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When someone is bed-ridden, homebound, or in the hospital,
the priest will make a "sick call" to ensure the person receives the
Eucharist -- an especially important duty around Easter time (the
priest will hear Confession if necessary). In cases of possible death,
he will offer Extreme Unction (in such a
situation, call the priest as soon as possible, day or night!). Unction
is a separate Sacrament that includes what follows below and also an
annointing with Oleum Infirmorum (the
Oil of the Sick).
For a regular sick call (i.e., one that doesn't include Unction), call
your priest and, when he comes, remember that he will be bringing the
Blessed Sacrament, the very Body of Christ (the vessel
that contains the Eucharist when the priest is traveling is called a
"pyx"). Because of the Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, men
should remove any
headcoverings, and women should cover their
heads. To prepare
the sick room:
- Set up a table
near the bed in a place where the sick person can see it, and cover it
with a white cloth.
- Place on the
table the crucifix with a lit blessed candle on each side, a dish of holy water, a piece
of palm (if you have some) that the priest can use to spinkle the
holy water, and a dish of regular water. Some families include a small
bell that the priest or sick person rings after Confession is complete
(if Confession is received) to summon the family back into the room.
- Lay a linen
cloth across the breast of the sick person.
When the Priest
arrives, meet him in silence at the door while carrying a lit blessed
candle, genuflect, and lead him to the sickroom. Kneel, and stay with
him and the sick one, offering your prayers, but do leave the room if Confession is to be heard, closing the door
behind you. When the priest opens the door again, or rings the bell
that some families include with their sick call sets, you may re-enter.
It is good to have a sick call set all ready in your family altar so in
case of need you can just grab it. Crucifixes
that hang on the wall, but then open up to reveal two small candles and
a vial of holy water, and which can be set up on a table can be
purchased from Catholic gift shops under the name "sick call sets," but
you can make your own. What you'll need:
- small white
tablecloth
- 2 blessed candles
- standing crucifix
- holy water
- dish of regular
water
- linen cloth
- piece of palm
from Palm Sunday (optional)
- small bell
(optional)
The Ritual
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The priest
enters the sick room itself.
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V. Pax huic
dómui.
R. Et ómnibus habitántibus in ea. |
V. Peace to this
house.
R. And all who dwell therein. |
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The priest lays
the corporal on the prepared table, places the Blessed Sacrament on it,
and sprinkles the room with Holy Water.
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Aspérges me,
Dómine, hyssópo, et mundábor; lavábis me, et super nivem dealbábor,
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Cleanse me of
sin with hyssop, Lord, that I may be purified; wash me, and I shall be
whiter than snow,
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Miserére mei,
Deus: secúndum magnam misericordiam tuam. Glora Patri, et Filii, et
Spiritui Sancti.
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Have mercy on
me, O God, according to Thy great mercy. Glory be to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
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The Aspérges is
repeated, and the priest continues:
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V. Adjútorium
nostrum in nómine Dómini
R. Qui fecit caelum et terram
V. Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam.
R. Et clamor meus ad te véniat.
V. Dóminus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
V. Orémus.
Exáudi nos, Dómine sancte, Paer omnípotens, aeterne Deus: et mittere
dignéris sanctum Angelum tuum de caelis, qui custódiat, fóveat,
prótegat, visitet atque deféndat omnes habitántes in hoc habitáculo.
Per Christum Dominum nostrum.
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V. Our help is
in the Name of the Lord.
R. Who made Heaven and Earth.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come to Thee.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit
V. Let us pray.
Hear us, holy Lord, almighty Father, eternal God: and be pleased to
send Thy holy angel from Heaven to guard, cherish, protect, visit and
defend all that dwell in this house. Through Christ our Lord.
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| R. Amen. |
R. Amen. |
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The priest goes
closer to the sick person and, if necessary, hears his confession, in
which case all others leave the room (if the sick call set includes a
bell, family members can be summoned after confession by using it).
Afterward, the Eucharist is given as it usually is outside of
Mass, but the sick person, if possible, says the "Confiteor" and the
"Domine non sum dignus" with the priest.
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Confíteor
Confíteor Deo
omnipoténti, beátæ Maríæ semper Vírgini, beáto Michaéli Archángelo,
beáto Joanni Baptístæ, sanctis Apóstolis Petro et Paulo, ómnibus
Sanctis, et tibi, Pater: quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo et
ópere: mea culpa [strike
breast] , mea culpa [strike breast] , mea máxima
culpa [strike
breast]. Ideo precor
beátam Maríam semper Vírginem, beátum Michaélem Archángelum, beátum
Joánnem Baptístam, sanctos Apóstolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos,
et te, Pater, oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum. [the priest then
says the Misereátur]
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Confíteor
I confess to
Almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed
Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy
Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the Saints, and to you Father, that I
have sinned exceedingly, in thought, word and deed: through my fault [strike breast], through my fault
[strike
breast], through my most
grievous fault [strike
breast]. Therefore I
beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel,
blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the
Saints, and you Father, to pray to the Lord our God for me. [the priest
then says the Misereátur]
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Dómine, non
sum dignus
Dómine, non sum
dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanábitur
ánima mea.
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Dómine, non
sum dignus
Lord, I am not
worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word,
and my soul shall be healed.
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The priest will
then offer the Eucharist. Then he makes the Sign of the Cross over the
sick person, either with the Blessed Sacrament or with his hands.
The dish of water the priest uses to purify his fingers should not be
thrown away like ordinary water; it should be poured onto the Earth or
given to the sick person to drink.
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Other helps for the sick
Other means of
helping the sick include:
| Abdominal
problems |
St. Elmo
(Erasmus) |
| Addiction |
St. Maximilian
Kolbe |
| Alcoholism |
St. John of God
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| Age-related
disease |
St. Anthony of
Padua |
Angina
|
St. Swithbert
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| Appendicitis |
St. Erasmus |
| Arthritis |
St. Alphonsus
Maria de Liguori |
| Bacterial
infection |
St. Agrippina |
| Blindness |
St. Raphael the
Archangel, St. Lucy |
| Breast disease |
St. Agatha |
| Broken bones |
St. Drogo |
| Cancer |
St. Peregrine |
| Chest problems |
St. Bernadine of
Siena |
| Childbirth |
St. Anne, Our
Lady ("Madonna del Parto," or "Our Lady of Childbirth"), St. Margaret
of Antioch, St. Elmo (Erasmus), St. Gerard Majella, St. Rita of Cascia,
St. Raymond Nonnantus |
| Contagious
diseases |
St. Roch |
| Cramps |
St. Maurice |
| Deafness |
St. Francis de
Sales |
| Death |
a holy and happy
death: St. Joseph, St. Benedict; against temptation at the time of
death: St. Cyriacus; against sudden death: St. Barbara, St.
Christopher, St. Catherine of Alexandria |
| Depression |
St. Dymphna |
| Drug addiction |
St. Maximilian
Kolbe |
| Dying |
St. Joseph |
| Dysentery |
St. Lucy, St.
Polycarp of Smyrna |
| Earache |
St. Cornelius |
| Epilepsy &
fainting |
St. Vitus, St.
Dymphna, St. Christopher, St. Valentine, St. Vibiana |
| Eye conditions |
St. Lucy |
| Feet Conditions |
St. Peter |
| Fever |
St. Barbara, St.
Genevieve, St. Peter |
| Gallstones |
St. Benedict |
| Gout |
St. Maurus |
| Hangovers |
St. Vibiana |
| Headache |
St. Denis, St.
Teresa of Avila, St. Vibiana, St. Stephen the Deacon, St. Thomas a
Becket |
| Head injury |
St. John Licci,
St. Stephen the Deacon, St. Thomas a Becket |
| Heart problems |
St. John of God |
| Hemorrhage |
St. Lucy |
| Hernia |
SS. Cosmas and
Damian |
| Herpes |
St. George |
| Infection |
St. Agrippina |
| Infertility |
St. Gerard
Majella, St. Anthony of
Padua, St. Anne, Mary (especially under her title of Maria Bambina) |
| Inflammatory
diseases |
St. Benedict |
| Intestinal &
stomach diseases |
St. Charles
Borromeo |
| Invalids |
St. Roch |
| Insect bites |
St. Mark the
Apostle |
| Kidney diseases |
St. Margaret of
Antioch |
| Kidney stones |
St. Alban of
Mainz |
| Knee problems |
St. Roch |
| Leg problems |
St. Servatus |
| Leprosy |
St. Lazarus |
| Loss of milk for
nursing |
St. Margaret of
Antioch |
| Lumbago |
St. Lawrence |
| Lung problems |
St. Bernardine
of Siena |
| Mental disability |
St. Joseph of
Cupertino |
| Mental illness |
St. Dymphna, St.
Vibiana
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| Neck stiffness |
St. Ursicinus of
Saint-Ursanne |
| Neuralgia |
St. Ubaldus
Baldassini |
| Neurological
diseases |
Bartholomew the
Apostle, St. Dymphna |
| Nightmares |
St. Raphael the
Archangel |
| Open sores |
St. Peregrine |
| Pain |
St. Madron |
| Paralysis |
St. Wolfgang |
Plagues,
pandemics
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St. Roch, St.
Sebastian,
St. Christopher,
St. Giles, St. Corona |
| Polio |
St. Margaret
Mary Alacoque |
| Pregnancy, safe |
St. Gerard
Majella, St. Rita of
Cascia, St. Joseph, St. Anne, St. Margaret of Antioch, St. Elizabeth
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| Rheumatism |
St. Alphonsus
Liguori |
| Seasickness |
St. Erasmus |
| Skin diseases |
St. Anthony of
the Desert (i.e., Anthony the Abbot) |
| Smallpox |
St. Matthias |
| Snakebites |
St. Patrick, St.
Hilary of Poitiers, St. Paul the Apostle, St. Vitus |
| Sterility |
St. Anthony of
Padua; St. Gerard Majella; St. Felicity is invoked to have a male child
in particular; Maria Bambina is invoked by couples trying to conceive |
| Stroke |
St. Andrew
Avellino |
| Sudden death,
against |
St. Barbara |
| Throat diseases |
St. Blaise, St.
Ignatius of Antioch |
| Toothache |
St. Apollonia |
| Tuberculosis |
St. Therese of
Lisieux |
| Venereal
diseases |
St. Fiacre |
| Wounds |
St. Rita of
Cascia |
| Sickness in
general |
St. Raphael the
Archangel, St. Gerard Majella, St. Rita of Cascia, St. Roch, St. John
of God, St. Camillus
of Lellis,
St. Bernadette of
Lourdes, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Lydwina of Schiedam, St. Teresa of
Avila, St. Maria Mazzarello |
| Desperate or
"impossible" causes |
St. Jude, St.
Rita of Cascia |
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...and for
those who care for the sick
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| Nurses |
St. John of God,
St. Agatha, St. Raphael the Archangel, St. Camillus of Lellis |
| Midwives,
obstetricians |
St. Brigid of
Ireland, St. Raymund Nonnatus, St. Margaret of Cortona |
| Doctors and
surgeons |
St. Luke, SS.
Cosmas and Damian, St. Pantaleon, St. Raphael the Archangel |
| Hospital workers |
St. John of God,
St. Vincent de Paul, St. Camillus |
| Hospital
administrators |
St. Basil the
Great, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
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| Public Health
Workers |
St. Martin de
Porres |
| Pharmacists |
St. James the
Less |
A bit of Trivia
Almost all
cultures have some ritually offered words for someone who sneezes --
the ancient Greeks, the American Indians, the rabbinical Jews, Asians,
etc. Many of these groups (Talmudic Jews included) believed that
sneezes could be mortal, that the soul could leave the body through the
mouth during a sneeze. It is Pope St. Gregory the Great, however, whom
we have to thank for the practice of saying "God bless you" after
someone sneezes. He was Pope during a time when Rome was ravaged by a
certain pestilence, the symptoms of which were sneezing and yawning. In
A.D. 600, he decreed that when someone sneezes, one should respond with
"God bless you" to ask God's blessings for the person's health, and
that when a person yawns, the Sign of the Cross
should be made on his mouth.
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