Thursday, March 31, 2005

Sacrament of the Infirm

To elaborate on Boney's earlier post--The Pope has receieved the Sacrament of the Infirm, also known as the Sacrament of the Annointing of the Sick, or Last Rites. Pope John Paul II has actually received this Sacrament one other time, on May 13, 1981, the day of his assasination attempt when he was shot in St. Peter's Square and was nearly killed. But of course the Pope made a full recovery and has reigned for nearly 24 years since that incident. The Sacrament involves annointing the ill person with special oils and is meant to provide comfort and is in no way a confirmation that the person's death is imminent.

Indeed, it is possible that the Pope will recover from his high fever, as he is currently being treated with antibiotics. The next 24 hours will be critical, as that is the amount of time it generally takes for antibiotics to enter the bloodstream and become effective.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it is time for him to go peacefully. The Church and the world can then recover from these many years.

Anonymous said...

The news reports said that he also received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick before his tracheotomy surgery a few weeks ago.

Anonymous said...

how come nobodys mentioned that 900 year old prophecy about the last pope. da