Beginning Catholic: The Anointing of the Sick: Comfort and Healing [Ecumenical]
If he tried a deathbed ritual as fire insurance then I have no comfort to offer Ted. He needed to be confronted with God’s holiness and he needed to be left feeling helpless with his own sin. He needed to accept Christ’s sacrifice for his sslvation to be saved. I hope that was the case because a simple rendering of a rote prayer would avail nothing.
ONCE AND FOR ALL:
My comments had NOTHING TO DO with whether or not a funeral Mass was celebrated. Ted Kennedy was a baptized Catholic: whether he had or had not received the Anointing of the Sick and had or had not made his confession, who cares? Celebrate Mass for the forgiveness of his sins and his eternal repose.
AND THAT IS MY POINT:
If you’re going to celebrate a funeral Mass: FOR GOD’S SAKE - and the sake of the deceased and those attending and/or watching - CELEBRATE THE FUNERAL MASS . . . old Rite, new Rite, who cares: BUT CELEBRATE THE MASS - not a vaudeville show with made up inserts, interpolations, editorial comments and ENDLESS ENDLESS ENDLESS PROCLAMATIONS OF THE HOLINESS AND HEROISM OF THE DECEASED.
THAT IS MY POINT, OK?
As for Cardinal O’Malley: his responsibility as the bishop of the diocese is to see to it that the rites are celebrated AS THE CHURCH HAS HANDED THEM DOWN . . . not as the Kennedy Family and the Democrat Party would like them to be rewritten to proclaim the singular significance of the sainted senator and to get their agenda of universal health care and gay rights passed.
And in that regard, by any fair and objective evaluation of the nonsense we watched this morning, HE FAILED THAT RESPONSIBILITY.
Which, again, has NOTHING TO DO with what he knew or didn’t know about Ted’s sacramental life.
PLEASE!
You have to actually repent of all your mortal sins (attrition) before the Anointing can take effect. Otherwise you must refuse the Sacrament.