complete treatise on Extreme Unction,

and will make interesting reading even for those well versed

in theological lore.

We advise all our readers, lay and clerical, to purchase this
treatise on Extreme Unction.

viii



From the Trenton Sunday Advertiser, Trenton, N. J.

Rev. P. J. Hanley of this city is receiving many compliments

upon the appearance of his latest brochure upon “The Sac-

rament of Extreme Unction.
,,

It is generally admitted by the

clergy that Father Hanley has produced a very valuable com-

pendium of the laws and doctrine of the church upon a subject

of great importance*and interest. His researches have been so

thorough that little, if anything, could be added to this treat-

ise. Father Hanley’s literary style is worthy of praise also,

and it is to be hoped, in view of all its merits, that his pam-

phlet will find a large circulation.

From the Niagara Index.

The Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, by the

Rev. P. J. Hanley, bears the “Nihil Obstat” of New York’s

Oensor Librorum, and the Imprimatur of the Most Rev. John

H. Farley, archbishop, two proofs that Father Hanley’s treat-

ment of the subject is conservative and practically correct.

We commend, by the way, the industry of this good priest

who, amid distraction inseperable from his office, has found

time to compose a treatise as learned and interesting as the

one before us. L. A. G.

From The Irish Ecclesiastical Record.

This excellent little Treatise in English on the Sacra-

ment of Extreme Unction,” will be found extremely useful,

not only by hospital nurses and all who have care of the sick,

but by the clergy as well. It is the work of the Rev. P. J.

Hanley, of Trenton, New Jersey, and combines with sound

doctrine an attractive and lucid method of exposition. There

is nothing of practical importance connected with the Sac-

rament omitted. Though unpretentious in form, it is learned

and concise. Indeed, it is only one who had thoroughly in

hand the threads of doctrine that lead to it and realizes vividly

the graces that flow from it, who could put in such clear and

simple form what it takes pages of Latin theological works

sometimes to elucidate. J. F. H.

ix



From the Catholic Record, New Brunswick, N. J.

We are in receipt of a booklet by Rev. P. J. Hanley, of

St. Francis Hospital, Trenton, N. J., entitled,
1

'Treatise on

the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. ”

The title itself should recommend it to every Catholic, young

or old, and we assure them it will be a profitable investment.

The subject is treated in such a manner that it is easily

understood, and it is the only treatise of its kind outside the

larg theological works.

From The Right Rev. Henry Gabriels, D.D., Bishop op

Ogdensburg.

Rev. Dear Father:

I thank you very much for your excellent “ Treatise on the

Sacrament of Extreme Unction. ” From what I read of it, I

deem it a most useful booklet for the use of the laity, and,

moreover, a good reminder to the priest himself of his duties

in regard to this great Sacrament of the dying.

Sincerely your in Jesus Christ,

H. Gabriels,

Bishop of Ogdensburg,

From The Right Rev. Frederick C. Hopkins, D.D., S. J.,

Bishop op Athribis and Vicar Apostolic op

British Honduras.

Rev. and Dear Father:

I thank you for sending me the (i Treatise on Sacrament of

Extreme Unction. ”

Tuere are many very good and useful points in your inter-

esting Treatise on a Sacrament on which we find so very little

in books that are accessible to the laity.

I find much that is valuable and to be highly commended in

your Treatise, and I thank you for kindly sending it to me.

Believe me to remain,

Your faithfully in Jesus Christ,

Frederick C. Hopkins,

Bishop of Athribis„

x



From The Most Rev. John A. Maguire, Archbishop of

Glasgow.

Dear Rev. Father:

I am asked by the Archbishop to thank you for kindly send-

ing a copy of your work on
“ Extreme Unction

,

99 and to say

that he believes that the booklet will be found extremely use-

ful and interesting.

I remain, Dear Rey. Father,

Yours faithfully,

John Ritchie, Dioc. Sec.

From the Right Rev. Robert Brindle, D.S.O., Bishop of

Nottingham, England.

Dear Rev. Father:

It was a very happy inspiration which led you to publish

your little book on the “ Sacrament of Extreme Unction . f> It

ought to be most useful, and I shall most certainly recom-

mend it as far as possible. Thanking you for sending it to

me, and blessing you in your work, believe me,

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Bishop of Nottingharriy England.

Robert Brindle,

From the Right Rev. P. J. O ’Connor, Bishop of Armidale,

N. S. W., Australia.

Dear Father Hanley:

I have read your book on “Extreme Unction
,

99 and found

it very interesting and instructive, and I have very little doubt

that much good will be the result of a careful reading of it.

I shall be pleased to recommend it to my clergy, who, I

fondly hope, will read and study it carefully.

Hoping your admirable Treatise will have a wide circulation,

and wishing you every blessing, I remain,

Yours sincerely in Christ,

P. J. O ’Connor,

Bishop of Armidale.

XI



From Ave Maria.

Messrs. Pustet & Co. publish for the Rev. P. J. Hanley a brief

Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. ” Within

the compass of fifty-seven pages, the booklet contains a large

and valuable amount of theological information not easily ob-

tainable elsewhere, at least in English.

From the Right Rev. P. A. O’Neill, O.S.B., D.D., Bishop

of Port Louis, Island of Mauritius.

Rev. Dear Sir:

Your “ Treatise on Extreme Unction” contains a large

amount of information on that important and very practical

subject.

I shall be pleased if the English-speaking priests of this

diocese send for copies.

With my best thanks, I remain Rev. Dear Sir,

Faithfully your in Christ,

P. A. O’Neill, O.S.B.,

Bishop of Port Louis.

From the Right Rev. Emile Joseph Legal, O.M.I., D.D.,

Bishop of St. Albert, Alta, Canada.

Rev. and Dear Father:

I received, some time ago, your kind letter of July 4,

together with your “ Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme

Unction.” I have delayed answering you because I wanted

to first read the whole booklet.

I must say that this reading has been very satisfactory

to me, and I have been pleased to find therein exposed new

and beautiful views and aspects of this Sacrament, and very

wise and useful suggestions concerning its importance and

effects.

I will not fail to recommend this book to my priests when

occasion shall present itself.

Thanking you very sincerely, I remain, Rev. and Dear

Father,

Yours very devotedly in Christ, &c.,

Emile J. Legal, O.M.I.,

Bishop of St. Albert.

Xll



From the Catholic Standard and Times, Philadelphia:

The Prudent Catholic will endeavor to be always prepared

for death. There can be no better way to begin this necessary

preparation than to take up this treatise of Father Hanley's

and read it attentively and ponder on its exposition and its

counsels.

It is a treatise calculated to give consolation to the sick

and suggestion of good living to the hale. The rules governing

its proper administration are explicitly set forth in this trea-

tise as well as the conditions necessary to its valid reception.

From the Right Rev. Julius Vidal, S.M., D.D., Bishop of

Suva, Fiji Islands.

Mon cher Reverend Pere:

J'ai recu tres-tard votre excellent traite sur 1 'Extreme Onc-

tion; et apres 1 'avoir lu attentivement je crois devoir dire qu’il

me parait tres exact comme doctrine, tres-simple et clair comme

style. Aussi je le recommande volontiers a mon clerge.

Votre tout devoue en Jesus et Marie,

Julien Vidal,

(Translation.)
Suv'• Ev ' Fijl

My dear Reverend Father:

I have lately received your excellent treatise on the Sacra-

ment of Extreme Unction. I have read it carefully, and I can

justly say that the doctrine is very accurately given, and the

style is very simple and clear.

I may also add that I shall gladly recommend it to my

clergy.

Yours most devotedly in Jesus and Mary,

Julius Vidal,

Bishop of Suva, Fiji

.

From the Right Rev. Augustine Van De Vyver, D.D.,

Bishop of Richmond.

Rev. and Dear Father:

Your Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction is most

useful to both clergy and laity.

Sincerely yours,

A. Van De Vyver, D.D.,

Bp. of Bichmond.

xiii



From the Right Rev. P. J. Donahue, D.D., Bishop or

Wheeling, W. Ya.

Rev. Dear Father:

Please accept my thanks for your timely Treatise on Ex-

treme Unction. I am sure it will be read with great benefit

by the Rev. clergy as well as the faithful. I shall be glad to

recommend it whenever opportunity offers.

Faithfully yours in Christ,

P. J. Donahue,

Bishop of Wheeling .

From the Right Rev. John J. Monaghan, Bishop op Wil-

mington, Del.

Dear Rev. Father:

I cordially recommend your Treatise on the Sacrament of

Extreme Unction, and bespeak for it a wide circulation both

among the clergy and the people.

Yours faithfully in Christ,

John J. Monaghan,

Bishop of Wilmington.

From the Right Rev. J. J. O’Connor, Bishop of Newark.

Dear Father Hanley:

It gives me great pleasure to add my word of approbation

to that of the illustrious prelates and theologians who have so

warmly commended your book on the Sacrament of Extreme

Unction. The Treatise is worthy of all the praise it has

received.

Wishing you a happy New Year,

I am faithfully yours in Christ,

J. J. O’Connor,

Bishop of Newark.

From the Right Rev. Henry Joseph Richter, D.D., Bishop

of Grand Rapids.

Rev. Dear Father:

Your Treatise on Extreme Unction deserves unstinted praise.

I recommended it to the senior clergy of the diocese at the close

of their retreat last September.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Henry Joseph Richter.

xiv



From His Grace the Most Rev. John J. Glennon, Arch-

bishop of St. Louis.

Rev. dear Father:

I hope that this valuable Treatise will have a large circula-

tion.

With New Year’s greetings, I remain,

Sincerely yours,

John J. Glennon,

Archbishop of St . Louis

.

From His Grace the Most Rev. John Ireland, D.D., Arch-

bishop of St. Paul.

Rev. Dear Father:

Your Treatise on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction should

have a place on the desk of every priest in America. One of

the most important duties of the priest is the spiritual care of

the sick; one of the most favorable opportunities allowed the

sacred ministry to do good to souls and to win to itself the

loving regard of the Christian people is to bring rays of

Heaven’s sunshine into the home of the dying and of their

friends. To this the proper and edifying administration of

the Sacrament of Extreme Unction is means most practical.

Your book teaches the priest to be to the sick the true mes-

senger of religion.

John Ireland,

Archbishop of St. Paul.

From the Right Rev. Nicholas Chrysostom Matz, D.D.,

Bishop of Denver.

Rev. Dear Father:

I hail your book as a valuable adjunct to the family library.

Not only is the immense benefit of the sacrament of Extreme

Unction ignored by our people, but their ignorance works an

immense injury to the sick and dying, who are thus deprived

of the sacrament that might restore them again to health, or

most assuredly secure for them a safe passage to eternity.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

N. C. Matz,

Bishop of Denver, Colorado.

XT



From the Right Rev. Francis Silas Chatard, D.D., Bishof

of Indianapolis.

Dear Father Hanley:

Bishop Chatard thanks yon for your interesting and very

instructive book on Extreme Unction, and hopes it will have a

wide circulation.

With best wishes, I am,

Yours respectfully,

Joseph Chartrand.

From the Right Rev. Wm. Turner, D.D., Bishop of Gallo-

way, Scotland.

My Dear Rev. Father:

I have read your Treatise on Extreme Unction and found it

deeply interesting and instructive. I consider it a most useful

compilation of valuable information on a Sacrament which

usually receives but meagre attention from Catechists and

others. It is a book that is wanted.

Wishing you every success in your undertakings.

Yours sincerely,

W. Turner,
Bishop of Galloway .

From the Right Rev. James Schwebach, D.D., Bishop of

La Crosse.
Rev. Dear Father:

I have read your book on Extreme Unction, and found it

very useful and instructive for priests and people. I will

recommend it to our clergy.

Truly yours,

James Schwebach,

Bishop of La Crosse.

From the Right Rev. Henry Northrop, Bishop of

Charleston.

Rev. Dear Father:

I have no hesitation in putting my name after the illustrious
Prelates who commend a Treatise so useful and illuminating
for those who believe, but need much instruction on so great a
Sacrament. It is the fullest and most complete expose of
the Sacrament it has been my good fortune to come across.

Sincerely in Christ,

H. P. Northrop,

Bishop of Charleston.

xvi



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