Hello everyone! I have a scene that is giving me trouble on both medical and psychological levels and would appreciate any help I can get
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NOTE: I AM NOT CATHOLIC, NOR DO I KNOW A WHOLE LOT ABOUT CATHOLIC RITES. However, I've worked as a hospital chaplain and have witnessed the Sacrament of the Sick being given. Because my knowledge is contemporary U.S., I can't say that any/all of this will apply to your 17th century priest (a lot of rites were changed during/after Vatican II; I think the historical form that you might try googling is "extreme unction").
1. First off, the sacrament CANNOT be performed on someone who's already dead. Just FYI. So no, he probably wouldn't do a quick blessing and run off with the intention of coming back later and doing the thing properly. Like, what if he doesn't come back? What if the guard dies in the meantime? Then he's totally just screwed up the guy's chances of getting into Heaven! If he's going to do the thing, he's gotta stay and make sure it's done.
2. I don't think penance is strictly necessary, because a lot of patients who had the sacrament performed on them in the hospital were unconscious??? So...you know...no confession or whatever happening there....in that vein, I don't think the Viaticum is strictly necessary here either.
3. The big thing seems to be the anointing, and that's pretty tricky because your priest doesn't have any anointing oil with him. I SERIOUSLY DO NOT KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT CATHOLICISM TO KNOW IF THIS WOULD BE OKAY, but I personally would grab whatever oil-like substance was available, bless it myself, and anoint the guard. I would also ask the guard if he wants the sacrament--the priests I know were VERY concerned about consent, and we occasionally had conflicts with Catholic families and non-Catholic patients. We wanted to respect the wishes of the patient, but this is difficult if the patient is unconscious. (This mentality may not apply to a 17th century priest.)
4. As far as I know, there's no instruction manual for the anointing ritual itself; different priests have different styles. I don't remember it very clearly now--it's not like I was taking notes--but I think it was usually along the lines of Bible reading (I have no idea how they picked which Scripture to read; I suspect different priests just have passages they like and bookmark), then anointing, then prayer? That could be totally wrong; like I said it wasn't like I was taking notes. What I'm saying is, especially if he's pressed for time, the priest can totally fudge it a little, just do the anointing and then a quick prayer.
5. As far as giving spiritual support goes, that's really up to your characters and their temperaments. If your guard knows he's dying/is actively warding off unconsciousness, he'll probably spit out the military info right off because, you know, that's important. That leaves your priest with the decision on whether or not to stay and comfort him or to take up arms and run off right away. I, as a religious professional with zero combat experience/weapons experience, would definitely stay and comfort. It's not in my personality to tell someone that they need to repent their sins now; I would probably say something like, "Is there anything you'd like to say?" Of course, people near death get funny around religious professionals anyway; the guard might very well grab the priest's arm and start babbling a confession, or asking about Heaven, or begging him to stay. Even atheists will do this.
Actually, it can be performed on someone who is already dead, on the grounds that you can't tell at what point the soul leaves the body, so just because they LOOK dead doesn't mean that their spirit has left.
OP - try googling "extreme unction" :-) Taking confession/giving extremem unction will one of top priorities in that case.
I dunnnnoooo, the staff priest was really firm on this point??? (They apparently also do not baptize deceased people.) Which imo seems like a really shitty thing to have to tell someone's family, BUT:
While the priest will not perform the Sacrament of the Sick on someone who has already died, lots of priests will perform a blessing or something similar in order to fulfill the family's need. Like, honestly, 99% of the time the family wants some kind of closure, and ritual provides that closure, and it doesn't matter that it's not the OFFICIAL Sacrament. Sometimes the priest doesn't even tell the family that's what he's doing (!).
Yeah, but a staff priest in a modern hospital probably has clearer indicators of whether someone is alive or dead (patients in serious condition being generally hooked up to a lot of monitors).
1. First off, the sacrament CANNOT be performed on someone who's already dead. Just FYI. So no, he probably wouldn't do a quick blessing and run off with the intention of coming back later and doing the thing properly. Like, what if he doesn't come back? What if the guard dies in the meantime? Then he's totally just screwed up the guy's chances of getting into Heaven! If he's going to do the thing, he's gotta stay and make sure it's done.
2. I don't think penance is strictly necessary, because a lot of patients who had the sacrament performed on them in the hospital were unconscious??? So...you know...no confession or whatever happening there....in that vein, I don't think the Viaticum is strictly necessary here either.
3. The big thing seems to be the anointing, and that's pretty tricky because your priest doesn't have any anointing oil with him. I SERIOUSLY DO NOT KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT CATHOLICISM TO KNOW IF THIS WOULD BE OKAY, but I personally would grab whatever oil-like substance was available, bless it myself, and anoint the guard. I would also ask the guard if he wants the sacrament--the priests I know were VERY concerned about consent, and we occasionally had conflicts with Catholic families and non-Catholic patients. We wanted to respect the wishes of the patient, but this is difficult if the patient is unconscious. (This mentality may not apply to a 17th century priest.)
4. As far as I know, there's no instruction manual for the anointing ritual itself; different priests have different styles. I don't remember it very clearly now--it's not like I was taking notes--but I think it was usually along the lines of Bible reading (I have no idea how they picked which Scripture to read; I suspect different priests just have passages they like and bookmark), then anointing, then prayer? That could be totally wrong; like I said it wasn't like I was taking notes. What I'm saying is, especially if he's pressed for time, the priest can totally fudge it a little, just do the anointing and then a quick prayer.
5. As far as giving spiritual support goes, that's really up to your characters and their temperaments. If your guard knows he's dying/is actively warding off unconsciousness, he'll probably spit out the military info right off because, you know, that's important. That leaves your priest with the decision on whether or not to stay and comfort him or to take up arms and run off right away. I, as a religious professional with zero combat experience/weapons experience, would definitely stay and comfort. It's not in my personality to tell someone that they need to repent their sins now; I would probably say something like, "Is there anything you'd like to say?" Of course, people near death get funny around religious professionals anyway; the guard might very well grab the priest's arm and start babbling a confession, or asking about Heaven, or begging him to stay. Even atheists will do this.
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OP - try googling "extreme unction" :-) Taking confession/giving extremem unction will one of top priorities in that case.
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While the priest will not perform the Sacrament of the Sick on someone who has already died, lots of priests will perform a blessing or something similar in order to fulfill the family's need. Like, honestly, 99% of the time the family wants some kind of closure, and ritual provides that closure, and it doesn't matter that it's not the OFFICIAL Sacrament. Sometimes the priest doesn't even tell the family that's what he's doing (!).
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