Sick Call Set
white tablecloth
2 blessed candles for table
standing crucifix
holy water
dish of regular water
piece of palm from Palm Sunday*
small bell*
linen cloth for priest
*optional |
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When someone is
bed-ridden, homebound, or in the hospital, the priest will make a "sick call"
to ensure the person receives the Eucharist -- an especially important duty
around Easter time (the priest will hear Confession if necessary). In cases
of possible death, he will offer Extreme Unction
(in such a situation, call the priest as soon as possible, day or night!).
Unction is a separate Sacrament that includes what follows below and also
an annointing with Oleum Infirmorum (the
Oil of the Sick).
For a regular sick call (i.e., one that doesn't include Unction), call your
priest and, when he comes, remember that he will be bringing the Blessed
Sacrament, the very Body of Christ. Men should remove any headcoverings,
while women should cover their heads, and the
house should be prepared accordingly. Now prepare the sick room itself:
-
Set up a table
near the bed in a place where the sick person can see it, and cover it with
a white cloth.
-
Place on the table
the crucifix with a lit blessed
candle on each side, a dish of
holy water, a piece
of palm (if you have some) that the priest can use to spinkle the holy
water, and a dish of regular water. Some families include a small bell that
the priest or sick person rings after Confession is complete (if Confession
is received) to summon the family back into the room.
-
Lay a linen cloth
across the breast of the sick person.
When the Priest
arrives, meet him in silence at the door while carrying a lit blessed candle,
genuflect, and lead him to the sickroom. Kneel, and stay with him and the
sick one, offering your prayers, but do leave the room if
Confession is to be heard, closing the door behind
you. When the priest opens the door again, or rings the bell that some families
include with their sick call sets, you may re-enter.
It is good to have a sick call set all ready in your family altar so in case
of need you can just grab it. Crucifixes that
hang on the wall, but then open up to reveal two small candles and a vial
of holy water, and which can be set up on a table can be purchased from Catholic
gift shops under the name "sick call sets," but you can make your own.
The Ritual
The priest enters
the sick room itself. |
V.
Pax huic dómui.
R. Et ómnibus habitántibus in ea. |
V.
Peace to this house.
R. And all who dwell therein. |
The priest lays
the corporal on the prepared table, places the Blessed Sacrament on it, and
sprinkles the room with Holy Water. |
Aspérges
me, Dómine, hyssópo, et mundábor; lavábis me,
et super nivem dealbábor, |
Cleanse me of sin
with hyssop, Lord, that I may be purified; wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow, |
Miserére
mei, Deus: secúndum magnam misericordiam tuam. Glora Patri, et Filii,
et Spiritui Sancti. |
Have mercy on me,
O God, according to Thy great mercy. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost. |
The Aspérges
is repeated, and the priest continues: |
V. Adjútorium
nostrum in nómine Dómini
R. Qui fecit caelum et terram
V. Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam.
R. Et clamor meus ad te véniat.
V. Dóminus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
V. Orémus.
Exáudi nos, Dómine sancte, Paer omnípotens, aeterne
Deus: et mittere dignéris sanctum Angelum tuum de caelis, qui
custódiat, fóveat, prótegat, visitet atque deféndat
omnes habitántes in hoc habitáculo. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.
|
V. Our help is
in the Name of the Lord.
R. Who made Heaven and Earth.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come to Thee.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit
V. Let us pray.
Hear us, holy Lord, almighty Father, eternal God: and be pleased to send
Thy holy angel from Heaven to guard, cherish, protect, visit and defend all
that dwell in this house. Through Christ our Lord. |
| R. Amen. |
R. Amen. |
The priest goes
closer to the sick person and, if necessary, hears his confession, in which
case all others leave the room (if the sick call set includes a bell, family
members can be summoned after confession by using it). Afterward, the
Eucharist is given as it usually is outside of Mass, but the sick person,
if possible, says the "Confiteor" and the "Domine non sum dignus" with the
priest. |
Confíteor
Confíteor
Deo omnipoténti, beátæ Maríæ semper
Vírgini, beáto Michaéli Archángelo, beáto
Joanni Baptístæ, sanctis Apóstolis Petro et Paulo,
ómnibus Sanctis, et tibi, Pater: quia peccávi nimis
cogitatióne, verbo et ópere: mea culpa
[strike breast]
, mea culpa
[strike breast]
, mea máxima
culpa
[strike
breast]. Ideo precor beátam Maríam semper Vírginem,
beátum Michaélem Archángelum, beátum Joánnem
Baptístam, sanctos Apóstolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos,
et te, Pater, oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum. [the priest
then says the Misereátur] |
Confíteor
I confess to Almighty
God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin,
to blessed Michael
the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and
Paul, to all the Saints, and to you Father, that I have sinned exceedingly,
in thought, word and deed: through my fault
[strike
breast],
through my fault
[strike breast],
through my most
grievous fault
[strike
breast]. Therefore I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the
Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all
the Saints, and you Father, to pray to the Lord our God for me. [the priest
then says the Misereátur] |
Dómine,
non sum dignus
Dómine,
non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et
sanábitur ánima mea. |
Dómine,
non sum dignus
Lord, I am not
worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and
my soul shall be healed. |
The priest will
then offer the Eucharist. Then he makes the Sign of the Cross over the sick
person, either with the Blessed Sacrament or with his hands.
The dish of water the priest uses to purify his fingers should not be thrown
away like ordinary water; it should be poured onto the Earth or given to
the sick person to drink. |
Other helps for the sick
Other means of
helping the sick include:
| Abdominal problems
|
St. Elmo
(Erasmus) |
| Alcoholism
|
St. John of
God |
| Angina |
St.
Swithbert |
| Appendicitis |
St.
Erasmus |
| Arthritis |
St. Alphonsus
Maria de Liguori |
| Bacterial
infection |
St.
Agrippina |
| Blindness |
St. Raphael
the Archangel, St. Lucy |
| Breast disease
|
St. Agatha |
| Broken bones
|
St. Drogo |
| Cancer |
St.
Peregrine |
| Chest problems
|
St. Bernadine
of Siena |
| Childbirth
|
St. Anne, Our
Lady ("Madonna del Parto," or "Our Lady of Childbirth"), St. Margaret of
Antioch, St. Elmo (Erasmus), St. Raymond Nonnantus |
| Cramps |
St.
Maurice |
| Deafness |
St. Francis
de Sales |
| Death |
a holy and
happy death: St. Joseph, St. Benedict; against temptation at the time of
death: St. Cyriacus; against sudden death: St. Barbara, St. Christopher,
St. Catherine of Alexandria |
| Depression
|
St.
Dymphna |
| Drug
addiction |
St. Maximilian
Kolbe |
| Dying |
St. Joseph |
| Dysentery |
St. Lucy, St.
Polycarp of Smyrna |
| Earache |
St.
Cornelius |
| Epilepsy &
fainting |
St. Vitus,
St. Dymphna, St. Christopher, St. Valentine, St. Vibiana |
| Eye conditions
|
St. Lucy |
| Feet
Conditions |
St. Peter |
| Fever |
St. Barbara,
St. Genevieve, St. Peter |
| Gallstones
|
St.
Benedict |
| Gout |
St. Maurus |
| Hangovers |
St.
Vibiana |
| Headache |
St. Denis,
St. Teresa of Avila, St. Vibiana, St. Stephen the Deacon, St. Thomas a
Becket |
| Head
injury |
St. John Licci,
St. Stephen the Deacon, St. Thomas a Becket |
| Heart problems
|
St. John of
God |
| Hemorrhage
|
St. Lucy |
| Hernia |
SS. Cosmas
and Damian |
| Herpes |
St. George |
| Infection |
St.
Agrippina |
| Infertility
|
St. Anthony
of Padua, St. Anne, Mary (especially under her title of Maria Bambina) |
| Inflammatory
diseases |
St.
Benedict |
| Intestinal
& stomach diseases |
St. Charles
Borromeo |
| Invalids |
St. Roch |
| Insect
bites |
St. Mark the
Apostle |
| Kidney diseases
|
St. Margaret
of Antioch |
| Kidney
stones |
St. Alban of
Mainz |
| Knee problems
|
St. Roch |
| Leg problems
|
St.
Servatus |
| Leprosy |
St.
Lazarus |
| Loss of milk
for nursing |
St. Margaret
of Antioch |
| Lumbago |
St.
Lawrence |
| Lung
problems |
St. Bernardine
of Siena |
| Mental illness
|
St. Dymphna,
St. Vibiana |
| Neck
stiffness |
St. Ursicinus
of Saint-Ursanne |
| Neuralgia |
St. Ubaldus
Baldassini |
| Neurological
diseases |
Bartholomew
the Apostle, St. Dymphna |
| Nightmares |
St. Raphael
the Archangel |
| Open sores |
St.
Peregrine |
| Pain |
St. Madron |
| Paralysis |
St.
Wolfgang |
| Plagues |
St. Christopher,
St. Giles |
| Polio |
St. Margaret
Mary Alacoque |
| Pregnancy,
safe |
St. Anne, St.
Margaret of Antioch, St. Elizabeth, St. Gerard Majella, St. Joseph (Patron
of expectant mothers) |
| Rheumatism |
St. Alphonsus
Liguori |
| Seasickness |
St.
Erasmus |
| Skin diseases
|
St. Anthony
of the Desert (i.e., Anthony the Abbot) |
| Smallpox |
St.
Matthias |
| Snakebites |
St. Patrick,
St. Hilary of Poitiers, St. Paul the Apostle, St. Vitus |
| Sterility |
St. Anthony
of Padua (St. Felicity is invoked to have a male child in particular.
Unofficially, Maria Bambina is invoked by couples trying to conceive.) |
| Stroke |
St. Andrew
Avellino |
| Sudden death,
against |
St.
Barbara |
| Throat diseases
|
St. Blaise,
St. Ignatius of Antioch |
| Toothache |
St.
Apollonia |
| Tuberculosis
|
St. Therese
of Lisieux |
| Venereal diseases
|
St. Fiacre |
| Wounds |
St. Rita of
Cascia |
| Sickness in
general |
St. Raphael
the Archangel, St. John of God, St. Camillus of Lellis, St. Bernadette of
Lourdes, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Lydwina of Schiedam, St. Teresa of Avila,
St. Maria Mazzarello |
| Desperate
causes |
St. Jude, St.
Rita of Cascia |
...and for those
who care for the sick
|
| Nurses |
St. John of
God, St. Agatha, St. Raphael the Archangel, St. Camillus of Lellis |
| Midwives,
obstetricians |
St. Brigid
of Ireland, St. Raymund Nonnatus, St. Margaret of Cortona |
| Doctors and
surgeons |
St. Luke, SS.
Cosmas and Damian, St. Pantaleon, St. Raphael the Archangel |
| Hospital
workers |
St. John of
God, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Camillus |
| Hospital
administrators |
St. Basil the
Great, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini |
| Pharmacists |
St. James the
Less |
A bit of Trivia
Almost all cultures
have some ritually offered words for someone who sneezes -- the ancient Greeks,
the American Indians, the rabbinical Jews, Asians, etc. Many of these groups
(Talmudic Jews included) believed that sneezes could be mortal, that the
soul could leave the body through the mouth during a sneeze. It is Pope St.
Gregory the Great, however, whom we have to thank for the practice of saying
"God bless you" after someone sneezes. He was Pope during a time when Rome
was ravaged by a certain pestilence, the symptoms of which were sneezing
and yawning. In A.D. 600, he decreed that when someone sneezes, one should
respond with "God bless you" to ask God's blessings for the person's health,
and that when a person yawns, the Sign of the Cross
should be made on his mouth. |
