The Rite of Anointing the Sick should not be deferred until a person is at the point of death. A careful judgment about the serious nature of the illness is sufficient. The Sacrament may be repeated if the sick person recovers after the anointing but becomes ill once again, or if, during the same illness, the person's condition becomes more serious. A person should be anointed before major surgery when it is associated with a potentially life threatening illness.
The elderly or disabled may be anointed if they are in weak condition even though no dangerous illness is present. Very sick children may be anointed if they have attained the use of reason. The faithful who fall seriously ill or are diagnosed with such an illness should be encouraged to ask for the anointing at that time.
Only bishops and priests may be ministers of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. A penitential rite followed by the Liturgy of the Word opens the celebration. We pray to Christ for the strength of his Holy Spirit. The priest lays his hands on the head of the sick person. He then proceeds to anoint, with the blessed Oil of the Sick, the forehead and hands of the sick person. He accompanies these acts with the words, "Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up".