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.
In the administration of this Sacrament, peculiar rites are also used; but they consist principally of prayers, offered by the priest for the recovery of the sick person. There is no Sacrament the administration of which is accompanied with more numerous prayers; and with good reason, for then, in a special manner, the faithful require the assistance of pious prayers Not only the pastor, in the first place, but, also, all who may be present, should pour out their fervent aspirations to the throne of grace, in behalf of the sick person, earnestly recommending him, soul and body, to the divine mercy.
Having thus shown that Extreme Unction is to be numbered amongst the Sacraments, we infer, and the inference is just, that it owes its institution to our Lord Jesus Christ, and was subsequently made known and promulgated to the faithful, by the Apostle St. James. Our Lord himself, would, however, seem to have given some indication of it, when he sent his disciples, two and two, before him; for the Evangelist informs us that " going forth, they preached that all should do penance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many Note. who were sick, and healed them." [1] This anointing cannot be supposed to have been invented by the Apostles: it was commanded by our Lord. Nor did its efficacy arise from any natural virtue peculiar to oil; its efficacy is mystical, having been instituted to heal the maladies of the soul, rather than to cure the diseases of the body. This is the doctrine taught by the Fathers of the Church, by the Denises, the Ambroses, the Chrysostomes, by Gregory the Great; and Extreme Unction is to be recognised and venerated as one of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.
But although instituted for the use of all, Extreme Unction is not to be administered indiscriminately to all. In the first place, it is not to be administered to persons in sound health, according to these words of St. James: " Is any one sick amongst you?" [2] and, as reason also proves, it was instituted as a remedy not only for the diseases of the soul, but also for those of the body: this can apply to the sick only, and therefore, this Sacrament is to be administered to those only, whose malady is such as to excite apprehensions of approaching dissolution. It is, however, a very grievous sin to defer the Holy Unction until, all hope of recovery now lost, life begins to ebb, and the sick person is fast verging into a state of insensibility. It is obvious that if administered whilst the mental faculties are yet unimpaired, whilst reason still exercises her dominion, and the mind is capable eliciting acts of faith, and of directing the will
