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Hi, Carol —
Excellent question.
Anointing of the sick is one of the
seven sacraments. It is best accompanied
with Confession, but it doesn't have
to be. If the person hasn't been
to Confession for a while, especially
if they may have mortal sin, it's
best go to Confession before receiving
the Anointing of the Sick. I'm not
sure it's required, as is the case
with Communion, but it's definitely
a very good idea. At any rate, this
is a sacrament. It can only be administered
by a priest or bishop. It requires
the use a particular oil which has
been consecrated for this purpose
by the bishop.
Prayers for healing, at the end of Mass, including:
- the laying on of hands
- the use of just blessed oil
(although this is not allowed
for laity to use in public
settings any more)
- holy water, and
- blessings
and are not a Sacrament.
There are certain people in the Body
of Christ upon whom God has bestowed
a Charism of Healing. These people
don't have to be ordained priests;
they don't have to be men; they just
need to be Christians and all of
us in the Body of Christ participate
in Jesus's Priesthood through our
Baptism.
So we can all pray for healing
and bless people. It's not the same
thing as a priestly blessing but
nevertheless it can be just as powerful.
God works through all the members
of His Body, as long as they are
willing to do His Will.
Typically, you will see this sort
of prayer for healing after Mass in
Charismatic circles. I've participated
in these both, as the person being
prayed over and the person doing
the praying.
Again, God can and does heal through
the prayers we offer but we should
never confuse this sort of ceremony (for
lack of a better term) with the
Sacrament of the Sick (or the Anointing
of the Sick).
In fact, that's why the laity are
no longer allowed to use oil when
praying for or over people in a liturgical setting.
The use of oil in such settings can
cause the uninstructed Catholic to
confuse this prayer, blessing, and
(small a) anointing with the oil
of the Sacrament of the (big A) Anointing
of the Sick.
John
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