• If I’m not sick, why should I attend the Mass of the Anointing of the Sick?

As Christians, we believe that even in the most difficult moments of human life, even in sickness and suffering, despair and struggle, the Lord will not abandon us. The communal celebration of the Anointing of the Sick presents the congregation with a means of witnessing to these faith claims.

An Anointing of the Sick Mass offers a parish an opportunity to publicly proclaim our faith in the promise of Christ to remain with us always. “By the sacred Anointing of the Sick, and the prayer of the priests, the whole church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord that he may give them relief and save them (see Jas 5:14-16.)” Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium,) #11.
As we come together to pray for and with our sick and frail members, we show both to them and to their caregivers the value of their lives and their struggles for the whole community. Participation in a Healing Mass is an act of solidarity with those among us who are sick; it is recognition of the value and challenge of illness in human life, and an act of faith in the power of the sacrament and the presence of Christ in even the most difficult of times.