Should You Call a Priest for Anointing in the Middle of the Night?

Our most recent chat consists of the availability of the sacraments as well as heartfelt exchanges — a mosaic of thoughts on the journey of spiritual progression. These conversations traverse the landscapes of faith, self-reflection, and communal reverence. 

The dialogues reveal a collective pursuit of deeper understanding and connection with God. Amidst reflections on knowing oneself and others, pondering the limitations of the Church, and seeking solace in faith amid imperfections, these conversations invite us to navigate the intricate tapestry of spirituality—a journey marked not just by milestones but by the unseen growth that emanates from genuine encounters, earnest prayers, and the embrace of divine grace.

If you would like to chat with Catholics like yourself about this topic, why not check out our Living Jesus Chat Room of the Visitation Sisters. Join us at 7:30 p.m. ET each Sunday! We read a passage of St. Francis de Sales and then gather great insights and sharing!

Making the Sacraments Available

Question: Is Confession available in your parishes readily or regularly?

Lydia: Yes.

Priscila: Yes. The best churches have lots of confession times and adoration times.

Lydia: One thing that upset me was that when my Father died, I called the parish to have a priest come to give him Anointing of the Sick and it was the middle of the night, and no one answered!!!! I had to call the Priest on call for the Hospital. My Father was at home.

Visitation Sister: Oh my.

Lydia: But the Priest at the Hospital was willing to go.

Visitation Sister: Beautiful.

Priscila: Priests are people too, and maybe the Priest was ill too.

Sherry: I have never heard that a priest has to be on duty for his parishioners at home and leave the phone on at night.

Visitation Sister: I remember a priest who rushed to the hospital and then got a parking ticket.

Sherry: I am so glad the priest on call was able to come.

Lydia: Sherry, how do you have Anointing if he is not on call?

Sherry: In our parish, the family members arrange a meeting for anointing during the day.

Lydia: That was so scary, I was driving from Maryland saying rosaries and trying to get a Priest after midnight.

Priscila: Well, what about people who die and don’t get anointed? Priscila, not everyone can get anointed.

Lydia: The Church is not open, they have confession at a particular time every week. At another Church they have a code on the door, and you can go in. For adoration any time. The tabernacle has a window, and you are allowed to open it and close it when you leave.

Sherry: It is usually family members who call. Right?

Lydia: If the person has just died or is in danger of dying you call a priest. It does not have to be a family member. Whomever is there and knows he is Catholic can call.

Sherry: Usually, it is a nurse in the hospital or a family member.

Priscila: If there is one available. I don’t know if you know, there is a shortage of Priests.

Lydia: If you are in a hospital, it says your religion on the chart and when a Catholic dies a doc or a nurse or anyone can call a priest. One of the promises of the Sacred Heard when you do the 9 first Friday Communions is that you will have the sacraments upon your death. If it is not important, why did Jesus promise it to St. Margaret Maria? Read the promises of the Sacred Heart. He may use you to call a Priest for others.

Editor’s Note: The website Cleveland.com has an article "Catholics who seek Last Rites advised to plan ahead" which quotes Retired Bishop Anthony Pilla of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese as saying,

"We recommend that whenever you're ill, ask for that sacrament," said "So many times people don't want to be anointed because they think that might mean they're going to die.

"But it's not just a sacrament for the dying," he said. "It's for the sick and the recovering."

Progressing in the Spiritual Life

Question: If progress in the spiritual life is slow, how can we be sure that we are even progressing after a year, or five years, or longer?

Lydia: Mother, I think we can feel whether or not we are progressing.

Priscila: By confessions…and how they are going.

Sherry: Progress is for me when I am able to love deeper with less self-interest.

Priscila: Are we amending our life…do we constantly need to confess?

Natalie: This is where I think you have to put all faith in the Lord and keep doing what he says because Saints have said the Lord took all knowledge of their progress away from them to keep them humble.

Lydia: I think we become more aware of sin the more we pray. The rosary is the most powerful.

Visitation Sister: The director can sometimes gauge our progress and we can feel when we are slipping.

Priscila: I think that the more we progress, the more we are at peace with God and others and ourselves.

Bethany: When you preach Jesus, you must say God loves you and he will bring you peace, and pray for them and let them know about Jesus as savior.

Lydia: I think we can feel our conscience more.

Priscila: Also doing daily self-examinations of conscience…like St. Ignatius taught.

Visitation Sister: Monastic life encourages this.

He Calls You By Name and He Knows You

Question: What does it mean to know someone well?

Priscila: You know how they think/react.

Visitation Sister: Yes, one has insight into their heart and sometimes, soul.

Priscila: Can almost predict their response. You know their goodness as well as their shortcomings.

Visitation Sister: Yet behavior is not the whole story and that is why we can still be surprised by someone we know well. Sometimes in the past I thought I knew someone and then there was a side I had not known.

Avoiding Mediocrity

Question: Why does St. Francis say it takes only a year to achieve a mediocre life, but many years for perfection?

Visitation Sister: I am not sure why it takes a year to achieve a mediocre life – I would think one starts out that way.

Natalie: He likens it to a palm tree taking 100 years to be fruitful.

Priscila: Because it takes a while in anything you do to achieve consistency. To master a craft so to speak…like being a great cake designer.

Visitation Sister: Even mediocrity? I guess if one never masters the craft, that’s mediocrity.

Priscila: Or a great musician takes lots of practice and consistency.

Bethany: Without faith you have no freedom.

Lydia: I think there are many people who prefer mediocrity.

Visitation Sister: Lack of energy or commitment.

Lydia: They are annoyed by a person’s attention to detail or feel threatened by someone else wanting to do the best they can.

Priscila: Or maybe not their talent that they are inclined to.

Natalie: Yes, many people will literally say they prefer mediocrity.

Lydia: Some people in authority want people to just follow a dull path and not try to make things better.

Priscila: And where would we be…no advancements.

Bethany: What is the dull path, what does that mean?

Lydia: Bethany, it is not trying hard to do a good job.

Natalie: It is usually out of fear. People don’t want backlash or responsibility for things going wrong.

Priscila: Not striving to achieve/master anything.

Natalie: Being apathetic.

Lydia: Accepting limitations in a system and not trying to make anything work better for everyone.

Priscila: Sometimes you can’t make everything work better for everyone.

Grace Upon Grace

Question: What does it mean to “call down God’s grace” upon someone?

Lydia: Does it mean to pray for them?

Priscila: To pray for them…especially their conversion or wellbeing of their salvation.

Visitation Sister: Yes, that is probably true.

Lydia: Asking God to make them see Him and what He offers?

Natalie: I would also think it is to pray for God to bestow his graces upon them.

Visitation Sister: Prayer is most effective.

Coming Home to the Church

Discuss this line: “This country is my home according to my natural birth; according to my spiritual birth, my home is the Church.” If God draws us to himself, why did He establish a Church that is limited in scope by geography and human willpower?

Priscila: That would be perfection. Which is not on this earth.

Bethany: Like not become a good Christian believer and love anything in this world so much.

Visitation Sister: It is similar to the idea that our homeland is heaven, and we are pilgrims on this earth.

Natalie: I think the church is someplace to return to and where people can congregate and of course get their sacraments, but people can draw closer to the Lord on their own in everything they do.

Priscila: Our homeland is our citizenship; the baptism is our citizenship in the church.

Lydia: Limited church??? Not sure it is limited. With Faith it has no limits…. maybe He wants us to know that we need Him to go beyond what appears to be limitations in the Church. God did make the world perfect, but sin changed it. Now we have to go back to God.

Priscila: God established a limited church for us to seek for Him …just as the Wise Men…distance makes the heart grow fonder…. reaching/grasping for something.

Lydia: Good night, all. God bless.

Sherry: I pray that we extend grace this week – me included – to those who have failed us, or we perceive it as a failure – trusting increasingly in God that he watches over his faithful. Good night.

Priscila: We need to pray for enlightenment and the Holy Spirit. Good night.

If you enjoyed this article, why not join us at our Living Jesus Chat Room of the Visitation Sisters. Join us at 7:30 p.m. ET each Sunday! We read a passage of St. Francis de Sales and then gather great insights and sharing!