The ancient Christians, in administering the holy viaticum and the sacred Anointing to the sick, first anointed the sick with the sacred Unction, and then gave them the most holy Body of Christ. And to cite a testimony or two: in the first volume of Laurentius Surius there is found the life of St. William, Archbishop of Bourges, who lived in the time of Pope Innocent III. In it we read as follows: "He received the Sacrament of Anointing humbly and devoutly; and having received it, he most earnestly asked that the most holy Eucharist be brought to him, so that, fortified by so great a guide on his journey, he might the more safely break through the ranks of his enemies." The very same is recorded of St. Malachi in the life of him written by St. Bernard: namely, that he received the Eucharist as viaticum after Extreme Unction.
Besides these two testimonies, which demonstrate the order between Extreme Unction and the Eucharist, two others may be adduced which teach that the viaticum was the last, although no mention is made of Extreme Unction. In the life of St. Ambrose, which Paulinus wrote, it is recorded that the viaticum was given to St. Ambrose when death was already imminent, so that having received the viaticum he at once breathed forth his spirit. Symeon Metaphrastes writes the very same of St. John Chrysostom in his life. And so it is evident that among the ancients the last Sacrament was the viaticum of the Body of the Lord.
In our time we first fortify the sick with the holy viaticum, and then, after some days, as the illness grows worse, we anoint them with the holy Oil. Each practice has its own reasons. The ancients considered that the venerable Sacrament of the holy Oil was instituted both for the recovery of good health and for the driving out of sins, or of the remains of sins. For so speaks St. James: "Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him." (James 5) The ancients, therefore, hoping for the bodily health of the sick person from this sacred Anointing, did not defer this Sacrament to the time when, in the judgment of the physicians, all hope of recovery was despaired of; but as soon as the illness began to be judged dangerous by the physicians, they had recourse at once to the sacred Anointing. This can also be understood from what St. Bernard writes in the life of St. Malachi the Bishop: that the same saint, when he was ill, came down on his own feet from his chamber, which was in the upper part of the house, to the church, in order to receive first Extreme Unction and then the Viaticum; and that, having received these Sacraments, he returned again on his own feet, without any assistance, to his chamber and his bed. In our time the sick, when they hear mention made of Extreme Unction, think that all is over with their life; and for this reason relatives or friends, lest they frighten the sick, put off this Sacrament as long as they can.
There is also another reason which moved the ancients to anoint the sick first and then to give them the viaticum: namely, that in the Sacrament of Anointing sins are forgiven, as we have already heard from the Apostle James; and for this reason Extreme Unction is called by some of the ancients the Penance of the sick. The remission of sins and penance, moreover, is the right disposition for the most high Sacrament of the Eucharist, which requires the greatest purity.
Finally, all the Sacraments are concluded and, as it were, sealed by the Sacrament of the Body of the Lord. For thus those who are baptized as adults, such as Jews or Turks, are brought after Baptism to the Sacrifice of the Mass and receive the holy Eucharist. So too those who were doing penance, once their penance was completed, always approached the Eucharist, at least according to the ancient custom. Those also who receive minor or major Orders, having received their Orders, approach holy communion. Finally, those who are joined in Matrimony receive the Sacrament and confirm it. In our time the order is reversed, not without reasonable cause. For it often happens that Extreme Unction, lest the sick be frightened, is put off for a long time; and there is danger that in the meantime the sick person may either lose the use of reason or for some other cause become unfit duly to receive the most holy Eucharist. For this reason, therefore, in our time the viaticum is given first. "For it is better that these Sacraments be given to the sick in reversed order than that they should be deprived of one of them, and that the most salutary." For Extreme Unction can be conferred upon a sick person even when he is in his agony and neither understands nor perceives what is being done around him, provided he is still alive: for the dead are capable of no Sacrament. And so much for the order in which the Sacraments are to be given to the sick.
I come now to the precious Body of Christ, to be profitably given to the sick. First I shall briefly explain what the sick person must do before the Sacrament is brought to him; then what the same sick person must do while the Body of Christ is present; finally, how he should conduct himself when refreshed by this most divine food.
As regards the first, I would advise — unless the spiritual father should find something more useful to suggest — that the sick person diligently consider those words of St. Thomas: "O sacred banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of His passion is recalled, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us." First, then, he will attentively consider that the most holy Eucharist is given to us wayfarers after the manner of food, so that we may not fail on the way to our homeland, especially at that time when, wearied by the long journey, our strength is wont to be diminished. Now this food is called a Banquet, and a Sacred banquet, because, although it is given under the appearance of bread alone, yet it is a complete banquet, not profane but sacred; not of the body but of the soul. Hence it is added, "in which Christ is received": for under those appearances, or accidents, of bread is the true Body of Christ, not separated from His soul and divinity; and therefore it is a thing most great and most precious, a boundless and most sweet banquet, surpassing every taste of sweetness, yet fitted to nourish and delight the soul, not the body.
What the fruits or benefits of this food are is added when it says: "The memory of His passion is recalled, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of glory is given to us." The first fruit, therefore, of this banquet is the memory of the passion of Christ: for this reason the Body and Blood of the Lord are consecrated under the twofold species of bread and wine, so that the species of bread may represent the body separated from the blood and thereby dead, and the species of wine may represent the blood separated from the body, although under either species Christ is present whole and living. For the Lord willed that through these mysteries a perpetual and daily memory of His venerable passion should remain among us — that passion through which we have escaped all evils and obtained all good things. For the Lord Himself said to His Apostles, speaking of this Sacrament: "Do this in commemoration of Me" (Luke 22); and the Apostle Paul, expounding these words of the Lord, says: "As often as you shall eat this bread and drink the chalice, you shall show forth the death of the Lord, until He come" (1 Cor. 11); that is: As often as you approach this most holy mystery, you will be mindful that Christ the Lord laid down His life for you; and this commemoration will last until the second coming of the Lord, that is, until the consummation of the world. Moreover, the Lord willed that we should be constantly mindful of His passion and death, because He knew that this memory would be most profitable for us: that, mindful of His so admirable charity toward us, we might place all our hope in Him, both in life and in death. For what could He deny to those for whom He Himself so willingly laid down His life?
The second fruit of this heavenly banquet is noted in those words: "The mind is filled with grace" — which is a singular privilege of the Sacrament of the Eucharist when it is received with due preparation. For just as bodily food is a single thing, and by eating is conveyed into the stomach, yet it restores, nourishes, strengthens, and gladdens all the members of the body; while on the contrary, excessive abstinence from food not only leaves the stomach empty but weakens all the members, wastes them, and renders them unsightly and feeble, and at last kills them: so this divine food restores, nourishes, and strengthens all the spiritual powers of the soul. By this sacred nourishment the memory is filled with the grace of the sweetest remembrance of the benefits of God, and especially of the Lord's passion, through which we have been delivered and saved. By this same nourishment the understanding is filled with the grace of faith — not only habitual but also actual (Acts 15); and faith purifies the heart from very many errors and fills the mind with the understanding of divine things, which begets an incredible joy. Finally, by this very nourishment the will is filled with the grace of a most certain hope and a most ardent charity; and charity, since it is the queen of the virtues, draws all the virtues to itself, by the possession of which a man becomes most rich in heavenly treasures. Thus, therefore, through this most divine Sacrament the mind is filled with grace.
Finally, « a pledge of future glory is given to us » through this same saving Sacrament. Now the metaphor of a pledge is taken from this: among men, what has been promised cannot be refused when a pledge has been left as security that the promise will be kept. Now the Lord left His Body in the Eucharist as a pledge of heavenly blessedness. Accordingly, he who dies having received the Lord's Body with due purity and reverence will show that pledge, and cannot be shut out from heavenly happiness. And he shows the pledge who dies united to Christ through true charity, which the worthy reception of this saving Sacrament leaves in the soul. For then the soul goes forth from the body like the Bride, leaning upon her Beloved.
And this is what St. John writes in the Apocalypse when he says: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord (Rev. 14); that is, blessed are the dying who die joined to the Lord as members to the head. For no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven (John 3). Now Christ, the Son of man, did not ascend without His body, of which He Himself is the head. Therefore only those die in the Lord who, when they die, cleave to the Lord as members to the head; and this is obtained by all who shortly before death worthily receive Christ in the Eucharist.
And so much for the preparation of the sick man to receive the Viaticum before the Viaticum itself is present. For as soon as the holy Viaticum has been brought in, the sick man ought, as best he can, to rise and adore his Lord — either prostrate on his knees or at least with head bowed. Moreover, the Lord often grants strength, so that even dying men rise up at that hour and bend their knees. For so we read of St. William, Archbishop of Bourges, who « when he had learned that his Lord had come to him, at once recovering his strength, leapt from his bed as though every fever had now left him — not without the amazement of those standing by, especially since he seemed now almost at his last breath — went with quickened step to meet his Savior, charity supplying his strength; and on bended knees, all bathed in tears, he adored Him: and bent his knees again and again; often prostrate, he rose, and commended his agony to Him with all devotion, praying that He would deign to purge whatever remained to be purged, lest the deadly enemy find anything in him. » Moreover, it seems to me the best thing that the sick man, before receiving the Lord's Body, should recite, or hear recited, those verses of St. Thomas Aquinas which at once profess faith, raise up hope, and enkindle charity. They are these:
I adore You devoutly, hidden Godhead, who beneath these forms truly lie concealed. To You my heart submits itself wholly, for in contemplating You it utterly fails.
Sight, taste, and touch are deceived in You, but by hearing alone is it safely believed. I believe whatever the Son of God has said; nothing is truer than this word of Truth.
On the cross the Godhead alone lay hidden,
but here the manhood lies hidden too. Yet believing and confessing both, I ask what the penitent thief asked.
Your wounds, like Thomas, I do not behold; yet I confess You to be my God. Make me ever believe in You more, have hope in You, and love You.
O memorial of the Lord's death, O living Bread who give life to man,
grant my soul to live on You,
and ever to savor Your sweetness.
O loving Pelican, Lord Jesus,
cleanse me, unclean, in Your blood — one drop of which could save the whole world from all its guilt.
O Jesus, whom now I behold veiled, I pray that that may come to pass for which I so thirst: that, seeing You with face unveiled,
I may be blessed in the vision of Your glory.
When these have been heard, let the usual confession, « I confess to God, etc. », be repeated; and when the Priest's absolution and blessing have been received and « Lord, I am not worthy » said, let him add with all the humility and devotion he can: « Into Your hands, O Lord, etc. », and confidently receive the most holy and heavenly food.
When the Viaticum has been received, there remains the giving of thanks for so outstanding a gift of God. And besides the vocal prayers usually recited from pious books, it would be most useful for the one who has received the Viaticum to enter the chamber of his heart and silently meditate within himself on those most sweet words of the Lord Jesus found in the Apocalypse: Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone opens to Me, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. For these words properly apply to those who come away from holy communion: for the Lord, who instituted this Sacrament under the form of a banquet, desires nothing more than that Christians should come to that banquet; and this is signified by those words, Behold, I stand at the door and knock — that is: I invite Myself to the common banquet, that we may feast together. If anyone opens to Me — assenting to the good desire I have inspired in him, that we may feast together — I will come in to him through the most holy Sacrament, and will sup with him, and he with Me. For God is said to sup with us when He delights in our spiritual progress, according to that word of the Prophet: The Lord shall rejoice in His works (Ps. 103). And in the same place: Let my speech be pleasing to Him; but I will take delight in the Lord. In these words is expressed a mutual delight and, as it were, a sweet banquet of God with the soul and of the soul with God. For God delights in the soul's spiritual progress, and the soul delights in the gifts received from God — the chief of which is that He Himself, through this magnificent Sacrament, in a certain manner takes His meal together with the soul.
Let the faithful soul, then, after receiving the Viaticum, consider how sweet and how fruitful it is to have Christ as its guest — not only as God but also as man — while those sacred species endure; and that it can deal with Him in confidence, share with Him its dangers and straits in going forth from the body, commend itself to Him with its whole heart, and beg Him to restrain the tempter, to give it a holy Angel as companion, and to bring it to the harbor of salvation.