sanctioned by Scripture and the Church of
every age. For God would not sanction it nor could the Church practise
it if it were _not conformable to reason_.

VIII. The Last Sacraments

"Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the Church,
and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the
Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord
shall raise him up, and if he be in sins they shall be forgiven him"
(_James_ v. 14, 15).

BY THESE words St. James admonishes Christians when sick to do that
which Our Saviour had previously directed to be done. This you will
learn from the 6th chapter of St. Mark: "And [the apostles] anointed
with oil many that were sick."

The historians of the first centuries tell us that the early Christians
were as anxious to receive the last sacraments as are the Catholics of
our own day. St. Cesarius, in the fifth century, writes: "As soon as a
person falls dangerously sick, he receives the body and blood of Jesus
Christ. Then his body is anointed, and thus is fulfilled what stands
written: 'Is any man sick among you? Let him call in the priests of the
Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil.'" What the
Christians of the first centuries did, we do; and we do it by the
direction of Jesus Christ and of St. James.

Penance, Holy Eucharist, and Extreme Unction are administered to the
sick and are known as the last sacraments. The priest first hears the
sick person's confession, then he administers holy communion. Afterward
he administers the sacrament of Extreme Unction--last anointing.

This sacrament aids the sick to bear their sufferings with patience. It
wipes away sin, even mortal sin if the person is unable to confess; and
it purifies the soul for its entrance into heaven. The other sacraments
assist us in making our lives holy like the life of our divine Model.
This sacrament assists in making our death holy, like the death of
Jesus. The sacrament of Baptism met us at our entrance into this world;
the sacrament of Extreme Unction will be our guide at our departure to
the other world. Religion, which rocked us in the cradle of life, will
lull us to sleep in the cradle of death.

Go to the bedside of the dying Catholic and you will see the
reasonableness of the practice of calling the priest to administer the
last sacraments. After the sacraments have been administered, peace and
joy and contentment are visible