Pope Francis invites us to pray during this month of July for “the pastoral care of the sick,” so that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick gives those who receive it and their loved ones the strength of the Lord.
In the Holy Father’s video, published this Tuesday, July 2, by the Pope’s Global Prayer Network, the Pontiff explains that the Anointing of the Sick “is not a sacrament only for those who are about to die.”
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Next, he specifies that “when the priest approaches a person to give them the Anointing of the Sick, he is not necessarily helping them say goodbye to life.”
According to the Holy Father, “to think like this is to renounce all hope” and also “to take for granted that after the priest comes the undertaker.”
“Let us remember that the Anointing of the Sick is one of the sacraments of healing, of healing, that heals the spirit,” he expresses.
He also emphasizes that when a person is very sick it is advisable to provide this Sacrament and also when a person is already old.
“Let us pray that the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick gives the people who receive it and their loved ones the strength of the Lord and becomes increasingly for everyone a visible sign of compassion and hope,” concludes the Holy Father. .
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
I am a graduate in Journalism and Advertising from the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. I have been a senior correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in the Vatican for two years and I am currently a European correspondent based in Spain.