January 2005 (part 3 of 3)

Q.- 1.) What is the Great Amen? 2. Is this one of the (three) elevations? 3. What are they?

A.- The Great Amen is the response of the faithful to the to the entire Eucharistic prayer prayed by the priest on their behalf and to the sacrifice of Jesus offered to the Father. It occurs after the Doxology (prior to the Our Father) where the priest raises the Body and Blood of Christ to the Father and says “Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours Almighty Father, forever and ever.” We then say AMEN !! It is called the Great Amen because there should be a robust assent given to this prayer and sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Due to this fact, it is usually sung (in order to get a fuller response from the faithful.)

The Great Amen is one of several elevations during the mass. You could say there are two elevations of offering and two of showing. 1) The first is at the Preparation of the Gifts where the bread and wine are slightly raised during the prayer “Blessed are You, Lord God of all creation……”. The host is left on the paten as a sign that it is offered to God that it may become the Body and Blood of Christ. 2) The next is at the consecration where there is a solemn showing to the people. The Host and the Precious Blood are elevated that the faithful may see and adore. 3) The third elevation is at the doxology (and during the great amen) where there is a significant and solemn offering to God of the Body and Blood of Jesus. Again the Host is left on the paten because it is not to be seen by us but offered to God. 4) The last elevation, if you will, is prior to Communion where the priest lifts up the broken Host over the Chalice of Precious Blood and shows to the people the Savior who is sacrificed for them. He says, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to His supper.” The first part of this prayer comes from John the Baptist’s exclamation “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29) The second part comes from the Book of Revelation: “And the Angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ “ (Rev 19:9)

Recommended reading:

The How-To Book of the Mass (Michael Dubruiel)

Q.- I know the elderly, sick or those who are in danger should ask to be anointed, but should young, healthy people who are not in immediate danger be routinely anointed?
A.- The short answer to this is no......young, healthy people who are in no immediate danger of death should not be anointed, routinely or otherwise. Reason being this: it’s the Anointing of the Sick. There really wouldn’t be a reason for them to seek healing physically/spiritually if they are not seriously ill.

That being said, one does find an inordinate number of seemingly young and or healthy Catholics receiving it. There are some parishes that have a Mass every month at which the faithful can come forward to be anointed and it seems everybody comes up for it. Some things to keep in mind though: 1) sometimes you cannot see one’s illness – they may look well to you but could really be gravely ill and doing their best to bear their cross cheerfully and not let it show to everyone. 2) the vast majority of people who receive an anointing improperly do so at one of the healing masses (where it seems the whole church comes forward) and do so out of ignorance and not wanting to be the only one left in the pew. They are not being malcontent but simply don’t know they shouldn’t receive. Often, if they are asked about it later, they’ll tell you they didn’t even know that it was a SACRAMENT but equate it with sacramentals like receiving ashes or getting their throat blessed. The answer to this, fortunately, is rather easy. A very short explanation could be given prior to the sacrament that would clear up any misunderstandings. Those who aren’t receiving could feel content to stay where they are and devote themselves to praying those who do need healing and strengthening.

The catechism states: “The special grace of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has as its effects:

- the uniting of the sick person to the passion of Christ, for his own good and that of the whole Church;

- the strengthening, peace and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age;

- the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to attain it through the Sacrament

of Penance;

- the restoration of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul;

- the preparation for passing over to eternal life. ( catechism #1532)

Recommended reading:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (numbers 1499-1532)