Handron, Clement J.

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 20 | Number 4 Article 411-1-1953The Physician and the Sacrament of ExtremeUnctionClement J. HandronFollow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqPart of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Medicine and Health SciencesCommonsRecommended CitationHandron, Clement J. (1953) "The Physician and the Sacrament of Extreme Unction," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 20 : No. 4 , Article 4.Available at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol20/iss4/4122 '.l'l -Il� l,INACllE QUARTERLY by intent and the prelude to further sins of.contraception. To summarize finally this and the preceding article: I. Human fertility control involves direct sterilization, and as such consti­tutes serious violation of the fifth commandment.2. :hose who undertake a program of fertility control with contraceptivemtent, o_r who actually engage in intercourse while practicing fertilitycontrol, mcur the added grave guilt of onanism, a sin against chastity.3. For the practical purpose of impressing upon patients the sinfulness off�rtility co�trol, doctors may find it more effective to answer inquiries bysimply statmg that the practice is a forbidden form of birth prevention.* "Fertility Control and the Moral Law" in THE LINACRE QuAR'l'ERLY, August 1953,pp. 83-88.'l'HE LlNACRE QUARTERLY 123 The Physician and the Sacrament of Extreme Unction CLEMENT J. HANDRON, M.D. Troy, New York T HERE IS SO MUCH of the beautiful in all the ceremonials of theCatholic Church that to isolate the sacrament of Extreme Unction for a particular discussion of its beauty would seem rather jejune. When to beauty, however, are added power and significance of purpose, the subject develops an aura of higher dignity. And when to the marks of beauty, power, and significance there is added the fact that the physician, unlike the layman, is almost daily in contact with the sacrament of Extreme Unction, the importance of a discussion of that sacrament, especially as it is related to the activities of the physician, may be readily comprehensible. Second only perhaps to his personal attendance upon his own religious duties is the doctor's duty in time of serious illness to advise the reception of the sacra­ment of Extreme Unction. Instituted by Christ to be administered in danger of death, it is a part of the last benediction that man may receive before mortal dissolution speeds the flight of the soul. Received in sequence to the sacrament of Penance and to Holy Viaticum and preceding the final Pa pal Benediction it prepares the spirit for the promised Beatific Vision. In the light of the purpose of its existence this Sacrament assumes a major role in the daily routine of the physician's practice. Man is a being in whom the two elements of which he is composed-body and soul-are interactive. There is no question but that the emotions of worry, fear, remorse and despair, all experienced by the troubled soul, have definite deleterious effects on the body. Similarly a diseased body, broken and rendered useless, stimulates a hitherto lethargic mind to contemplate the soul and its destiny. "Mens sana in corpore sano, fortem posce animum, mortis terrore caren­tem"-a sound mind in a sound body and a brave spirit troubled not by the terrors of death. Preachers, writers, statesmen, all have often quoted the first portion of the above. Less well remembered and less frequently used is the latter half. A sound mind contributes to the enduring soundness, func-121 'l'HE LINACRE QUARTERLY tio11all? speaking, of the body. No less realistically does a clean soul (animus) contribute to a terrorless death. In this respect alone the Sacra­ment of Extreme Unction is unexcelled in significance. It is the only j usti­fiable form of euthanasia arnilable to the Catholic physician. And how significant it is! Practiced as the doctor is in the interpretation of facial expression and accurate in. diagnosing "the native act and figure of the heart in complement extern" from the coordinated action of facial muscles, it is he who would be first to affirm the unaffected expression of faith on the face of the sick man who has just received the last sacrament-an expression of faith vastly superior in its marks of beauty to any observed during the course of untroubled life. In addition to the actual spiritual power of Extreme Unction there are other perfectly tangible results to be noted during and following its admin­istration. These results are likely to be more clearly apparent to the physician and the priest than to the patient or his kin. Reference is her specifically made to the psychologic reaction of the persons at the immediat bedside. How often has it been noted that the atmosphere of the sick room, seemingly heavy with doubt and uncertainty, suddenly becomes clear and light following the reception of the last sacrament by the patient. The change is noted by all and to each there may come the impression that the end is not yet, that there is still some hope! Although reason may dictate that there has been no material change, yet change of some sort there certainly has been. That change is undoubtedly due to the relief of nerve­muscle tension when the individual emotions of fear and doubt are replaced · by confidence and by the conscious satisfaction of something accomplished.The patient becomes less fretful and more at ease. His attitude is morecheerful. He is always relieved in mind and seemingly on not too infrequentoccasions in body; for it is common to find that reception of ExtremeUnction appears to relieve pain. The patient is buoyed by two separnte hopes. If he is not to die, the sacrament just received will speed his recov­ery; and if death is inevitable, he will pass on with a sense of security forthe future. In either case, he exemplifies the last half of the quotation­"fortem posce animum, mortis terrore carentem."The patient's relatives console themselves with the thought that theirdear one has not gone to his Creator "unanointed and unanealed." They haveconsummated a duty not only to theii' relative but also to their religion andtheir God. They have also very effectively avoided the probable qualms ofconscience that would have come should they have been neglectful of the step taken. They are likely to experience, too, a marked sense of relief fromTHE LINACRE QUARTERLY 125 another point of view. An otherwise intelligent and mature individual will often exhibit a morbid and stupid type of solicitude for a patient. It is based upon the actually non-existent terror with which a sick person is suppo�e�. to become possessed at the mere mention of the last sacrament. The possibility of this attitude bein()' found in the sick room is always present. A perfectly splendid but highly :motional husband ol· wife, brother or sister wi!l at times almost harshlv turn aside the doctor's suggestion of Extreme Unct10n on the entirely false.,premise that the very sight of the priest with th e  Holy Oils �s sufficient cause for a o-rave relapse, an emotional storm bordering on hysteria b or eyen sudden death from shock. For this reason, with strong emotion clouding reason and judgment, Extreme Unction is all too often unreason­ably delayed. Only (lfter insistence by the physician · has broken. d.ownprejudice, do these well-intentioned relatives allow the priest to a�Q1'.111ster the sacrament; and only after the threatened storm fails to materialize <lo they realize with wonder and awe that they could have been mistaken. Then and only then do they experience the relief of mind that should have been theirs at the fo·st suggestion of the last sacrament. As a matter of personal · experience the author has yet to see a patient unduly upset by either the pre-announced or the unheralded entrance of the priest into the sick room for the purpose of ministering to the ill. It should be recalled by medical men both as doctors and as possible patients, that Extreme Unction should be received while the subject is conscious and fully aware of what is taking place. Extreme Unction has an effect on every person present at its administra­tion and in no little measure on the doctor. The patient may assume o�e of two attitudes: he may exhibit a heretofore unexpected strength of will to live. This is of extreme importance, esepcially in the acute fulminating ty�es of illnesses; or he may more peacefully resign himself to th e  unswe�·vrng course of approaching death. In either instance, he becomes a less:r trial. to an already sorely tried doctor. The will to live in the face of im.pendmgdisaster means that the physician is assured of the fullest cooperat1011 that his patient's intellect, will and physical strength are capable of gi�ing. Every doctor fully realizes the great powers of these three forces of resistance and assistance. Would that the physician always might have all of thos: factors assisting him! In the other instance the patient conve!� by his attitude the impression that the doctor has done his best in a positive manner, has leftnothino· undone the doing of which might have altered the end result, a�dhavint approached the apex of his human li�itations must of necess'.t_yresi()'n his will with that of doctor to the Will wluch allows them both to ln eb 126 THE LINA RE QUARTERLY and die to live again. Truly may it be said that the physician has a constant ally in the sacrament of Extreme Unction. Having so often viewed with interest the various difficult situations encountered in the giving of the last sacrament, the physician is qualified to make ome observations on the several mental and emotional attitudes mani­fested by those in attendance. The first question: one might ask is: What is the predominating note in the attitude of the patient toward his reception of the last sacrament. It is probably safe to say that in the large majority of cases, and these regardless of age and sex, the commonly expected reactions of fear varying in degree from simple nervous apprehension through the stages of worry, stark terror, hysteria and despair are the exception rather than the rule. Two notes in man's spiritual-material composition predomi­nate, confidence or faith and its sequel relaxation. Confidence is engendered by a sense of security; and security of station results in better neuromuscular coordination so necessary to complete relaxation. There has been present up to now an inhibition in the form of emotional tension. In the presence of such an inhibition neither spiritual nor muscular relaxation are possible. With the remornl of the inhibition there is a psycho-physiologic response allowing the return to full balance of the previously existing imbalance between two opposing autonomic influences. In other words, a peaceful soul inhabits a peaceful body. What may be said of the attitude of the physician toward Extreme Unction? Just as the doctor is likely to be the first to recognize the serious­ness of an illness, he should be the first to suggest the full measure of consolation that the Church can give to his patient. This happens daily. It is interesting to note at this point that most non-Catholic physicians are very conscientious in the matter of advising the family of a Catholic patient that the "last rites" of the Church should be obtained. The attitude of the priest in the sick room while anointing the ill is always inspiring and conducive to the sense of well-being of all. Dignified, calm, unhurried, unawed by the close proximity of death, reassuring in his every word and gesture, he figuratively "pours oil on troubled waters" when he anoints with oil the organs of the five senses. The well-modulated voice speaking softly, but distinctly, without quiver or trace of nervous tension, serves to inspire not only him wlio is the chief object of his attentioI). but also those who reverently assist by their presence. Standing quietly and unobserved and somewhat apart from the others during the ceremony the physician has the oft-repeated opportunity of THE LINACRE QUARTERLY 127 closely observing the composite picture. The patient is conscious and in danger of death, the members of the family are grouped around the bed and the priest in purple stole anoints with the oil of salvation-this is the spir­itual preparation for death. If there is beauty in death it can be seen only in the well-prepared; and it has its basis in the sacrall\ent of the dying. Beauty in death is not to be observed under any other circum tances. Reprinted from LIN ACRE QUAR1'ERLY, April 1939. The Editorial Boa,rd con­siders thia presentation worthy of the attention of subsc1·ibers mo1·e recent than the date of original publication. 

The Physician and the Sacrament of Extreme Unction

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The Physician and the Sacrament of Extreme Unction

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