Perhaps it's time to think a bit about the Anointing of the Sick. Those of us who are a bit older may have grown up calling this sacrament by the name of Extreme Unction. The name says it all. It was anointing given when a person was about to die. Because we looked on the sacrament in that way, many of us grew to fear this sacrament.

But now we have a new name for the sacrament and a new understanding of its purpose. It is now called 'The Anointing of the Sick'. We now see it as a sacrament of healing. The Anointing of the Sick is a gift given to us to continue the healing ministry of Jesus. And so we should be asking the priest for this sacrament with a sense of hope and expectation. After all, it promises healing.

All of us have to deal with sickness, either in our own lives or in the lives of those whom we love. We also